Paint thinner to clean layers of paint out of the fins of a grill?

[Rack]

Is that a bad idea? Is the paint thinner bad for the plastic?

Whoever had this car before me painted the grill several times. There's 2 layers of black, and 2 layers of silver/gray.

[Rack]

So I guess it's a bad idea, huh?

[AirborneSilva]

I don't know if it's a bad idea or not, I'm still waiting to see if you get any answer from our resident experts so I will know too 

[Troy]

Gee, you waited a whole 3 hours for a reply...

Paint thinner will probably be a pain. Oven cleaner may work as well. Probably the best thing to do would be drop it off at your local (plastic) media blaster and pick it up when it's clean. Getting in between all those fins will take forever if you do it by hand but it's probably possible.

Troy

[Daytona R/T SE]

I know a guy that used to restore plastic model cars, to strip the paint he would soak them in Pine-Sol cleaner, full strength-it would strip the paint, but not harm the plastic. Might be worth a try on your grille?

[terrible one]

I know a guy that used to restore plastic model cars, to strip the paint he would soak them in Pine-Sol cleaner, full strength-it would strip the paint, but not harm the plastic. Might be worth a try on your grille?

I think I'll test this on a scrap piece of grill with the silver paint on it.

[Rack]

I know a guy that used to restore plastic model cars, to strip the paint he would soak them in Pine-Sol cleaner, full strength-it would strip the paint, but not harm the plastic. Might be worth a try on your grille?

I wish I'd been more patient. It's just that I've been wanting to get this grill ready for paint for awhile now. If only I'd waited a little longer to read your post...


A bit of advice to everyone out there... DO NOT USE PAINT THINNER TO STRIP THE PAINT OUT OF THE FINS ON YOUR GRILL.

[Rack]

Ok so I started working on the passenger side of the grill assembly. Washed it down real good with simple green, then started wet sanding with 400 grit paper.


Was half way done sanding the grill door "casing" when I realized there's a piece missing. The "Elbow", or whatever it's called, is gone. It's the part that is the lower outer corner (when looking at the grill assembled). So I spent all that time working on it (and it was coming along well too) and I can't even use it. Other then that "elbow" the casing is good. Kind of sucks, but I'll have to find a new one.


Are there any differences between the '69 passenger side of the grill assembly and the '68 passenger side of the grill assembly?


Also, anyone got a driver's side grill headlight door layin' around that they wouldn't mind selling?

[Silver R/T]

try mild chemicals first. I would see if wax and grease remover would take it off. If not try something stronger.

[CornDogsCharger]

When I was restoring my friend's '70 GTX grille I blasted it with glass beads and it worked just fine.  Next time I think I might try some sort of chemical stripper just because the blasting is good, but still very time consuming... especially if the paint is tough.  I might strip the paint, then clean it up with the blaster.

Justin
"CornDog"

[BigBlockSam]

just power wash it then sand with 400 wet. that what i'm doing. i'm using fusion paint on it . Rene

[Rack]

just power wash it then sand with 400 wet. that what i'm doing. i'm using fusion paint on it . Rene

Yeah but I got impatient with the sanding every single little fin, one at a time. It looks horrible now after I tried the paint thinner. I'm hoping that soda blasting it will clear it up, at least enough for me to salvage it.

[4402tuff4u]

I would suggest a water based paint/varnish remover - gel type. You can leave it and continue applying it until all the paint peel's off and hit with a good high pressure garden hose nozzle. I would consult a paint shop or your local hardware store (owner - not the kid behind the counter) and tell them what you are doing to assure yourself that the "paint remover" is compatible and not destructive to plastic.