how to get paint off a plastic mag?

[Philphine]

just picked up a bike with yellow mags that have been painted black. i don't know what type of paint or the brand of mag (don't see a name. looks like a skyway copy). i'd like to get them back to yellow.

anyone know if any of the chemical type strippers might mess up the plastic, or do i just avoid it all together and start sanding?
thanks.

 

[Ratfink1962]

oven cleaner?

 

[HotRodRob]

SuperClean. Needs to soak for a while. You would need quite a bit to submerse the whole wheel though.

 

[Philphine]

i don't know what superclean is. is it expensive? where would i look for it?

i don't know about oven cleaner either. are you asking if i considered it, or asking if it would work?

found some spray on paint remover i had on the shelf, but i'm holding off to see what kind of opinions i might get on it. or i may spray a mag scooter wheel i have laying around and see what happens to it first.

 

[Ratfink1962]

Wondering if oven cleaner would do the job. I think its not quite as agressive as regular paint stripper.

At any rate, just try a small spot to see if it removes the paint without dorking up the plastic.

Last resort would be to sand them.

 

[Ken Nighplay]

You could try '3M safe stripper', it is very mild and wont burn skin. It will soften the paint enough so that you can scrub it off with 3M green pad. I have used it to strip polyurethane off of fiberglass doors.

 

[HotRodRob]

i don't know what superclean is. is it expensive? where would i look for it?

i don't know about oven cleaner either. are you asking if i considered it, or asking if it would work?

found some spray on paint remover i had on the shelf, but i'm holding off to see what kind of opinions i might get on it. or i may spray a mag scooter wheel i have laying around and see what happens to it first.

Superclean is made by Castrol( that makes motor oil) and found in most auto supply stores and pretty inexpensive. I use to use oven cleaner on plastic model kits and it never hurt the plastic so either one should be safe.

 

[Philphine]

thanks everyone. i think i'm going to start with spraying the spray stripper on the scooter mag since i have it already. if i can find it in the dark (i'll get home from work after midnight) i can spray the scooter mag tonight and see what it looks like in the morning. if it messes it up, i'll pick up some oven cleaner next and go from there. thanks again.

 

[Ratfink1962]

Not telling you how to go about your business.... but if your gonna use the spray stripper, I sure wouldnt let it sit all night! especially if your not sure if it will attack the plastic. Maybe spray a small spot and if its gonna work the paint will bubble up within a few minutes. make sure you wash it off with water to neutralize afterwards.

Good luck with it.

 

[Philphine]

no, i'm home now and found it. i see it says for metal and not to let it sit. i'll wait 'til i can pick up some oven cleaner and start there.

 

[Philphine]

the oven cleaner looks like it's gonna work.

i sprayed it on and let it sit, then used steel wool to scrub it off. the wheels are kinda rough in a way, lots of nicks and scratches (they some kind of troxel, by the way), so getting them perfect won't amount to a whole lot anyway.

i only did one side of one wheel because i needed to spray, let it sit, then scrub, and repeat over a few cycles and i needed to go to work. but i think i'll end up with yellow mags once i'm done.

thanks everyone.