how do you strip the interior paint
 

what is the best way(s) to strip the interior paint.

what is the best way to strip the interior paint. i would not like to use sand paper. i was thinking more along the line of like a solvent that removes the paint.

Sandpaper should only be used if you are using bondo and primer, otherwise you could seriously screw up your finish...I think...smoother the better

Im also interested in which products would be safe to use as a paint stripper for the plastic. Im thinking of trying Goof Off, but I'm not that well read when it comes to paint stripping. I think if you're going to be repainting the pieces, plastic discoloration shouldnt be considered much of a problem, as long as it retains an even finish

yeah anything that will take it off evenly without melting the plactic... i used gas to get off the paint on a small tamiya model but it melted it... stupid me.

Removing paint chemically
 

Okay, the one thing I know about is paint. Now, chemically removing paint from plastic is a problem. THis is because paint thats common now adays contains some form of "plastic". Any solvent that gets rid of paint will attack plastic. Now, if you use really small amounts of something like mek (methyl ethyl keytone) or if you can get your hands on it some 111 trichlorolethane (not sure if thats spelled right) and a scrub brush, it wont "melt" the plastic. THe plastic will be a little rough on the outside though, but it wont deform. You will have to then sand it down. If its textured, you're screwed, cause it will look like crap. If its not, use some 300 grit, then 600 grit, then 1000 grit sandpaper, and finish it off with some plastic swirl and scratch mark remover. You wont get away with just dipping the part in a bucket in waiting. Its gonna take a lot of time. CHemically removing paint from metal is much easier. Methylene Chloride is the key. Too bad its controlled. Well, hope that helped someone.

i did this a few years ago...i used some oven cleaner stuff. Very strong so make sure you ventilate well. I just sprayed and let it bubble a little then went at it with some green scuff pads and all came off fine. Washed the pieces thoroughly with soap and water and then sanded/prepped for paint. The parts came out EXCELLENT.

make sure you take your time and are careful with the pieces.

the only part i didn't do originally was the ashtray as I thought it would be kinda hard to get it right. I will do it one of these days.....but for the purpose of showing before and after i included some pics. Night and day between the old finish(ash tray) and the gloss finish i put on.