Help With Removing Spray Paint From Fiberglass
- Thread starter Jeep2000
- Start date
I would try ez-off oven cleaner. I have used it on may things and it doesn't hurt the original paint. I was trying to get blue paint off of a plastic black Cat dominator tank for hours with acetone and then used the ez-off and the paint just peeled right off. It has to be ez-off, the other brands don't work. Wear gloves, that stuff eats your skin off. lol
I agree with Manchester...ez-off oven cleaner rinse well then power buff slowly/lightly with a slow speed power buffer (so you don't burn the finish) and fast cut buffing compound,then medium cut buffing compound then hand rub with final finish etc. Keep the pad slightly damp with a water spray bottle while buffing. I'd try a small spot first to see how well it works but this usually works well though.
Paint Stripper. Do not use acetone on gel goat. Do not use MEK. Both of those solvents eat Gelcoat and FRP resins, even cured.
If it makes you feel any better, marine chandlerys sell paint stripper formulated specifically for removing paint from gelcoat, however, you can use paint strippers sold at auto parts stores, etc. Don't leave it on over night.
Note that you should do smaller segments at a time, just like stripping anything else. Note that the gelcoat might have been sanded to accept the paint by the person's who painted it. Scraping the paint and remover off can also cause scratches. I'd use a pressure washer to remove the lifted paint.
Expect to wet sand, then buff the gelcoat once the paint has been removed.
If it makes you feel any better, marine chandlerys sell paint stripper formulated specifically for removing paint from gelcoat, however, you can use paint strippers sold at auto parts stores, etc. Don't leave it on over night.
Note that you should do smaller segments at a time, just like stripping anything else. Note that the gelcoat might have been sanded to accept the paint by the person's who painted it. Scraping the paint and remover off can also cause scratches. I'd use a pressure washer to remove the lifted paint.
Expect to wet sand, then buff the gelcoat once the paint has been removed.
If that does not work well enough for you another option would be to wet sand it then buff in the same stages I mentioned in my earlier post reply. I'd probably use somewhere around 1000 grit for that using a flat sponge type color sanding pad by hand keeping it very wet with a water spray bottle mixed with a bit of mild dish soap and sand it very uniformly and lightly in small sections carefully to not sand through the clear coat that's coving the original blue paint and keep it all rinsed well while doing so.
Easy off oven cleaner is Lye, pretty dangerous to start there. I would recommend you start with a less caustic solution and work up rather than starting at the most caustic first. Also, if there are any cracks of pinholes in the gel coat/fiberglass you will get contamination down in the voids, when you try to paint over it the acid will lift off and make blisters in the paint. Sometimes months later. Start gentle and then work up to aggressive procedures.
There "is" a marine industry out there where paint is routinely removed from multi-million dollar yachts. It ain't lye, and it's not sand paper. Cove stripes, accents, water lines, hailing ports, and boat names, all painted on, all require removal at some point in their lives from the gelcoat, without damaging the gelcoat in any way. Some of the products we also used for bottom paint removal as in some marinas, sanding is a major environmental hassle.
https://www.westmarine.com/paint-remover
https://www.westmarine.com/paint-remover