If they are painted you could try soaking the housings in brake fluid - it will take the paint off - it's an old modeler trick for removing paint from plastic parts. It's a good use for old brake fluid instead of just throwing it out.
Turn signal housing plastic paint
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love2fly
Flying the Mountains of the NW
Saw this on your signals case, I did mine few months ago just as roadstr6 has said. I have been restoring plastic items for years and this is one of the best ways I have found. I also used a soft polishing wheel that works much faster and even the old factory lens look new. You will have to do some areas by hand but the end results are well worth the work. DO NOT OVER DO IT. If you use a wheel it will warp from heat built up just like welding will so move it around while working it. Also when using the wet sand process with micro pads move around and go in one direction. Will look factory new, paint is okay but will fade and possibly crack in time.
Good luck
Good luck
Tex40 and love2fly so should I try brake fluid to get paint off or sanding???? Mine are painted white over the stock OEM units that are of course grey..I can post up pics if you like.
Has anyone actually tried this? Looks like a good option.
he did... seemed to work great from the pictures. you seem skeptical lol. This method works wonders on old faded headlights
Since you will be sanding to restore the finish see if that will remove all the paint first - if you have trouble getting paint off some areas you might have to use the brake fluid soak with a brush.
love2fly
Flying the Mountains of the NW
Sorry I did not read the part that they were painted white. Plastic is a funny product and can be susceptible to many chemicals if too much is applied and for too long can soften the plastic and warp, dry it and crack and so on. The plastic molecular of Plexiglas, acrylic, Lucite, Shinkolite, etc. can change with harsh chemicals and cause inner heat build up breaking down the structure. The brake fluid is an old school method for removal of rust and paint from steel and such. If used for short times or just a test spot will most likely not hurt anything. Keep it off the side amber lens as it will turn it milky or fade it in time. It is made of a different type plastic. It will also dry out the glue that mounts the lens, and the lens will come out. That may be a good thing as you can re-glue (seal) it back into the mount. They tend to seep with age. Don't forget to flush or sock with a good dish cleaner like Dawn.
There are products out there that can be an alternatives if you take your time and do some investigating. One I have used was painters goo, it removes paint with a citrus additive for wood plastic and steel.
The paint you are referring to is it a vehicle paint (auto) or a rattle can type paint. You can take a razor blade and from some place on the underside do a scrap test to see the thickness until you see gray plastic, if it is rattle can you most likely will not have any problems removing it, but auto paint can be a problem especially if it was primed before paint. If you can melt the paint off so to speak, I would test buff the surface to get an idea if sanding with 2400 or finer wet and dry sandpaper would be necessary. If they are dry and badly faded after paint removal with light scratches then start a step sanding process to achieve a like new signal housing. You might try to find a product Ebay or ? called Micro-Mesh. It is a scratch kit with all the micro sanding paper for ultra sanding of plastic. I have used it for years on aircraft plastic windows with outstanding results, but you need to follow the directions to the tee or you can end up starting over again. Even good old hand buffing with a good plastic agent like Meguiar's plastic cleaner and polisher will do the trick. Tex40's method maybe a way to go but be careful of how long you soak.
Shoot some pictures of your project as you go if you need. This is a good post for folks that also maybe considering new replacements but are short on cash for new original manufacturer's equipment.
Cheers
http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_sacat=0&_nkw=micro+mesh+kit&_frs=1
There are products out there that can be an alternatives if you take your time and do some investigating. One I have used was painters goo, it removes paint with a citrus additive for wood plastic and steel.
The paint you are referring to is it a vehicle paint (auto) or a rattle can type paint. You can take a razor blade and from some place on the underside do a scrap test to see the thickness until you see gray plastic, if it is rattle can you most likely will not have any problems removing it, but auto paint can be a problem especially if it was primed before paint. If you can melt the paint off so to speak, I would test buff the surface to get an idea if sanding with 2400 or finer wet and dry sandpaper would be necessary. If they are dry and badly faded after paint removal with light scratches then start a step sanding process to achieve a like new signal housing. You might try to find a product Ebay or ? called Micro-Mesh. It is a scratch kit with all the micro sanding paper for ultra sanding of plastic. I have used it for years on aircraft plastic windows with outstanding results, but you need to follow the directions to the tee or you can end up starting over again. Even good old hand buffing with a good plastic agent like Meguiar's plastic cleaner and polisher will do the trick. Tex40's method maybe a way to go but be careful of how long you soak.
