The rear side panels in my '68 Barracuda convertible were spray painted white by someone else years ago. They are supposed to be black. I was wondering if there is a safe way to remove the paint or can I respray them black and make them look right? I'm trying to do a nice restoration so I don't want them to look crappy. Any suggestions? By the way...since I'm kind of new to restoration, I'm gonna have a ton more questions real soon....

Giving you a bump. Would like to know the answer to this myself.

I seem to recall someone suggesting brakefluid for this but I would try it on the back side first just in case.

I used lacquer thinner on my black Challenger panels, with no damage to the panels...

Welcome, and ask all the questions you want. Lot of info here!!

Try some oven cleaner on the back side, I use it to remove spray paint from engine parts and it takes the spray paint off easy leaving the factory paint behind.
Give it a try on a little area and see, then use power washer to get rinsed and clean.
There is also citrus stip, it is strong but less then chemical strippers.
Power washer does wonders to.

get a cheapie paintbrush, and brush a layer of brake fluid over the panel. lay it flat, and let it sit for a while. you can use a scrub brush or a pressure washer, on low power, and the paint will come off, in a sheet. stubborn spots, just reapply. you'll notice the paint start to wrinkle, before it starts lifting off the plastic. brake fluid wont eat up plastic. we use if for stripping factory paint off model cars, planes and trains by soaking them in a jar or tray with fluid. use it sparingly, as in reality, you're washing it into the ground or drain, depending on where you do the stripping at. some grease cutting dish detergent when you're done, will remove any traces of the fluid, in preparation for painting.

Thanks a lot to everyone. Some really good ideas. I love this site!!

Im not crazy with the brake fluid idea bcus then you have to make sure its all gone or new paint will never stick. Not to mention its messy and the environmental impact when you clean it off. Laquer thinner not great either. Might or might not remove old paint but might melt away any grain texture on the plastic.

You MIGHT try outside with a nice cross breeze.... Easy off foaming oven cleaner. It contains lye (or used to...not sure now) and is caustic so wear gloves and goggles...dont get the spray in your eyes or breath it in. (then again...it is meant for ovens indoors....but I dont recommend breathing it and keep it off your skin).

Its an old trick model builders use to remove paint on plastic models without melting the model. Done it several times myself. Try using laquer thinner on a plastic model and see what happens.... melted blob! EZ off wont do that. Let the ez off sit a while then use a scrunge to scrub the surface. It might take a few applications scrubbing in between and a bit of time but it should work. Rinse thoroughly with water when done then wash thoroughly with another clean sponge using grease cutting dish soap like palmolive, joy etc... Use the kind without additives like aloe. JUST soap. Once dry it should be ready for paint. For best adhesion get plastic purposed spray paint....think krylon or rustoleum make it. The paint should be avail at walmart and likely home depot.

If I can get all the white paint off I shouldn't need to paint them at all. They are already black under the white paint. At least that's what I was thinking....

i use laquer thinner on plastic panels.should get rattle can paint off with no problem.just keep using clean rags.i also use plastic spray prep before repainting.holds up for years.prep avaible in body shop/paint supply shops.

When I did my grille that someone rattle canned black, I sprayed on a bunch of brake fluid and let it bake in the sun, then power washed it clean. Plastic came out very nice but I repainted it to look a bit better. For some paint I have found nothing other than laquer thinner will touch it, even then not always easy.

Lacquer thinner with ultra-fine steel wool should strip that panel lickedy-split. Just stripped a dash pad that way that someone painted. The fine steel wool gets the paint out of the grain unlike rags and it shouldn't scratch. You have to be careful with laquer thinner on some types of plastic as it will attack it.

Try a pressure washer,maybe they did not prep it right and it will blow off with water pressure.

My challenger had black door panels that somebody painted blue I just used the kleen strip paint stripper the one that comes with the plastic spray bottle from home depot. No damage to the plastic and the paint came right off when I sprayed it with a garden hose.

The biodegradable graffiti removers work good for stripping the paint off dash bezels too.