removing paint from plastic

taff try fine wet & dry then polish up with brasso metal polish.
try small patch its how they get scratches out of plastic baths?



or just paint over ?

go to your local auto body supply house and ask a decent sales person to point u in the direction of a plastic safe paint stripper/ remover
(chemical type ) this is how i would do it unless its already scratched(sand scrathes from too coarse of grit abrasive used during prep... most people dont wash **** before painting let alone sand it .. ) using the chemical stripper will give u a better chance in possibly making it look like it was never painted ... also if u arent able to find the stripper where u live (they seem to be on every corner when u dont need one! lol) i have also had success using plastic prep solvents ( S.E.M. makes some good ones )
to remove rattle can paint jobs.. oh if u decide u are going to paint it ... do not sand with any grit coarser than 320 and make sure u touch up any 320 spots with 600 grit .. or i like the white 3 m scotch brite pads personally cuz the are equivellent in grit to a fine paper and easier to work in tight areas ... my reason for saying nothing coarser is when u sand plastic with a coarse git it actualy lifys little "hairs " of plastic that when primed or painted become very apperant and usually require multiple blocking and primer sessions to tame bake to smooth .. if u are gonna paint someting ... either do it right ... or dont fu.... touch it ..( one of my on its way to famous sayings to all my friends and customers that " i was just trying to help " o a little venting never hurt .. hope this helps ( it may not sound like it at the moment .. but i actaully do this stuff for a living ... a living that could use some more toys! )
i hope this helps oh and for god sakes if u do repaint use a bloody plastic adhesion promoter ( bull dog i believe is the brand i use here in cali .. it also is recomended to ad 10- 20 % in bases and some clears to increase flexibility in top coat , if u prime it first dont forget to add some to primer too ! let me know if u have any questions and im offically requsting pics when youre done :wink:

Taffy ,
Depending on the quality of paint used and the level of prep done to the bare plastic . Try laquer type paint thinner to see if it breaks down the paint . If it does, contiue this process . If not, find a urethane safe paint stripper (one designed for removing paint film from flexible facia on automobiles ) .
After paint film has been removed IF dull spots or sand scratches are
apparent you can : if plastic is smooth such as fenders , wet sand with fine grit paper ie. 1500,2000 then buff by hand or machine with polishing compound . If plastic is textured such as standard fuel tank use heat gun to warm plastic and lift moulded color back to top of panel will also melt in the rough edge of scratches and hide them pretty well . This is a trial and error process dont stay in one spot to long with direct heat or pannel will become blotchy .

Kind regards, Ryan

If the paint is of the rattle can variety and is already flaking and looking bad chances are the paint is not high quality and will be easy to remove. I would get a couple of gallons of cheapo lacquer thinner and pour it into a five gallon pale with a lid. Completely immerse the tank in the thinner for an hour or two and then using some painters gloves remove the paint with a grey Scotch Brite pad soaked in the thinner.

Keep your soaking pale handy as you can soak side covers, cylinders etc. for days and the paint will usually bubble right up without much elbow grease needed.

I wouldn't soak the the plastic tank for extended periods of time as the thinner may start to attack the plastic with say overnight soaking, but being a fuel tank chances are probably slim to none.

I also would be careful soaking plastic parts other than fuel tanks as the thinner will probably attack the plastic at some point.