I've got a set of tailights that are painted with a few coats of clearcoat that I'm trying to refinish. I'm trying to get the clearcoat/paint off.

Things I've tried so far:
Paint Thinner
Oven Cleaner
Brake Fluid

Nothing seems to be able to cut through the clearcoat.

I saw some paint stripper at AutoZone/Pep Boys, etc. called "Flexible parts stripper", made specifically for stripping paint off of plastic flexible parts, obviously. It says, however, not to use on rigid plastic. So would this be a bad idea to use on the lights since they're not flexible?

Any other ideas what to use to remove this stuff?

Thanks.

 

wet sanding ownes joo

 

Hmmmm. I've been trying to do the same thing. Been told to use sand paper, but not trying to drain all the grease outta my elbow. Too long a process. I think the lights would end up with a foggy haze over them. Might have to try on something else before. Good luck, though. I'll try the flexible parts stripper for my project. Thanks for the tip. You might wanna try ebay for the lights though. Might save you time and headache.

 

Thought about wetsanding, maybe wetsanding just to get the clearcoat off, then redoing it with a coat of new paint plus clearcoats on top of it.

I'm not worried so much about the time aspect, I don't mind spending a few hours if it saves me $75. I've seen lights on ebay though, knock-off's of the 99-00's for about $45 + $20 shipping.

 

But is there anything on the market that can strip paint and NOT harm the plastic? There's gotta be something out there.

 

I don't know if there is or not. There has to be something.

 

Ask a piant supply shop, then ask another to double check. My guess is that once it gets through the clear, it'll get the plastic.

 

You mean using a flexible parts stripper that says do not use on rigid plastic?
Once it gets through the clearcoat it will mess up the plastic itself?

 

Just wet sand it using various grits. The final one should be very fine.

I wouldn't use chemicals to get the paint off. They might make the plastic look bad.

 

I'd do what Wharbone says. I don't know about flexible parts strippers and stuff. Sounds no good and risky. Plus I hate handling chemicals if I don't have to. Very fine sand paper with lots of water should do it. 600-2000 grit?