Well, in a previous post, I saw the word Acetone when someone suggested removing the paint on back of a fiberglass shell. I tried that. Didn't work. I went to a local hardware store and bought paint thinner. I tried that. That didn't work. I went back to the hardware store and said, "Hardware store guy, gimme something strong. Stronger than paint thinner." His reply was the devil. "Sir, you probably need the heavy duty stuff. Try this hear solvent we like to call Jasco. Don't leave it on long though. This stuff's tough. And wear these here gloves." Upon preceding to my home, I was anticipating removing that ugly paint on back of my Ochre Light side shell. I opened the metal evil box, poured the blob-like solvent on my chair and spreaded it evenly. I waited less than 2 minutes and I wiped. To my dismay, the crap ate through the paint, through the gel coat, and into the fibers. All I saw was these little hairs standing up on my Ochre Light. FUDGE! I removed the devilish product very quickly and started to curse the Hardware store guy...and myself. What have we learned from this story people? 3 things.... 1. Never trust a good-ole boy in suspenders that works at a hardware store. He probably has rifles on his back glass of this F-150. 2. If you're uncertain about a product, test it first on very small section. 3. To hell with Jasco...sand the sum-bish.
soy gel!
I've used a product called "soy gel" to remove spray paint from a shell that was completely painted... I did wear gloves and only let the product stay on for a couple of minutes. With a little elbow grease, all the paint came off and the chair looked like new. I then coated the fiberglass with penetrol...
Also...
4. If you want a good answer, ask a good question. "Gimme something strong" isn't the same as "Gimme something that'll remove paint spatter from fiberglass."
5. Read the label. Jasco Premium Paint & Epoxy Remover's label says, "Do not use on linoleum, plastic, rubber, asphalt tile, fiberglass or other synthetics".
Sorry about your chair. You've got like a hundred of them, though, right?
ughh....
It's mostly my fault for just trying to rush and remove the paint without doing proper research.
Live and Learn right?
I will say that I read the back of the label on the Jasco can and didn't see that I shouldn't use it on fiberglass.
Dang! Maybe I scanned the label and not read it:)
I'm going to blame starbucks too!
I'll try the soy product...I have a lemon yellow with a painted back.
thanks!
You should try..
Citrus-Strip! You can buy it at Ace or other hardware stores. I used it on 2 shells and it worked great. It took a couple of applications but it will remove the paint. After I coated the backs I let it sit about an hour. Just use some really soft steel wool and a bucket of water. It takes a little elbow grease but it will remove the paint without damaging the fiberglass.
I had used in before to remove spray paint from a rocker and uncovered an original Herman Miller tag and rope edge. That was a good day!
Good luck!
AWESOME!
Thanks everyone!
I will definitely look into both products before I tackle my lemon yellow.....
Lunchbox: The Ochre Light was not a complete loss. I quickly removed the solvent made by the Devil himself and painted over with a thick marine coating. I'll just have to accept a two-toned shell....no biggie.
For what its worth, I used ac...
For what its worth, I used acetone on my lemon yellow shell with black painted back. It took a few hours and a lot of elbow grease, but nearly all the paint came off eventually. There is still a little on the underneath of the chair, near the shockmounts.....
Paint types
For anyone tackling this problem, the type of paint on the back of the shell makes all the difference in the world. Consumer grade spray paints are pretty easy to strip. Your daughter sprayed her Eames rocker bubblegum pink? Not a problem.
It's the factory applied "greige" alkyd enamel that will have you pulling your hair out. In order to reduce the scrap rate, the greige paint was applied to the backs of factory seconds, which were then upholstered on the top surface.
I've never found a good product for removing the factory greige enamel. Anyone else had success with it?
Might we suggest a product by Jasco?
And w-h-c...some of us DO read directions! I do...always, even for the obvious. My dad insisted on this habit when I was young and I'm glad...it saves a lot of hassle!
That reminds me of a story...once upon a time a friend and I experienced her car breaking down out in the dark one night. She, not being a tool user, let me go see what I could see, and taking the fancy flashlight she'd gotten from her dad I went to have a look at the engine. Her dad was one smart guy and had gotten her a very nice emergency light, I knew since I had the same one in my trunk!
I pulled out the little hanging hook to hang it from the hood and she exclaimed 'I didn't know it did that!' A few minutes later after determining that the altenator was dead, I set the light on warning flash and placed it on its legs behind the car for safety. She looked at me surprised and said...'I didn't know it did THAT either! What else does it do?' I proeceeded with a demo...'how did you figure all that out?' she asked.
Well...I read the directions!
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