Removing paint from plates

firechief5215

firechief5215

Senior Member
Our model a is a fire truck and has a fire pump on it. Over the years the id plates have been painted over many times. We need to get the information from these plates to rebuild the pump Any idea how to remove the years of paint. I don't think a few of the plates were stamped /
 
hmmm this is going to be tricky...i do know for a fact brake fluid will remove paint from chrome pieces without harming the chrome one bit...but obviously may affect any letters or numbers your tryign to preserve...

googiling around people havent had much luck. my guess would be go quickly and lightly with paint thinner on a rag and lightly rub the paint layers away and hope the screen printing ink or however they made the labels is a bit tougher than whatever it was painted over with...
 
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The best paint removers are Methylene Chloride. (Semi-clear paste.) Several coats and let set until "bubbly."

Wear Nitrile gloves.

Larry
 
If you go to a 'hobby shop' you can buy a VERY MILD paint stripper that is made for using on plastics, it is very mild, and will work on any type of paint. You may have to go over several times as it removes the coats of paint, but you can stop when you get to the point where you can get the information you need. I have even used it to remove paint and have gotten down to decals without affecting them. Be patient, work carefully, and you should get the results you want.

Best Regards,

Stew Masche
 
I used easy off oven cleaner on one with good results, and wiped off the numbers on the second one, it really depends on how they stamped it and if they made any sort of indentation in the plate...or just used a stamp of some sort.
 
"I don't think a few of the plates were stamped"

All chemical paint strippers will not discriminate between paint layers. If the ID data was printed type as opposed to embossed or stamped, you will lose the information in the stripping process.

Polishing compound will slowly remove layers of paint - It will also be the most time consuming but it does offer the most control.
 
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maybe try a small corner where crucial data most likely isnt with different methods and see what works.
 
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