Paint removal on bumpers, what's safe???

[freak4jesus_bt]

I pulled the bumper cover, tail lights, spoiler, and spoiler mounts off of my talon Saturday. I'm putting the front and rear bumpers, tail lights, and spoiler off of the talon onto my laser. My laser is white, talon is red. Is paint remover safe on the bumper covers or not.

On my '76 vette, I was told to use a fiberglass only paint remover. But, I suppose these bumpers are urethane, so will regular paint remover work on them??? Is it going to eat through the bumper cover??? I know Aircraft paint remover will eat plastic. Give me some ideas. Thanks for the help.

 

[bOOstd GSX]

Sandpaper...

I don't use anything but sandpaper when doing bodywork on a car.

 

[freak4jesus_bt]

I know to use sandpaper, but I like to strip the paint off before I do body work, and then sand it down as needed.
Would it be better to just sand it down and primer it, or remove the paint by another means and the prep it to be painted????

 

[gigahz95]

bite the bullet and sand it. Paint, and bumpers are made out of the same thing(kinda).

 

[blcknspo0ln]

i've tried the whole paint removal stuff... but it turned out to be a nightmare :thumbdown

been sanding ever since

 

[Charles1]

its not bad paint remover work wonders for me on metal surfaces only. i sprayed the whole car let ti sit for 1 hour and the whole paint came off all i had to do is scrape it with a plastic. though on the bumpers it did not remove paint it just got sticky and a pain to wash off. so i tried a bumper paintn remover it still didnt remove the paint so like our fello dsm member say used sandpaper and have some beers cuz its callled labor but for bumpers sandpaper for metal surfaces use paint remover. just make sure to mask off what does not need paint remover. i sprayed all over my car but my door stop that line that goes throught he door it bubbled so i had to take that off.

 

[freak4jesus_bt]

Thanks for the info guys. It's appreciated. I figured a little sandpaper and elbow grease were the way to go. So, now I know.

 

[greyforestgst]

i used a peeler on my urethane and it worked fine

 

[Defiant]

I'd shy away from chemical methods because I don't know how much the urethane will "hold" it. However, no one will know as well as your local auto paint supplier, ask them what this week's theories are.

 

[freak4jesus_bt]

What do You mean by this week's theories?? You've lost me. I already have the rear bumper pulled off of my car, along with the stock spoiler and tail lights. I just want the bumpers to look good when I'm done with them.

If You use a paint remover on fiberglass it will remove the paint just fine. But, after you paint fiberglass, it could be 2 days or 10 years later, your paint could bubble up because of the paint remover soaking into the fiberglass mat. Thanks for the help it's appreciated.

 

[Defiant]

What do You mean by this week's theories??

The paint business, like so much other technology, is undergoing continuous change. During my days at Beyond Repair Body Shop, DuPont Dulux laquer was _the_ paint to use. Some people were starting to use 2-part urethanes, but very few would dick with it because it was so difficult to apply well to a vertical surface. Clearcoat was only used over pearls (made of powdered fish scales, then) and metalflake. The EPA had just made rules so drastic that GM was putting out cars with a water-based paint, which led to many lawsuits and free paint jobs.
Urethane isn't completely non-porous, and some stripper will be left behind despite flushings, neutralizations and scrubbings. It'll find its way to your base coat sure as all hell, and the paint will begin to leap off like a bungee enthusiast at Royal Gorge.

No telling if they've come out with a urethane-specific stripper since last Wednesday.

 

[jepherz]

Nothing is going to adhere to anything (abs plastic, metal, etc.) as well as your original paint. Each surface needs special primers and other chemicals in order for the paint to adhere well (ie. etching primer for steel). I suggest, unless the paint is really bad, to just sand up to 220 about and primer over that, never going completely down to the bumper material.

Good luck

 

[freak4jesus_bt]

DEFIANT, thanks for the info. Thank You other guys for the info also.

 

[pinknuggit]

I just got through sanding my bumpers down to the urethane. I used 60 grid with an air orbital sander and it took about a week to get both of them done.

The auto stripper juice stuff will ruin your plastic. I had a little bit run down from the rear quarter onto my rear signal marker and the stripper ruined it.

 

[IMMORTALSPYDER]

Actually bumpers are polypropelene(sp?). Just figured I'd throw that in there.

 

[Defiant]

Okay. I'll see your polypropylene, and raise you a "Grass [sic] fiber reinforced RIM urethane" as specified in the 1995 Chrysler Corporation Body Repair Manual Talon (81-699-94166).

Just for ducks, the door handles are Polycarbonate/Poly butylene terephthalate.

 

[pinknuggit]

I was at the paint supply store today buying some window-weld (for my motor mounts), and i saw this spray stuff that said "flexible bumper paint remover".