Paint Removal From Plastic Options

[DennisO]

Hi,

Has anyone has success with removing automotive paint from the tail light housing and the wiring harness? I think a 6yr old painted my car, as the harness and tail light housings are covered with a lot of red paint.


I searched the site and found several that used acetone. I tried this and it discolored my tail light housing. Anyone have success with something else that did not destroy the wire (eg remove stripes) or discolor the housings?

Thanks,
Dennis

[DennisO]

I did some goggle searches on using Brake fluid to remove paint on plastic. Several references cautioned against using brake fluid on plastic (especially ABS plastic) as it will make it brittle and prone to cracking. Brake fluid reservoirs are made of a plastic, but use specially formulated plastic that handles the brake fluid.

i planned to try brake fluid on my harness that has been painted completely red, but I sure don't want the insulation to become brittle. Does anyone have any experience with this?

[bbrock]

I did some goggle searches on using Brake fluid to remove paint on plastic. Several references cautioned against using brake fluid on plastic (especially ABS plastic) as it will make it brittle and prone to cracking. Brake fluid reservoirs are made of a plastic, but specially use formulated plastic that handles the brake fluid.

i planned to try brake fluid on my harness that has been painted completely red, but I sure don't want the insulation to become brittle. Does anyone have any experience with this?

This is very interesting because I found the brake fluid noticeably REDUCED brittleness of my wire insulation. I soaked many lengths of wire that I used to patch my harness in a bucket of brake fluid for several days until the paint softened. The wires came out more soft and supple than they went in. They looked and felt like brand new wire and have remained so several months later. My main concern with the brake fluid was having it soak into the wire strands, so keep the ends out of the fluid if you can. After rinsing mine, I sprayed 3M contact cleaner into the cut ends as an extra measure. Hopefully that was enough. I haven't seen any signs of corrosion.

No doubt that brake fluid is nasty stuff though, so you are right to be cautious. If I were doing this again, I'd try the Brasso or Graffiti remover suggested by others first.