Topic: Spray paint removal on interior panels

[willie27]

Wondering if anyone has been successful with a 'tried and true' method of removing spray paint off of interior fiberglass panels without damaging the grain.  My panels from my 67 Fastback are in excellent condition except a previous owner (poorly) sprayed with a two-toned gloss black and grey.

Along a similar topic, was there ever an interior option where the upper rear interior panels were a gloss black enamel-type finish?  I have attached a picture.  If this is original, any thoughts on if/how it can be restored (finish is scratched and also chipped toward the edges) and if not original, any thoughts on how this enamel can be removed.

Garth   

[Bob Gaines]

Wondering if anyone has been successful with a 'tried and true' method of removing spray paint off of interior fiberglass panels without damaging the grain.  My panels from my 67 Fastback are in excellent condition except a previous owner (poorly) sprayed with a two-toned gloss black and grey.

Along a similar topic, was there ever an interior option where the upper rear interior panels were a gloss black enamel-type finish?  I have attached a picture.  If this is original, any thoughts on if/how it can be restored (finish is scratched and also chipped toward the edges) and if not original, any thoughts on how this enamel can be removed.

Garth   

You might do a search I know I have posted on at least two different recent discussion on this subject. Since gloss black or any sheen black was not a correct factory interior color in 1967-70 it is not original . Dark Grey metallic is what was used not black. 

[J_Speegle]

Along a similar topic, was there ever an interior option where the upper rear interior panels were a gloss black enamel-type finish?  I have attached a picture.  ...

Nope - no option. Beginning in 67 Ford used Dark Charcoal Metallic in place of black though still referred to it as black in sales and other documents. Over the years MANY owners found it just easier to grab black as use it - because it was easier  Get to stripping after you find the read the other threads Bob was  referring to

Have fun and don't think too unkindly about the PO. Sure he spent some time putting the pretty gloss black on everything

[midlife]

Search on the term "Easy Off Oven Cleaner".

[willie27]

Found a few posts that I can try.  I think I must have been limiting my search when I first looked.  Should be a busy Sunday!

Garth

[J_Speegle]

Found a few posts that I can try.  I think I must have been limiting my search when I first looked.  Should be a busy Sunday!

Garth

Should not be a ton of posts. We tend to visit a subject once or twice and encourage going back to the original threads to continue the same discussion, add it it or offer new experiences as long at the thread is not too old, rather than having a dozen threads all about the same thing   Of course this does not apply once we break some subjected down by plant, month and other details

Good luck, have fun and take precautions

[DKutz]

I tried oven cleaner.  Worked ok but didn't take off enough.  Try some citrus based stripped, clear orange bottle from home depot

[Smokey 15]

 Patience is your friend. Allow the stripper to work before trying removal. I have had good luck using my pressure washer (on gentle pressure setting) to remove stripper/paint on parts that I can anchor down well with wire through the factory attachment points. On some smaller parts, I have actually held them (wearing heavy gloves) while my wife sprayed them with the washer. Yes, I got soaked a bit. It never damaged any grain as I took my time and kept pressure to a minimum.

[willie27]

Thought I'd add couple of techniques here that worked quite well with no chemical mess, fumes or risk to the parts.  I did start with the Easy-Off method and didn't have much success.  I was more than a little nervous about leaving it on too long and ruining the grain so I probably didn't give it the proper chance.  Picturing Smokey15 holding the parts while his wife sprayed him - oh yah - while his wife sprayed the parts, I thought I could used the same principle with my air compressor.  With the compressor at 120 psi, I started with the rear upper-most parts - two wrap-around panels and upper back panel. With the smooth surface of these parts (at least mine are smooth and not grained - not sure if they are supposed to be), the paint flew off - took me less than 20 minutes to do all three.  I had the same results with the metal trim moldings.  I then moved on to the lower quarter trim panels.  Using the air compressor was effective using the end of the nozzle to gently scrape at the paint until the air could get under the paint and blow it off.  As the surface is grained, sometimes the paint would come off quick and sometime not (curved areas were troublesome) - took me several hours on one panel to get a little better than half-way.  Is was a little like tattoo removal with a laser - only slower.  Time to try something else.  My eyes settled upon some roles of plastic hockey tape on my shelf and I thought I might as well try.  Absolute magic - took me about 15 minutes to finish that panel - pulling the paint (all the paint) off in nice long strips leaving nothing but the factory surface.  It took about 30 minutes to finish about 90% of the other panel and about 15 minutes to do the entire trap door.  I came across a few trouble spots where the paint did not want to lift easily so just worked those areas with air/tape/air/tape, etc...until it was clean.  I next moved to my doors that were also spray painted.  Using the tape to pull the paint off in strips took me less than 30 minutes to clean one door.  It goes without saying that the effectiveness of these methods may vary depending on how much the surface was prepped prior to paint, if a primer was used and the type of paint used.  But for my particular circumstances, very pleased with the results.

