Hi all - Long time member here making a return after a lengthy hiatus. Getting married will do that, I guess. So, I have a question, about something I've never run into before. This is for my own daily driver, a 1994 Mercedes E320. The car is incredibly low mileage and well cared for, but, the previous owner had the horizontal panels reshot, and blended down to the pinstripe line. The big problem is with the lousy job that was done masking off non-painted surface. Leaving me with a question: How best to remove auto paint from rubber weatherstripping? I've replaced the door seals, that was easy enough. But there are pieces of rubber which aren't so easily replaced. Specifically, the rubber inside the window frame, into which the window glass gets sandwiched when the window is closed. There is paint on some of this, and I can't even find a MB part number to replace it. Same goes for the "rain rails" on the roof. They have rubber integrated into them, and you can't buy just the rubber. The rails themselves are out of production, so I'd like to get the paint off of their rubber strips. Here's some of what I've been considering: 1. Razor blade. Pros: effective. Cons: I'll be there for weeks. And it'll be way too easy to remove too much material. 2. Lacquer thinner, acetone, tardis, other solvents. Pros: Easy. Cons: might not work, since I have no way to know how long the paint has been there. 3. Abrasives, like a scotchbrite pad. Pros: will almost certainly work. Cons: Nearly impossible in tiny areas like the rubber strip where the rain rails meet the body of the car. The piece of rubber is super thin, and I'd risk damaging the paint on the roof, the rain rail, or both. 4. Less strong solvents, like Goo Gone, WD40, etc. I'm not sure that will work at all. Anybody have other ideas? Thanks in advance! --Karl...not dead, just on vacation...
Clay with a lot of lube. Plastic razorblade installed on a scraper. Mineral spirits with a cotton rag? Just some ideas that popped in my head. Btw, nice to see you again Karl. Still have the s2k?
KARL!!!! I'd suggest lacquer thinner. It is strong and will leave the rubber a little dull looking but should do it for you.
Nice to see you guys, too. I do, but it's up for sale. My wife brought a horrible old Camry to the marriage, and to be totally honest, I never drive the S2000 anymore. I was considering selling it even before we were engaged. I really dig the old Mercedes, so it's both my daily driver *and* my fun car. It's just not fun in a sports car way, it's fun in an old and interesting way. Ken! You guys like lacquer thinner better than mineral spirits, or does it not matter much?
Lacquer thinner is very different than mineral spirits. Very different sent using my thumbs, mispelling most words
I just wanted to pop in and update my thread with my findings, which worked. The car is getting repainted, and I tore it into pieces myself, to save the body shop some time, and to save me some money. In doing so, I took off most of the weatherstripping, and have been cleaning it up. What I found to be the most effective for removing paint from the rubber is, a Scotchbrite pad with some lacquer thinner on it. It's just the right amount of abrasion plus solvent, and you don't have to bust your butt doing it. Also: that rubber weatherstripping really does look brand new after some time spent cleaning it. I just rinsed it off, sprayed it with an APC, and cleaned with a somewhat stiff nylon brush. TLDR: Lacquer thinner on a Scotchbrite pad works GREAT for removing paint from rubber. And you can make rubber trim look a lot better simply by washing with APC and a brush.
