Safe Paint Stripper for ATV Plastics

[Gwbarm]

Does anyone know of a safe paint stripper for ATV plastics other than Permatex, I can't seem to find that one in my area.

[Gwbarm]

At this point I can tell you what doesnt work, haven't been able to find the stuff that the guy on you tube used, permatex paint stripper safe for plastics, I went to Walmart , which I never do, I avoid it like the plague, except when I need oil. I needed gear oil to change the differential oil, only to find the one they had was super tech, that was the only brand on the shelf, with no friction modifiers built in for wet brakes, so didn't get that, plus they were low in stock in everything, really gone down hill since covid.

Any way I ended up buying 2 paint strippers one made by rustoleum for removing clear coat base coat, did nothing but make the paint rough, and I went over it with a green scrubby pad with the stripper still on it. I next used a 2 minute paint remover I think it was made by clean strip, also did nothing, also went over it with the scrubby pad , and neither of these said it was safe for plastic, but tried it on a cheap plastic funnel first, and all it did was take the gloss off. So I kind of knew it wasn't going to work. So this is either a really hard Acrylic Laquer paint or the products are weak, maybe both. I get more paint off by sanding with 220 grit, which I may have to do to get it off.

[Gwbarm]

All of the above, in combination is actually working, it has been very Time consuming but I am finally making progress. It seems once I got the top layer off the rest is starting to come off a little at a time. This is my procedure: I wipe it down with Laquer thinner, that seems to soften the paint a little, them I go over it with paint stripper really thick, when you think it's really thick, do some more, forget about it for an hr and come back and use a plastic paint scraper, like the one for spreading bondo, get as much off as possible with that , just started doing that but it really helps more than I thought it would. Them I finish up with steel wool I have been using 000 but I went a little courser 00, get as much off as possible, there as still areas that are thicker that it didn't penetrate, so now do it all over again, and a little more comes off each time I do this. I also spray it down with protectant after I finish each layer, to help the plastic. The original red is really starting to pop out now, so im getting there. The nooks and crannies are hard to get to to get off, but its coming along.

 

 

Back panel a mess just getting started, here you can see more of what I am referring to. I wouldn't spend this much time if the panels weren't in such good shape no cracks or bad areas.

[Gwbarm]

Still pecking away at the plastic , you can see in the background of my last photo I have tried everything in my cleaning cabinet, I ended up going back to Walmart Mart, again, and got some Rustoleum Aircraft Remover, supposedly the good stuff definitely not safe for plastic, or so it says, I used it anyway, im not sure it worked any better than the 2 minute stripper that was half the price. I did come to one conclusion, these ATV plastics are tough, not one of these strippers I used hurt the plastic at all, I expected at least a little fading but not even that happened. 

I just started using the Aircraft Remover on the tank cover it seems darker at the bottom than at the top, I thought is was paint, let set for 45 minutes, nothing came off, Im beginning to think the plastic is just discolored on it maybe from years of spilling gas.

[Gwbarm]

 Finally got it all off. I determined that all the paint strippers I used did not affect this suzuki plastic, very impressed with the quality of this plastic. And none were supposedly safe for plastic. Even the Big Guns aircraft remover did not affect it.