While down the road a bit, one of my goals is to redo the trashed interior of my truck. Part of that will be repainting the plastics inside. I'm looking at SEM products to do this and have read lots of good reviews, but one or two sources I've seen say that the "paint" that comes from the factory on the interior pieces needs to be completely removed before applying any new paint, otherwise it just won't stick.

1. Has anyone managed to get effective long term results without going nuclear and removing all factory paint, perhaps by simply giving it a thorough wash to remove contaminants and then a good once over with a scotchbrite to promote adhesion?
2. If removing the paint is the way to go, I know well enough that something like Aircraft Remover is a no on, but would something a little more subtle, like Citrus remover, work well, perhaps in conjunction with a light duty pressure washer (1700 psi)?

 

I would bet replacing interior plastic is easier and better and cost efficient in the end of the game then removing and painting it. Also you making no sense - OEM doesn't paint the plastic and nobody paints interior that is hidden by plastic and carpet or liners.

Don't scratch the plastic with scotchbrite it will shorten the life of the plastic worse. At the dealer our Detail shop (used car pre-sales prep) used Spray-Nine for everying except on exterior paint (carpet plastic wheels) (never use cleaners on paint); then a conditioner on the plastic.

A pressure washer probably won't remove paint - at least not quickly.

 

"Also you making no sense - OEM doesn't paint the plastic..." - Digging into this a bit, it seems only the dash is actually painted. No idea what kind of paint/coating it is, and while I'm relieved that the other parts don't have this, it's clearly done on the dash. The dash is a black plastic piece from the factory and is coated/painted. Mine is factory tan and is showing black underneath where paint is worn and there's evidence of this being the case elsewhere:


"Don't scratch the plastic with scotchbrite it will shorten the life of the plastic worse." - A superficial scuffing will have a menial effect on the plastic. It would be just enough so that it's not smooth and has a better surface for accepting a primer.

Never heard of Spray-Nine, I may get some. Though I've got some Purple Power which has always been pretty good for my needs, but good to know of other options.

As for the pressure washer, my thinking was that if the paint was poorly adhered to begin with (that's the allegation, that from the factory, this dash paint was terribly done) and especially if I use some sort of paint remover to help facilitate the removal, a pressure washer would surely help get it done. In my experience, a wire brush is what's typically used to help remove paint when using paint remover chemicals, but that would scratch up the plastic somethin' fierce. I suppose I may need to experiment if there's no consensus on this.

Thanks for your input.