Shoot some pictures of your project as you go if you need. This is a good post for folks that also maybe considering new replacements but are short on cash for new original manufacturer's equipment.
Cheers
http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_sacat=0&_nkw=micro+mesh+kit&_frs=1
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I had a set that were painted black. The paint was faded and chipping off. I tried sanding but the paint was harder than the plastic so I ended up removing more plastic than I wanted and not enough paint. I then tried a spray on paint remover which melted the plastic and paint and turned it into a slurry of goo that hardened like concrete. It could not be sanded off. I gave up and got another set of housings that were never painted. They were quite chalky and faded. I did the sandpaper and polish method on them and they look good as new now.
I put a light coat of brake fluid on the worst of the two to let it soak overnight, will post up pics soon. Thanks all
Started some sanding......this could take forever. I wiped off excess brake fluid, seemed to want to react slightly with plastic, but not damage-not sure if I wil go all the way with sanding. It will be hard to get into some areas, what does everyone think??? Pics below.....
It doesn't look like the brake fluid did much. Maybe try scuffing the paint with sandpaper and then soaking them for longer. It may take several days for the brake fluid to bubble up the paint. You should also disassemble the entire assembly before soaking. You don't want the brake fluid to rust the thin metal parts inside...and it will. Good luck man. You are fighting an uphill battle. Paint really ruins these housings. You might be better off just trying to find an unpainted set.
Well that stinks - I would agree to soak some more but if it's too big of a pain I think I would just repaint and go with it - should be able to get several years our of good paint. The company that makes the aircraft strippers has a plastic stripper, but not sure what it would do to the amber housing
Both good inputs, thanks guys. The bummer is I know I will get the original color if I remove the paint. Spraying would be hit and miss-now that I look at my color and the color of the Krylon Fusion River Rock on the mister art site, I realize the OEM color is darker.....Going to try some more brake fluid tonight.
roadstr6 yours came out so nice, I am encouraged to keep at it-sadly the one pictured is not perfect, the one lower mounting tang is busted off. More pics tomorrow...............
Thanks, but please be aware that I ended up ruining my painted housings trying to strip the paint. I sourced another unpainted set which I sanded and polished to like new. Your results may vary. Best of luck to you and keep us posted. FWIW I do think brake fluid will work. RC guys use it all the time on the lexan RC bodies to strip paint back down for repainting. It takes time. You should really pull those things totally apart. You'll get a much better job and it's easy enough to do. Just soak the painted parts for a couple of days and see what happens.
Cool, I just noticed toyotaonlineparts has OEM units for $103 each........best price I have seen. Oh, well back to the stripping.......did that SOUND right???
The aftermarket ones look pretty good IMO and the price is...well....better.
Tried this before on a black plastic. It does sort of work but i'm thinking you need to practice a LOT to get the finish to come out even. At least that was my problem. Some parts got a bit hotter then others so got more shine then other spots. But i was afrad to overdo it be left with a lump of molten stuff
The reason why this worked is because they're NOT painted. It's just the plastic that has "weathered" and therefor turn white. You can sand it down and buf it up, and it'll be good as new
So here is 3 days of work...................slow going and lots of exposure to brake fluid.................
Brake fluid is corrosive. It rusts metal and corrodes copper. Please disassemble that housing before you ruin all the thin metal parts inside. The lens gaskets on these things are not great and are leaking brake fluid inside I'd wager. You have exposed wiring inside and three places where bulbs make contact not to mention the metal springs. What good is a restored exterior if the insides rot out? It literally takes 5 minutes to disassemble. Rant over....
The housings are coming along. Looking good! Keep it going man.
The housings are coming along. Looking good! Keep it going man.
