Whats a good method to strip spray bomb paint of a decent 71 Charger Plastic Grille?

I think some shops use Walnut shells to blast with?

Thansk in advance!

Oven cleaner. The one with the yellow top is what I used. Spray it, wrap it up in a trash bag, strip it the next day. I did my grille this way.

Ill try the oven cleaner method and advise.

I wouldn't use oven cleaner to harsh & can possibly permeate the plastic,when its time to do mine going to caustic soda blast it.

I purchased a mini soda blaster and blasted mine. Worked really well and did not damage the plastic.

It's more difficult for the soda to remove urethane or enamel vs. lacquer. It's a breeze on parts painted with lacquer.

i used brake cleaner and it worked, but i forgot which one i used (chlorinated vs non chlorinated.)

Don't use chemicals on plastic, oven cleaner, brake fluid, etc. are a recipe for disaster. Has it worked for some? Yes. Is it potentially going to melt your grille or screw up your new paint job? Yes!

Media blasting with low pressure and fine media works great, I suggest soda blasting, but other medias will work as well, plastic would be my first choice over sand. Sand or glass media can damage the plastic.

I haven't had any problems with oven cleaner, there are countless threads on others using the same method. After the paint is stripped and the grille is washed clean, I'm not sure how you would ruin the paint. Maybe if someone else has actual experience with oven cleaner ruining plastic they should chime in, otherwise it's just one of those things that sounds scary. Try it on a spare part or something beforehand and then make a decision if you want to buy a blasting kit instead of a $3 can of oven cleaner.

I have to agree with Scott. I've used oven cleaner with good success on a couple original plastic pieces. However, I used oven cleaner to strip a used lower valence insert and it caused the grey plastic substrate to turn yellow in some spots.

You just need to be careful and test it in a non-visible area. I would say that brake cleaner or brake fluid are too caustic for ABS, which is what these grills are made from. It will more than likely damage the plastic.

I learned the hard way about 20 years ago, sprayed oven cleaner on a 71 Cuda grille to remove the argent. I left it to soak for a while and came back to find that It had melted the grille in multiple areas, it was a disaster.

Actual example for you right there!

The oven cleaner worked great on the test grille and washed away with hot water.

Will try to post some pics today.

C

Here is the trash bag oven cleaner method. Hot Water out the hose nozzle wash the flakes away rather well.

Somebody laid on the spray bomb. Both these grilles had broken studs in the back so they were fit to test.

Cool, glad it worked out for you. My Charger had a ton of cheap spray paint on it. Mine peeled away pretty easy but I had to pull out the loose pieces with a small needle nose that were down in the square recesses since they were just attached enough hot water wouldn't flush them off. I just took a fine scotch brite and warm soapy water and went over it well before I painted it.

Like everything else, probably no where near as strong as it was back then. I remember when aircraft paint stripper felt like it was melting your skin off, now it barely even burns.