Sorry for the overly long post
Garth
67 Fastback C-code
Metuchen Jan.16, 1967

[Smokey 15]

 Thank You.  And you didn't even get wet!!! 

[ragtop]

Probably too late for this, but I've used Easy Off oven cleaner with great success on our 69 SportsRoof interior panels.  The paint just slides right off with water after you spray on the cleaner, preserving the grain pattern in the plastic.   It's been some time since I did this, but the interior panels on our car were light blue and had been painted black due to a previous owner's interior change.  The rear quarter panels had gotten scratched up, exposing the light blue.  I wanted a fresh start, so I sprayed them down with Easy Off and then took them out behind my shop and hosed them off.  All the dye came right off.  No nasty residuals or anything.  I was amazed at how easily it worked.  I would be leery of any citrus oil based removers, however.  We used lots of that stuff in a small business that I owned for about 15 years and found that it was unpredictable on many plastic surfaces.

[1967 eight barrel]

Yes, I know I am quite late in the game, but I had the same issue. Aircraft stripper for fiberglass nor did Easy Off get the job done. I had Xtreme Powder coating in Grand Prairie, TX. Plastic media blast them. It was done at low pressure and did absolutely noting to the grain or integrity of the panels. I am completely happy with them. I do recommend that you use an adhesion agent. I used Bulldog. I shot them, and followed up with three light coats of color, then I used vintage clear over them. They reason I love vintage clear is because the sheen can be controlled just by adding more or less hardener.
The Product will yield flat, eggshell or semi gloss. I recommended the 10% addition of urethane reducer, as it flows better and allows very thin coats so you don't fill in the texture. I know the crowd here is going to say that isn't how Ford did it, but it yields an equal result and as Bob says: No one is going to know but you!
I used two stage in the engine compartment, and it looks factory, but so much more durable than factory single stage.
This is especially with a big block shoe horned in.
I hope this is helpful...

[Bob Gaines]

For the easy off cleaner to work it is absolutely essential you use the version with LYE . Typically marked Heavy Duty. There are different versions. It seems the heavy duty version is the most expensive. If you use the version without lye then you are wasting your time. I used to swear by lacquer thinner bath . I like many tried with little to no success. When it was brought to my attention about the LYE I tried it again this time with success. I still had to do it in several coats to get the 3 coats of paint off  but now I have changed my mind on what I use for that job. Just my experience.

[J_Speegle]

Wonder what your interior panels were painted with if the earlier recommendations didn't work for you as they have for many others. Might be the reason for the difference in results

[1967 eight barrel]

Bob, yes. The yellow can. I have been building plastic models since I was 7. I am actually a professional. Easy Off is an old trick that many of us have used over the years to remove paint from plastic kits that had issues. The blue can is the "Commiefornia" version with no fumes that doesn't touch enamel. The Yellow Can has lye, and as you stated can be very effective for removal of paint. I had the same issue with the upper trim in my vehicle, I even bought the "Aircraft stripper" that is made for fiberglass. It didn't get it done either, which is why I had to have someone who did low pressure plastic media blasting. I found it interesting that they made the seat backs in color, but the rest of the trim was all a natural fiberglass color and were painted to match.