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str8strm · 09-20-2005, 01:44 PM

We would like to touch up the paint on our spare tire cover (?some kind of plastic?) and I am trying to get the old paint off. It is cracked everywhere and would leave a textured look if we just painted over it. I have tried steel wool, pressure washing, scotchbrite pads and 100 grit sand paper with No results. Can you use a paint stripper on that plastic? thanks Debbie

overlander63 · 09-20-2005, 05:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by str8strm

We would like to touch up the paint on our spare tire cover (?some kind of plastic?) and I am trying to get the old paint off. Can you use a paint stripper on that plastic? thanks Debbie

Debbie, I think what you have is a gel coat on the fiberglass cover. In order to do it right, it would have to be sanded smooth, and re-coated. This is like a fiberglass boat hull, and can be refinished as you would a fiberglass boat.

jaiman · 09-20-2005, 05:56 PM

Mine is made of high denisty plastic like ABS. It is painted metalic silver/grey probably with an automotive urethane. I would not use paint stripper as it would probably etch the plastic and lose the smooth surface it has now. I dont believe it would be gel coated fiberglass. A good way to see if it is would be to look on the inside you should be able to see the pattern of the fiberglass cloth if it is. I would suggest sanding with 180 then working your way up to 400 grit to remove the scratches left by the more abrasive 180. Use an orbital sander. Take your time and sand evenly with each grit of paper. You may have to use a sprayfil type primer before topcoating.

str8strm · 09-20-2005, 07:27 PM

It seems to be a plastic, not fiberglass, so I will try the orbital sander Debbie

Chaplain Kent · 09-28-2005, 06:38 AM

Mine had a clear plastic coating laminated to the cover, it was cracked in many places looking textured. I used a heat gun and removed that layer leaving just the smooth plastic underneath. Be careful though, you can easily scratch the surface when it it hot. After removing all of the coating I used WD-40 to remove any remaining adhesives, scrubbed with TSP and painted with Rust-O-Leum spray paint.

str8strm · 09-28-2005, 09:55 AM

Thanks Kent I found a stripper for plastic and it took most of it off I will try the heat gun (hair dryer?) for the rest, also found some metallic charcoal gray paint made for bumpers. How did you do the gray on the bumpers? sand and paint? Debbie

ALANSD · 09-28-2005, 10:44 AM

Yes. You can fill any bad spots with a bondo filler resin if needed.

Chaplain Kent · 09-28-2005, 11:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by str8strm

How did you do the gray on the bumpers? sand and paint? Debbie

I used the same process for the plastic bumpers as I did on the spare tire cover. They were washed with a solution of TSP and then painted with Rust-O-Leum. I have some bad cracks in the back where the metal bumper had been pushed in. After I straightened the bumper I decided to leave the cracks as they are- after all this coach is 23 years old and deserves some battle scars. I also painted the metal trim under the aluminum and the wheel rims at the same time. We have put on about 10,000 miles this summer and all is holding up real well. The real test will be this winter when we drive on the salt and slush and make camp in the snow drifts.

str8strm · 09-28-2005, 12:51 PM

did you rechrome the bumpers?

ALANSD · 09-28-2005, 01:09 PM

They aren't chromed, they are aluminum. Easy to polish. Mine hold a shine for quite some time, then I reapply the polish. The grey has held up well after a year or more, I also used a rustoleum product, and sprayed after masking it well. i cleaned first with mineral spirits, and sanded as needed. Not too obsessive about making it smooth, just wanted it to look clean. It does.

ALANSD · 09-28-2005, 01:10 PM

here is a shot of the lower grey stripped off the aluminum areas.

I went further and stripped it off the lower generator door also.

str8strm · 09-28-2005, 01:42 PM

I tried metal polish and can't get any shine, what did you use to do the bumpers?

Chaplain Kent · 09-29-2005, 06:26 AM

I used Blue Magic on the bumpers and got an acceptable shine not the same as the body but a clean even shine. I would not suggest chroming or painting them if you you drive like me and use the bumpers as bumpers.