As some of you know, I've been fighting an uphill battle with a soft tonneau...

I thought the tonneau was faded however, upon closer inspection, what I'm dealing with is PAINT!

With that in mind, what type of products can I utilize to remove PAINT from VINYL. Of course, it's going to have to be something pretty agressive but, gentle enough to not 'melt' the vinyl.

So far, I've tried...

1) Liquid Wrench - Worked okay to take the worst part of it off without hurting the tonneau's vinyl but fell short to knock it all the way out.

2. Westley's Bleach White - Proably shouldn't have tried this one but, it barely touched the paint.

3. Gasoline - I know... I know... pretty damn agressive and, worked the best but, still fell short on getting the paint out of the 'nooks and crannies' of the texture on the vinyl.





HELP! Any other suggestions?

RP

 

NO ONE!??! Geesh guys... come on! Give me some ideas will ya?

 

Holy Cow............. all that grey is overspray?

You could try some paint thinner/remover, but I would do it on an inconspicuous spot........... cause it's probably going to do more than remove the paint?

Good luck!

 

Have you tried a clay bar?

Actually, any type of chemical that will remove the overspray is gonna also attack the vinyl.....Be very careful with any fast solvents......or you'll "vent" your cover.........

Good luck with it, but it just appears you'll have to go ahead and buy an ARE..........

 

Yup... all grey.. it's overspray.

The gasoline didn't remove more than the paint... thusfar...

RP

 

I just don't think it'll work. The vinyl has a texture to it that won't allow the clay to work down and within it... or at least I doubt it will.

I might give it a whirl though...


Yeah, I'd like to get that ARE but, I want my money back out of this one first.

RP

 

Maybe you should try enamel reducer. I don't think its 'hot' enough to hurt the vinyl. The trouble is...any solvent that will remove paint will likely remove some of the plasticizers in the vinly too. The cover might look OK when you're done, but could split in the summer sun when its taught.

MR

 

Well, paint thinner was the chosen weapon after trying several other items which were working but only minimally...

The paint thinner definately took 90+% off but, I still have some remaining in the 'texture' of the vinyl.

So, with that in mind, I'm still looking for an option.

MROLD, you bring a good point. I know that a chemical that agressive would certainly not be good for the tonneau but, on the flip side of that coin, I don't think I had another alternative. I'm going to put it on the truck (pending I can find some damn installation instructions... ) and I'll see if I like the look. I have a hunch that the very few spots that I couldn't remove that are grey are going to drive me crazy and I'll end up dumping it on ebay as used with some staining on the cover. I just wish I'd known about this paint issue PRIOR to purchase. *sighs*

RP

 

If the paint is enamel, "Goof Off!" and a soft bristle brush would work. Just be sure to liberally soak it in your vinyl treatment liquid of choice after doing it.

And strange as is may sound, try hair spray. That's what the furniture people told me when my wife tried doing some custom modification to my leather recliner with an ink pen one day. Squirted some hair spray on it, and worked it with a soft bristle brush. Took the ink right out. Cleaned the hair spray residue with water, let it dry, and then soaked it with leather conditioner, and it came out just fine.

Good luck.

 

Thanks for the insight hillbilly... hairspray is quick and easy... I'll give it a whirl.

RP

 

You may want to give Mineral Spirits a try or Laquer Thinner. Both are much less agressive than Acetone and since the are oil based should not strip out the conditioners in the vinyl to bad. Your will need to use a brush of course to work down into the texture of the vinyl. A few other things are goo gone, zippo lighter fluid, and a petroleum based cleaner called Lestoil. If those don't get the paint off then I don't know what to tell you.

 

Mineral spirits worked... generally.

I still have some paint in the texture of the tonneau but, it's VERY hard to notice.

My only problem is finding something to clamp the cover down with at this point.... the rails that is..

RP

 

OH CRAP, I forgot one they is very gentle and just may work but will take alot of scrubbing but anyway give saddle soap a shot.

 

My granddaughter wrote on a pool tablecover with a paint pen I googled removing paint from vinyl and landed on this forum it worked great and now I don't have to replace the cover which cost approximately $500.00. Thanks so much!!!!!!

 

wow. Holy time travel Batman..

glad it worked for you .. Google is a good tool