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6/11/2018 9:24:27 PM EDT
Building an A4 clone and have a good A2 stock that we painted krylon tan years ago.

Need to get it back to plain black plastic.

Best way to strip the paint without damaging the finish?

Brake cleaner?

Thanks in advance....
6/11/2018 9:02:21 PM EDT
[#1]
Spray over it with flat black. Several light coats and it will be good as new.
6/11/2018 9:46:44 PM EDT
[#2]
Don't want to paint over it.
6/11/2018 9:50:29 PM EDT
[#3]
I'd start with less aggressive stuff and work my way up.

Maybe mineral spirits on a rag?
6/11/2018 9:52:46 PM EDT
[#4]
Scotch brite would work I bet... I'd be tempted to try a small amount of acetone somewhere not so obvious first though.
6/11/2018 9:56:57 PM EDT
[#5]
Citristrip. I've used it on many plastic and bakelite AK mags. Removed the paint and left the original ink stamps beneath intact.

And it even smells good.
6/11/2018 9:59:56 PM EDT
[#6]
Quote History
Quoted:
Citristrip. I've used it on many plastic and bakelite AK mags. Removed the paint and left the original ink stamps beneath intact.

And it even smells good.
View Quote
I forgot about that stuff, used it once or twice on wood stuff that was painted. Good stuff. Initially I was thinking of paint strippers like "aircraft paint remover" which I wouldn't try on plastic.
6/11/2018 10:20:32 PM EDT
[#7]
Quote History
Quoted:
Citristrip. I've used it on many plastic and bakelite AK mags. Removed the paint and left the original ink stamps beneath intact.

And it even smells good.
View Quote
This
6/11/2018 10:48:15 PM EDT
[#8]
Quote History
Quoted:
Citristrip. I've used it on many plastic and bakelite AK mags. Removed the paint and left the original ink stamps beneath intact.

And it even smells good.
View Quote
Yep.  Just got through removing multiple layers of krylon on a rifle so I could try out some alumihyde.  It worked great and didn’t damage anything.  Well, it did eat my G-Shock’s watchband a little bit...
6/11/2018 11:36:17 PM EDT
[#9]
Quoted:
Building an A4 clone and have a good A2 stock that we painted krylon tan years ago.

Need to get it back to plain black plastic.

Best way to strip the paint without damaging the finish?

Brake cleaner?

Thanks in advance....
View Quote
Brake cleaner works. Wipe down the stock with some CLP after so it doesn't look so white
8/26/2018 11:51:43 AM EDT
[#10]
Easy! The best product to use to remove paint from plastic without damaging the plastic WHATSOEVER is oven cleaner! Believe it or not... just spray the part, put it in a plastic bag to slow down evaporation and come back the next morning and rinse to an original finish.

One caution: I don’t know how it deals with any kind of acid-etch primer because that stuff bites into the plastic. Also, I don’t know what it does to anodized parts.
8/26/2018 11:54:49 AM EDT
[#11]
Citristrip is what I would try, along with a plastic brissle brush. Then CLP to get rid of the haze. Get a quality set of rubber gloves, that shit will eat through nitrile.
9/11/2018 10:09:48 PM EDT
[#12]
Quote History
Quoted:
Citristrip. I've used it on many plastic and bakelite AK mags. Removed the paint and left the original ink stamps beneath intact.

And it even smells good.
View Quote
+1 on this - I've used citrus-based stripping gel many times with no ill effects. It's the pale orange stuff they have at Home Depot, Lowes or wherever.

Put the part in a big ziploc bag and pour in the goop. You don't need to fill the bag; just put enough in so that you can let most of the air out of the bag, seal and then spread the gel to coat the part. Leave overnight or for however long it takes, the paint will come off. Warmth seems to help the process, BTW.
9/12/2018 7:08:17 PM EDT
[#13]
Another vote for Citri-Strip. Great stuff.
9/14/2018 12:34:28 PM EDT
[#14]
Try Citristrip first. If it doesn't finish the job, KleenStrip MEK will work and you can let it soak about 5-10 minutes without damaging the plastic. Just wash it off with hot water thoroughly and make sure you wear MEK rated gloves and eye pro.  (And long sleeves!)
9/21/2018 4:36:32 PM EDT
[#15]
if the above mentioned things don't work, trust me toss that piece in the trash and buy a new stock.  some paints will actually "bleed" into the polymer a little bit so fully getting it off allows you to express your inner sailor.
9/23/2018 5:40:18 PM EDT
[#16]
Lot's of good advise here.

I never did build the A2.

Built Mk 18 Mod 0 AR pistol instead.

I still have one un-built lower so maybe next build
9/23/2018 8:49:12 PM EDT
[#17]
Quote History
Quoted:

+1 on this - I've used citrus-based stripping gel many times with no ill effects. It's the pale orange stuff they have at Home Depot, Lowes or wherever.

Put the part in a big ziploc bag and pour in the goop. You don't need to fill the bag; just put enough in so that you can let most of the air out of the bag, seal and then spread the gel to coat the part. Leave overnight or for however long it takes, the paint will come off. Warmth seems to help the process, BTW.
View Quote
I stripped 87 layers of Krylon, Rustoleum, and Aervoe from my BCM SOCOM with Citri-Strip. Sprayed it on and left the parts in the hot Tennessee sun for a few hours, and it all bubbled and came off. It felt weird rinsing off my Aimpoint PRO in a bucket of clean water, but the optic didn’t seem to be fazed at all.

The white lettering on the upper, rail, and optic is intact, but has taken on a light brown/copper colored tint to it. I don’t know if that’s from the paint stripper of from the paint itself.

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