Expert: William Forster - 8/17/2007

Question
i have a suzuki katana and i am planing on repainting it. I have already started sanding the paint off the plastic. Its taking alot longer then i had planed. Is there any faster way i can get the paint off? The body pieces are plastic and everyone ive asked said to not use chemicals or sandblast because it will damage the plastics.

Answer
Why are you removing the paint? Just sand down any imperfections, and prime. There is no need to strip the vehicle just to paint it, unless there is something really wrong with the paint itself. If it's faded, just sand it down good with 320 on a DA sander. If it's peelong, sand the paint off the factory primer coat with 150 grit, but only where it's peeling. Try to leave as much of the factory primer coat on as possible. Don't strip the plastic pieces unless there are spider web cracks from impacs, but just the damaged areas only.