Removing Paint Overspray

[seerex]

Hey all, I was stripping my 71 to go to the paint/body guy when I saw that my front turn signal lens were covered with overspray from the po paint job. I am trying to remove the overspay without damaging the plastic. I tried a adhesive remover but didn't do a thing. I was trying to avoid taking a razor blade to them or replacing them. Any suggestions would be appreciative.

[Ed]

If the overspray isn't that bad try some polishing compound and elbow grease.

[hls30.com]

Just use a soft cotton towel pampened with laquer thinner and a little elbow grease.

I have never had those lenses soften with thinner.

Will

[Jayru]

Thinner will spider crack plastic lenses in my opinion.

Funny this thread got started today, i was wondering the same thing but on a different part. My car was painted in the late 80's by the original owner. The paint must have been a quality job because it still shines like new after almost 20 years.

Anyway, i wish i could speak as highly for their masking job. Almost all my rubber trim around the winshield, 1/4 windows, and hach have some overspray on them (very little by the edges/corners, like the tape leaked). The paint is very brittle so it scratches off fairly easy with a razor blade, but this scratches up the rubber slightly leaving behind marks.

Is their an easier way? It's so close to the body i'm afraid to use a thinner for fear it would do something to the paint on the body or eat the rubber.

Any ideas?

[EScanlon]

Just use a soft cotton towel dampened with laquer thinner and a little elbow grease.

I have never had those lenses soften with thinner.

Will

I would try some Wax and Grease Remover first. You might be able to remove the bulk of it, especially if the lenses ever got waxed before the overspray happened. Then for whatever was left, I would use the lacquer thinner mentioned above. You would have to soak the lenses in lacquer thinner for a while before I would be concerned as to what would happen.

As far as cracking or starring it....not from the lacquer thinner, at least in my experience. With American car lenses I would warn you away from using lacquer thinner, but not with the Z's lenses.

2¢

Enrique

[ZIII]

Thinner will spider crack plastic lenses in my opinion.

Funny this thread got started today, i was wondering the same thing but on a different part. My car was painted in the late 80's by the original owner. The paint must have been a quality job because it still shines like new after almost 20 years.

Anyway, i wish i could speak as highly for their masking job. Almost all my rubber trim around the winshield, 1/4 windows, and hach have some overspray on them (very little by the edges/corners, like the tape leaked). The paint is very brittle so it scratches off fairly easy with a razor blade, but this scratches up the rubber slightly leaving behind marks.

Is their an easier way? It's so close to the body i'm afraid to use a thinner for fear it would do something to the paint on the body or eat the rubber.

Any ideas?

I have had great success with a Dupont product called Prep-Sol. It’s a solvent but unlike thinners of any kind this will not harm your paint even if you have a clear coat on it. It is great stuff and I use it instead of a bug & tar remover on all my cars. Using this on weathered or over-spray paint on rubber will loosen the paint enough that while being careful, you can easily scrape the paint off. It is particularly good on getting wax and crud off of wedged areas, bolts and screws and any little or narrow spaces like the headlight seam where it attaches to the body.

There is a drawback, however. Isn’t there always? The stuff is pricey. About $17.00 a gallon but a gallon last me well over a year and a half. You can only buy this at Paint& Body supply stores. Forget trying to find it at Home Depot or Lowes.

You might want to ask a friendly body shop if they have it. If you can try it, just dab a little on a towel (you only need a dab) let it sit for a 30 seconds to a minute and then carefully scrape your affected rubber part . Again, you need not worry at all about your paint. It will not harm it. HTH

George

[LanceM]

The best thing to use to get overspray off is a clay bar. Don't know who makes it but NAPA auto parts disributes one under part number 7260 in the MS line. It is a kit with a lubricant. The bars are 7261 (fine)and 7262 for med. This will take off the overspray without damage to the lense.

[Bambikiller240]

I've used a product familiar to people who have served in the military. It's called Brasso. Liquid metal polish (mildly abrasive).

[MikeW]

I have had great success with a Dupont product called Prep-Sol. It’s a solvent but unlike thinners of any kind this will not harm your paint even if you have a clear coat on it.

In this case he wants to harm the paint ...

[TomoHawk]

Brasso. Liquid metal polish (mildly abrasive).

Do you think Bon-Ami would workbetter? It''s a cleaner that's not abrasive.

Where are you geting your Brasso?

thx

[LanceM]

You should be able to find Brasso at any hardware store, it is a brass cleaner. I believe they also make an aluminum cleaner also though I'm not sure of it's name.

In anycase remember that the lense is plastic, any abrasive will score it even if it's just a little bit and will remove the shine. At that point a buffer and some good final polishing compound like is used to finish paint will make them look like new. That also works well on cars that have plastic headlights that have gotten dull and sort of cloudy looking.

[MikeW]

In anycase remember that the lense is plastic, any abrasive will score it even if it's just a little bit and will remove the shine.

Brasso is very mild. Toothpaste is also slightly abrasive but can be used to clean and polish things besides your teeth. I recall that I used brasso to clean up the clear plastic that covers my instruments when I had them out of my dash. I agree that if it does do an damage you could polish it back out.

I've got a spare turn signal lens at home and would be happy to spray it a bit with paint and then test the various suggestions.