Remove old paint from dash - prep for new paint

[BeardedBlues]

Figured since I took the dash out to clean up the wiring and get the instrument cluster fixed I would get the dash painted. I don't have access to sand blasting equipment. What should I use to take the old paint off and get it ready for the new paint?

 

[NicksTrix]

quick and easy way would be go to autoparts store and pick up a can of paint stripper.
after you go through that process you can easily handle the rest by hand.

 

[BeardedBlues]

Just use sand paper after that? What grit?

 

[Madgyver]

aircraft paint remover, 220 grit, 400 grit, prime coat and then topcoat.

 

[allenfahey]

A tip for using stripper is to gouge up the paint with 40-80 grit sand paper. The stripper will get under the paint easier. Make sure not to go thru too much to the metal if possible. Use lacquer thinner to neutralize it and will also dry it up. If the dash is down to bare metal and in good shape all that is really needed is sanding with 320, etching (or epoxy sealer), sealer, then paint. That is how I did my dash a few years ago and it held up great till I just modified the dash for a thru-dash cage and different color.
If you need to do any heavy grinding on it or bodywork use a 2K primer and final sand with 400 and a grey scuff pad followed by paint. Or you could also final sand with 320, red scuff, sealer, then paint. There are many different ways to do it and I prefer the quickest way.

 

[barronj]

I was watching an episode of Horsepower TV, and they were stripping paint off of large plastic cowl pieces by laying them in brake fluid. I guess it would take something large to lay a dash down in, but necessity is the mother of all invention.

To strip mine, I used a large wire wheel on my large angle grinder.

 

[Broncmeister]

If you are going to strip I'd recommend making sure it is cleaned very well after you are finished stripping. Then as somebody earlier said 220 grit, then 400 grit. I'd also bump up to 600 grit if I were you to make sure you eliminate all of the 400 scratches.

You probably don't have to because it's inside, but for myself I'd probably want a sealer coat in there too before the bc/cc or ss topcoat. So I'd sand it nice, then wax/grease remover, DTM etching primer, sealer, basecoat, clearcoat.