Woody's build thread

[jakeru]

Fun project! I'm also in the middle of re-doing my Boxster's soft-touch interior pieces. They are 2001 spec with the scratch-prone finish. I've got all of them that are exposed to any sort of wear out of the car, and am stripping all the old soft-touch finish off them. Some of it (side armrests) strips off a lot easier than on others (door sill trim)! Going to refinish with SEM color coat satin black, which I checked out a sample of in the auto body store and it's a perfect color match with the factory finish - and a whole lot more durable. Debating whether to clear coat for added durability with a semi-matt polyurethane 2K clearcoat over the top for the ultimate durability, or to just leave the SEM color coat (supposed to be quite durable in its own right) and call it good.

[CrisZenithBlue]

Originally Posted by jakeru

Fun project! I'm also in the middle of re-doing my Boxster's soft-touch interior pieces. They are 2001 spec with the scratch-prone finish. I've got all of them that are exposed to any sort of wear out of the car, and am stripping all the old soft-touch finish off them. Some of it (side armrests) strips off a lot easier than on others (door sill trim)! Going to refinish with SEM color coat satin black, which I checked out a sample of in the auto body store and it's a perfect color match with the factory finish - and a whole lot more durable. Debating whether to clear coat for added durability with a semi-matt polyurethane 2K clearcoat over the top for the ultimate durability, or to just leave the SEM color coat (supposed to be quite durable in its own right) and call it good.

What process did you use to strip the coating?

[jakeru]

I experimented with several methods to strip the coating. Lessons learned:

1. Plastic razor blades are your best friend for this job! Occasionally switch to new or sharpen for best results. Does not damage the plastic substrate.
2. I did find somewhat enhanced results when combined with a coating "softening agent". Ones I tried:
* Isopropyl alcohol 70% works ok - I'd even step it up to 90% if I had hat. Put in spray bottle for easy application. Evaporates quickly, so work fast.
* DOT4 brake fluids also works ok. Can leave overnight for more than one night even - won't evaporate. Washes off with water, but handle carefully.
* Stay away from anything with acetone. It dissolves the plastic! I don't recall getting that great result with other hydrocarbon softening agents I tried (e.g., WD40 seemed to not help), but maybe increasing dwell time would help. I doubt it will be th magic bullet.
* I tried hot and cold water. Seems like a little heat helped, but nothing was really the "magic bullet."
* I tried windex, with ammonia. Not much help. (Maybe would work better with lots of dwell time.)
* I did not experiment with many other softening agents, but read some used acids (oven cleaner?) successfully
3. After scraping the bulk off with a plastic razor, you can get the last bit with a scotchbrite pad. I used grey scotchbrite, recommended by auto body supply for paint prep for this. Works best with heavy-moderate pressure.
4. There are a mix of different textures (smooth to pebbled surface) and plastics used throughout the interior components (quite a few ABS, some PC+ABS, some PA6 GF 15/30) and even one rubber component (EPDM) used at the ignition key surround. Be very careful with that rubber piece. It's easily damaged.