Side panel/fender paint removal?

[Esih]

Has anyone had any success with a chemical stripper to get the paint off of the side pieces/fender?


I spent the better part of the day sanding through the giant white & grey decals on my 1990 (paint is totally faded, redoing the same color) and really didn't make much progress.


I tried a bit of Interlux's fiberglass paint stripper (made for boats) on the small piece that fits over the taillight, but either i applied too much, or it eats the plastic too fast...


My next step is to pick up a small orbital sander to make the process a bit easier.

[hmmmnz]

ok the best thing to do is heat up the decal and remove the sticker in one go. itll leave a residue, i just used some wd40 and a stanley knifeblade (i think you guys call them box cutters??)
and scraped most of the stuff off, then all you need is some wet and dry to get the rest off, you dont need to get all the orignal paint off just the gloss off the top, shouldnt take very long at all it took me a morning to do a all the tail panels on a srad including the seat cowl.
have fun

[Onlypastrana199]

I was in the garage when my uncle was stripping mine...he set it on top of a kerosene heater and stripped the paint off that way, when it got warm enough it peeled right off and left the factory primer...little sanding then, reprimered and all better...he did a not so hot job on the tank though...if I look really close I can still see where the stickers were...

[Esih]

Unfortunately I have to strip and sand because there are a some gashes in the finish from the PO when he dropped it.


Thanks for the input.

[3imo]

Chemical strippers are not to be used on plastics or fiberglass.


To remove stickers, heat and peal, then goo-gone or laquer thinner.

Then sand by hand.  DO NOT use power sanders on plastic.   

then again, who am I to tell you what to do.   

[Chuck]

Unfortunately I have to strip and sand because there are a some gashes in the finish from the PO when he dropped it.

Fill the gash with bondo.  Sand it until the raised part of the gash and the bondo are flush with the rest of the surface.  Primer the whole piece.  Paint and clearcoat.  This is actually less work, and doesn't chemically dissolve your fairing.

[Straymonolith]

Do you have to primer the plastic sidecovers? I'd think you would with the fiberglass, but with plastic?

[Chuck]

Do you have to primer the plastic sidecovers? I'd think you would with the fiberglass, but with plastic?

Oh, actually I'm not sure.  I've only done metal and fiberglass.  I'd do whatever it says on the can.

[3imo]

Primer everything.  It is a PRIMER.
Plus it will allow you a few micrometers to sand real smooth and get a nice finish.

You don't have to wet sand the primer but IMO it helps with a final product in the end.

[Chris2P]

I removed my tank sticker using a heat gun.  Once the vinyl is soft you can peel it off with your fingers, piece by pice.  Then I sprayed carb cleaner on a rag and rubbed it in the sticker residual really good.  About a minute per letter.  It doesnt take it off but breaks it down.  Then I used my fingernail to remove the sticker residual, it just curled right off.


Chris

[Esih]

The most painful part of this process has been the decal removal.



Its a 16 year old bike with severely faded (from sun)paint, the decal residue is really baked in. I've been using a blow dryer on the hottest setting and heating up the vinyl and using a razor blade to peel it off, but its still a very slow process. The grey strip came off pretty easy, but the wider white decal has been a nightmare.


The hand sanding is of course a PITA, but I suppose thats why body shops charge $125 an hour for labor.


Is there an issue with just sanding right through the decal residue? Aside from the fact that it slows the sanding process substantially.

[3imo]

Sanding over a decal to remove it can leave the surrounding area lower than the area previously covered by the decal.

Usually it isn't noticeable but I've seen a few times where you could tell the shape of the sticker even after the paint was laid.

If you go that route, try a thin layer of bondo and get a really smooth finish. When you wetsand the area (wet=shiny) see if you can tell where the decal was.