Paint Overspray on Plastic Trim by dealer

[zal_kindi]

I recently did a stupid thing by scratching the lower lip of my Porsche Cayman S against a pavement which resulted in a small scratch where the paint actually peeled and I could see the black plastic underneath. Being me, I couldn't just live with it, so I took it to the Porsche dealer here in Abu Dhabi (UAE) to have it resprayed. The dealers out here are not exactly the best when it comes to repairs and repainting, so I didn't want them to remove the whole bumper to respray because I feared that they would cause more damage. So they suggested that they would partially respray the scratched area. This meant that they couldn't remove the black plastic radiator grill and centre scoop. I got the car back today and found that there is some paint residue on the edges of the plastic grill and scoop. See picture.



Can anyone please give me advice on how to attempt to remove the paint. It is almost all the way around the edges.

Options I can think of:

1. Clay - not sure if it works on plastic. The plastic is hard and doesn't look porous.
2. Agressive solven like Acetone using a cotton bud or q-tip - scary option because it might dissolve the plastic or even the clear coat.
3. Physically scraping it off!

The problem is, to get the plastic bits off, I have to remove the whole bumper. That's German engineering for you!


Any advice would be highly appreciated. Many thanks in advance.

[Alex C.]

Re: Paint Overspray on Plastic Trim by dealer

I would try to lighly scrape it off with a plastic blade before anything else. That should remove the most of it. Then dress it and call it a day.

[StadiumDetail]

Re: Paint Overspray on Plastic Trim by dealer

1) you're right with clay being the first and best option. It should work on the plastic just fine as long as it isn't textured, but the issue may be that the overspray is so thick. In the picture it looks more like the taping job done was the probelm rather than overspray (which is waht clay is best at). Give the clay a shot and see what happens.

2) If it were me I wouldn't use any solvent product. If it is a taping issue then anything strong enough to disolve the clear/paint on the unwanted section will do the same on the clear/paint you want to keep.

3) I've used this option before and it really isn't a hard as you may think. Get brand new razor blades and use painters tape (the blue edging tape made by 3M use for painting) and wrap it around the part of the blade you will not be using. In most cases you wrap both edges to not catch the edge and create unwanted scratches, but for this job you are going to need 1 edge. Don't overwork the blade, they are very cheap and dull out very very fast, but you may only need 2-3 since it is such a small area.
But here is the catch to Option 3. After you trimmed away the unwanted paint the left over paint you wanted will have a "hard" edge to it that can cause easy damage if say a pressure washer hit it at the wrong angle. It needs to be sealed somehow, I've personally used an epoxy in the past with good success.

Options 2 and 3 have risks and you must decide if the little bit of extra paint, which in my opinion no one will notice except yourself, is worth those risks. If it were me I would leave it alone assuming future damage will happen (including rock chips) and will need to be repainted in the future anyway.

[J. A. Michaels]

Re: Paint Overspray on Plastic Trim by dealer

I would go with the clay. Try this option first.

[zal_kindi]

Re: Paint Overspray on Plastic Trim by dealer

Thanks for the responses. I guess I will try the clay option first; being the easiest and potentially least risky, then consider shaving it off very slowly with a razor blade as suggested. I'll try to tape off the area to avoid accidental damage. I need to have the hands of a brain surgeon to do this

Will report back on the results. THanks again..

[geert dr]

Re: Paint Overspray on Plastic Trim by dealer

How about taking it back to the dealer and let them sort it out ?
I guess this was'nt exactly a cheap repair so why taking the risk of damaging the trim or paint with a razorblade ?

[StadiumDetail]

Re: Paint Overspray on Plastic Trim by dealer

How about taking it back to the dealer and let them sort it out ?
I guess this was'nt exactly a cheap repair so why taking the risk of damaging the trim or paint with a razorblade ?

I thought about suggesting that, but he already mentioned the shop isn't exacty up to his standards. Any shop you took it to isn't going to re-strip and repaint the panel just because of a bad tape job, they are going to use the same methods we mentioned and any future damage because of shortcuts won't show for a while. If the OP does it, then he at least has some control over the process.

I still say if the clay doesn't get it then leave it alone. Repaint in a year or so to get rid of rock ships and sandblasting from normal driving and the problem will solve itself in the repaint.

[zal_kindi]

Re: Paint Overspray on Plastic Trim by dealer

I did actually go back to the dealer who asked me to bring the car back.
My worry is that they are more likely to cause more damage than me. I'm going to have a go at cleaning it up this morning and might take it back to the dealer if I don't succeed, but I will not leave the car this time. I will stay and watch them. One time they scratched the seat while trying to get in/out of the car for example. That's why I prefer to stay away from them if I can help it.