Vistalite paint removal?

JSdrums

JSdrums

Member
Hey,
I've acquired a clear blue Ludwig Vistalite kit that some knucklehead has painted black on the inside. It looks decent, just black, not trasparent.

Anyone know how to strip the paint off without harming the acrylic shells? I may just start with the 6.5 x 14 snare due to its small size.

Thanks.
 
Paint stripper is the only thing that i can think of.
 
You need to try and find out what type of paint he used, and maybe talk with Ludwig about what products are harmful to the drum material. Some strippers will cloud the acrylic.
 
Is the paint chipping or peeling at all? You could try to take it off that way.
 
First thing to do is get goo gone and a few light duty paint strippers and test a few spots near the edges.

Stay away from any heat source!

After you find the best method then you will need to follow up with either the Novus products in three steps or you can also get the Meguiar’s Plastic Polish No. 10 then the subsequent levels after that.

They should shine up like new. This will be a labor of love, so take your time. There is no quick way to success. It could take weeks of hard work. The stripper should be used in small sections.

Also, if you have a matching snare in that depth I would work on a tom first since the snare is the most valuable drum.

David
 
Some good advice some not, but the best was what Gruntersdad said in getting a word from Ludwig and see if they have any direction for this endeav or that you have. Do us all a favor and post before and after pics I know this would be a good one to follow along with.

Best of luck
 
Blue and clear vistalite were the 2 most popular colors. You will probably never get your "money's worth" out of these drums, for the amount of labor you're gonna put into paint removal. That said, and if it's simply a "labor of love", be careful. ........EDIT......I just put Jasco on a spare piece of Acrylic I had here, and it DID mar the Acrylic, so I'll say "back away" from using any chemical on the shell.
 
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The value of the restored vistalites is well worth the effort, if you picked them up cheap and all of the hardware and shells are in great shape.

You do not know what condition the shells are in from the interior, but from the outside you should be able to see any shell repairs, chips, spiderwebs in the shells prior to the paint removal.

The "Gem" of course is the snare. If it really is a 6.5" shell then regardless of the color it would fall in the worth-while category. Most vistas are of course the 5" shells.

You can decide if the labor of love is worth it, but I know the end product and commitment to preserving the drums for the future is well worth it.

David
 
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DO NOT use any kind of chemical or heat! This plastic is pretty delicate and easy to mar.

I suggest soaking them in water for several days. Use one of those potscrubbing pads made of very soft plastic. Don't use the rectangular kind where the abrasive side is bonded to a sponge, as those may scratch. Use the kind that are shaped a bit like a doughnut and are made of some kind of very soft, flexible plastic netting. Only things that are softer than the shell plastic should ever touch it. If you can hack it, your fingernails would make a good scraper.

Even if the paint is oil based, the water will get in there between the paint and shell a bit. A gentle soap like liquid dishwashing soap may help. Depending on how old the paint is, it may crumble or peel off, if you are lucky. If not, be prepared for lots of arm exercising, but this is the only way to safety undo such a mindless mistake.

Post photos for us to see!
 
The Novus products will bring back the shine. I have seen sanded vistalites restored.

I also know people that have used goo gone with no adverse affect.

Worst case scenario is that the person that painted these shells sanded them prior to painting.

The Novus products will work and the shells will shine! They will never be mint original, but they can be excellent if the time is put in to them.

It is also common for restorers to make cleaning solutions with soap and dawn dish soap to soak parts and it does wonders for your hands!

You can soak the shells in the tub in a nice solution as recommended, but depending on the paint and how it took to the shells will determine if that will work.

David
 
Taking off from what others have already said:
I think strippers or starting right in with sanding should be avoided. Sure, you can polish out a lot of the damage they would create, but it's a tough job, and why make extra work for yourself.

I'd try Goof Off first. (Don't use Goo Gone, that's petroleum based. Goof Off is water/citrus based. Don't breathe the fumes or get it on your skin, though. It's supposedly toxic!) Spray it on and let it soak. Hopefully it will soften up the paint. Then go at it with a plastic putty knife and see if you can scrape most of the paint off, get it down to a super thin layer.

Then try a very light, slow sanding with a fine grit paper, moving to finer grits the thinner the paint gets, ending up with coarser then finer grades of steel wool. When you get to the 0000 grade wool, you will actually be starting to polish the acrylic itself.

Then do a final polishing & cleaning with the Novus polishes: 1, 2, and if you have heavy scratches, 3.

It might take a long, long, time, but the more time you take, the more patience you have with the stripping part, the better and smoother the polishing part will go.

You might also look in the yellow pages for a store near you that sells acrylic. They might be able to give you advice. Lots of those places do polishing, too. Maybe you could even pay them to do the whole job!

Good luck. Let us know how it comes out.

Also see these links for more info on polishing Vistas:
http://www.griptoad.com/SCRATCH.htm
http://www.griptoad.com/RESTORATION.htm
 
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