Plastic Part Paint Stripping and Painting

Q: Plastic Part Paint Stripping and Painting

Once the dash is a beautiful new rich deep color of black, what’s the best method of adding the chrome trim back on? Or even retouching the chrome? I’ve tried model chrome paint but that looked very ugly (could have been the shaky hands!)

Does anyone have any advice for stripping paint off of plastic parts? I attempted to repaint my dash and let’s just say the first attempt didn’t go so well. Can I use off the shelf paint stripper?

A: paint stripper is too harsh for plastic. It will soften the plastic and even melt the edges. A mixture of Xylene and lacquer thinner will remove just about any paint, but it too can damage plastic if not applied and removed quickly. Chemical strippers are tricky on metal and far worse on plastics.

As for the chrome trim around the bezels, I’ve used a silver paint marker made by Testors(as in model paint). This looks almost like a magic marker but uses paint instead. Be sure to wet the felt of the paint marker real good by pressing down on a hard surface. If you don’t have plenty of paint and stop you will see the seam. I m current working on another project of using chrome vinyl to refinish the chrome trim on the bezels. This will look just as the factory did but can be applied after the dash panel is painted.

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