Hello,

My son have painted his car tail light lenses from inside and now he wants to remove the paint, what will be the best product to remove the paint and not to damage the lenses, Thanks.

Regards,
John

If it is plastic, any solvent or paint stripper may have an adverse effect on the clarity of the light housing. Typically, the lights are not too bad to buy. If you were forced to remove the paint, you could go to your local home improvement store and get a solvent that is formulated for plastic... if a product even exists. I know they have strippers that are more organic and derived from citrus acid that have less of an impact on the surface being stripped. You could also try to boil the light housing. I would do it in a double boiler to avoid direct heat with the lens. Paint doesn't typically adhere to hard plastic as it would to other, more pourous surfaces. Try to boil it for a little while, if it remains... step it up to a mild stripper or solvent like paint thinner. If that doesn't work... there is always power washing... that removes paint from almost any surface. If though, you didn't have one handy, it might be cheaper to just buy a new lens then go through the hassle of renting a power washer.

Hello Epawls,

Thanks for the quick respond, we will try the boiling method first, and what do you mean by double boiler, if that wouldn't work next step would be to find some solvent for the paint removal, last option will be to replace it but they are not cheap, approximately $150 each, Thanks.

John

Whoa... 150.00...
A double boiler is an insert that is much like a collander that goes inside a large pot... it is like a strainer, but it keeps the substance you are cooking away from the direct heat source. Google image search it... you just may not know it by name... anyway, if the boiling doesn't work... you could also try a plastic scraper... they are sold at any home improvement store... remember, if you use a solvent or a stripper, remove the lens from the car so you do not damage the paint on the car...
Let me know how you make out.

I will let you know, Thanks.

John

Hello Epawls,

Just an update I tried both the boiling, and got paint thinner the instruction was saying would not have any impact but that was not true, I applied in a small area it didn't remove the paint it made it worst, we were forced to buy new ones and replaced them, Thanks for your advice and your help greatly appreciated.

Best Regards,

He probably won't do that again.
This was tricky if not near impossible, some cleaners that may have worked would likely left plastic cloudy, they make plastic products to clear up the cloudiness.
Expensive as it was, other way could have been more expensive with time.

Sorry it didn't work out... yeah, the shine on plastic on tail lights are pretty susceptible to normal weather over time... I could only imagine what a solvent would do to the finish. One thing about the replacement cost though... a lot of manufacturers make light assemblies for vehicles and to buy after-market is always cheaper than dealing with the car dealer...

I got lucky a friend of mine has a work shop and he got them for $104.0 a piece, Thanks.

John