Honda Spree and Elite 50 Forums

I just acquired an 86 Spree and am going to do a complete rebuild and general fix-up on it. I'm only doing it for retail as I have my share of Sprees, so I'm more concerned with the way it runs vs how it looks. However, some fecalbrain used a spray can to recover all the plastic and it looks terrible. Paint runs, bubbles etc. Has anyone ever removed paint from the plastic before? Is there a stripper that won't harm the plastic? Does it have to be totally sanded? Like I said, it's for retail, but I would hate to have anyone say they got it from Jerry and it looked like it does now......

Jerry,

Does aircraft stripper work on plastic? I know it does on aluminum.

I hate strippers. You never get all of it off, and it eat the new paintjob. Rattlecan paint is pretty soft; I'd plan on sanding the whole thing down with 400 grit wet dry, with water, to remove it. Follow with 600 grit. Then repaint.

You could use more aggressive paper (220 or 320) but you will then need to use a building primer and wetsand with lighter stuff.

Lacquer thinner will also remove this paint, but can make a mess. It also removes the factory paint pretty well on the SMC parts. Either way you'll need a respray.

I'm not worried about respraying. I know I have to do that, but I'm not sure if any of the gel type paint strippers (like for furniture) will harm the plastic. That's my main concern. I'm wondering if anyone has ever tried it......

i used acetone on mine, it seemed to be alright, it was just a real b****.