The subject line pretty much says it all. I bought a used fan shroud from someone on TC without seeing it in advance. No cracks in it, but unfortunately, parts of it are painted black. I'd like to get it back to its natural finish and color.

Any ideas?

Thanks, Tom

I would lightly glass bead it. Works fine on plastic usually withough hurting it. I have done it with no problems. If its really stubborn some thinner might be nessasary to help remove layers. It shouldnt be too big of a deal though.

------------------
Micky Hale Restorations
69 L-89 Chevelle
68 Biscayne 427/425
34 Plymouth Drag Car
ACES #134
www.mickyhale.com (http://www.mickyhale.com)

Well, I can say DON'T sand it. I tried to do the same with a scotch brite er something like that and left a lot of scratches (although it did take the paint off). Yeah, I shoulda known better. Now I gotta use a finer sand paper or buff it OR??? any ideas???

------------------
Ron Cook
'69 SS 300 Deluxe HT
(Bow Tied's 2¢ worth.)

Thanks guys. I'm sorry to say I don't have access to a glass beader. And I know now that sanding will leave scratches. I'm really looking for something I can do myself, like paint stripper or a heat gun or steel wool or ???

Tom

[This message has been edited by TK-70 (edited 03-04-2001).]

Have you tried easy off oven cleaner? I've never tried it, but I've read that it removes paint from plastic parts without damaging the plastic.

------------------
70' El Camino SS 396 in pieces! Astro blue, black stripes someday.

How much paint are we talking about? You might try paint thinner, a towel and elbow grease.

I just took the fan shroud down into the basement, and cleaned it up a bit. It was very, very dirty. I thought just part of it was painted, but that's because dirt covered the rest of it.

Cleaning off the dirt reveals that the whole shroud has been painted a glossy black, which is very odd, isn't it? At first I thought it might be a repro, and it was painted black at the factory. But I see some runs, which makes me think someone painted it. Why, I dunno.

I hit it with some lacquer thinner, but it barely makes a dent in it. It just turns the gloss into semi. Is there a way to identify a real GM fan shroud? Have you seen any repro's that are painted black?

Tom

I just took the fan shroud down into the basement, and cleaned it up a bit. It was very, very dirty. I thought just part of it was painted, but that's because dirt covered the rest of it.

Cleaning off the dirt reveals that the whole shroud has been painted a glossy black, which is very odd, isn't it? At first I thought it might be a repro, and it was painted black at the factory. But I see some runs, which makes me think someone painted it. Why, I dunno.

I hit it with some lacquer thinner, but it barely makes a dent in it. It just turns the gloss into semi. Is there a way to identify a real GM fan shroud? Have you seen any repro's that are painted black?

Tom

I just took the fan shroud down into the basement, and cleaned it up a bit. It was very, very dirty. I thought just part of it was painted, but that's because dirt covered the rest of it.

Cleaning off the dirt reveals that the whole shroud has been painted a glossy black, which is very odd, isn't it? At first I thought it might be a repro, and it was painted black at the factory. But I see some runs, which makes me think someone painted it. Why, I dunno.

I hit it with some lacquer thinner, but it barely makes a dent in it. It just turns the gloss into semi. Is there a way to identify a real GM fan shroud? Have you seen any repro's that are painted black?

Tom

Sorry for the triple post. Response time was slow and I hit the "submit" a few times.
Tom

try some brake fluid in a small out of site area, it takes off paint well. Also I accidently spilled antifreeze on the one in my daily driver. After wiping it off with a rag it had a nice shine that lasted for 4 months.

An original GM shroud should have the part number on it somewhere.

------------------
70' El Camino SS 396 in pieces! Astro blue, black stripes someday.

I found some numbers on it - 3938163 - so I guess it's a GM shroud. I have an old shroud from an old Nova I had that's a gray (natural) color, so that's what I thought this one would be when I bought it. I guess it just means some dodo painted the darn thing black.

Thanks for the ideas. I'll figure something out. Or buy another shroud. If you're wondering, I paid $25 for this one. So much for bargains.

Tom