I got a pair of S5s that the Prev owner "PAINTED" over them (blasphmy) but im wondering if theres a way to safely get the paint off without scraching them... i was thinking Aircraft Paint Thinner and 1500 grit sandpaper... any other ideas on getting it off safely?

 

is it overspray or did he actually paint them?

either way your best bet would be 1500 or 2000 wet paper followed by rubbing compound once you get through the paint...

DO NOT use reducer, you WILL fubar those taillights if you put thinner on them...

basically sand all the paint off with wet paper and then using rubbing compound bring back the shine once the paint is gone

 

This is what happened, the "good" one has alittle paint on it and then the other one is Fubarded....(you know what i ment)

 

oh my good lord.....

well the left tail is salvageable (provided you can live with any marks on it) but the small line of paint on there should be easily sanded/buffed off.....

the right tail light however....is ******' gone man....I would say its worth a shot, but around here I think of things in shop time, and at $48/hour I can't see you'll be able to ressurect that one for the cost of another......

if you CAN save that right taillight, let me know, I need some miracles worked around the shop too, you could probably help.......hehehe

 

Damn I think it's a long shot. You have nothing to lose at this point and you can always buff the plastic after the wet sanding or use meguires plastic polish.

Good luck

 

what the hell was someone thinking when they did that... I mean F'N EH!!!

Thats like putting a beetle front end on a rolls royce... lol

 

Actualy in chich and chong up in smoke(yes, i watched it, no im not a dope head) Tommy had a Bug with a RollsRoyice Grill on it....
Im gona giver a shot... maby Orange Away or somthing might help without hurting it to bad... welll worst to worse, my S5s have a blemish on the left side, maybe ill just take the paint off and use it and sell the other for cheap... Any One Want a Super Riced S5 Tail? Ill let you know if I can do it...

 

there is a paint remover for plastic bumpers... you cold try that

 

Holy ****!
I was gonna say paint thinner but that'll prolly cloud it or something.
Man, I had overspray on mine, came off with using oil... IDK about that, damn,
but paint remover on plastic could save that. Go to Paint Store. Ask The "Dud"

 

man whoever did that needs to be shot or thrown in a civic

 

my adivce..get some paint thinner....not aircraft remover,ive used that ****,,wayyyyyyyy too powerful!! itll rip clear coat,base coat,and base coat off in 3 minutes!!!!but ya,use regualr paint remover(aka paint trhinner)and rub it in real fast..then get a seperat dry towel and rub it off...FAST..adn nont by any means have water on those tail lights,,,and if by any chance he sanded the lens's down..um 2000 grit it for a whileand then use some compound on those len's

ya i took auto body,,i used to deal with that **** all the time

 

Dont you mean thrown AT a civic? anyway ill try that too... but first i have a few ideas that im going to try, then i can be the offical S5 TAILIGHTS CLEANER GUY!!!! LOL

 

you ever put real paint thinner on a plastic taillight?
it WILL soften the plastic, no question about it....

the safest way to attempt this is wetsanding - bottom line

You took auto body eh? My father and I run a body shop here in southern Ontario and I can garuntee you BAR NONE that real paint thinner (not chincy gunwash) WILL fubar those taillights even more so then they currently are...

If you're that confident about advising this guy to use paint thinner on his taillights, why don't you go out right now and try it on your car?

Im not trying to be a ***** but TRUST ME it will soften the plastic....How do I know? I have already made the mistake of assuming on a customers vehicle and it cost me a new taillight.......

 

try a clay bar?
I know it removes overspray and shitty paint pretty good.. you might have to rub for a long time to get all that off though..

 

well, im going to try and wetsand it with 1500 Wetordry by M3... I did pick this up however. Its Called 5 Minute Optical Polish... says itll remove scraching, hazing, Pitting and stuff..., It might help if i gooberem up to much... I have hopes i can save this victim of ricerness... btw, ive never wetsanded before, is it hard? lol i guess i should mentioned this before... anyway wish me luck...

 

wetsanding is very easy.....in more ways than one

All that means is because its so fine it takes a long time to get through the material

That polish should work fine for removing the wetsanding "haze" (its actually very very very fine scratches) from the lens after the paint is gone

The biggest thing with wetsanding is, its wetsanding - keep the paper wet - the water is there to aid as a lube and an abrasive at the same time, so keep it nice and wet......

 

What do you think about this... using Orange Away Instead of water? maby so i dont have to Sand as hard and long and fewer "scraches" It says that its harmless to plastic... I tried it on the black backing plastic that got oversprayed and it worked quite well, but also it wasnt a full Good coat, more like splater... Leme know what you think and thank you for the info so far...

 

is the orange away like the handcleaner?or just a liquid?

because if it has any type of pummice in it I wouldn't recommend it

But if its just a liquid, I can't see that it will hurt to use it as opposed to water, and if its only a very mild citrus based cleaner you shouldn't have any problems as far as the plastic going soft is concerned

 

cool thanks, its a liquid cleaner with "THE POWER OF ORANGES" lol... ill giver a shot in alittle...

 

well, almost an hour and nada... im picking up a 800 and 1500 grit and an a drill pit for sanding... seems to be uber smooth and has ether a thick coat or two coats... i rubed my finger across an the unpainted areas seemed lower than the rest... what kinda paint could he have used???

 

ya just painted it on purpose.....and then i used wally world paintthinner...

guess what


i was right

you just have to do it fast...thast all

 

DAYM SOO MUCH HATE... if that was done right it COULD look nice.