removing wrinkle paint from heater/radio bezels

[burdar]

What's the best way to remove the factory wrinkle paint from the heater control and radio bezels? 
lightly bead blast?
sand the paint off? (if so, what grit of paper?)

I thought about putting some brake fluid on the bezels to loosen up the paint.(then scrape it off with a razor blade)  I've heard brake fluid can harm some plastics though.  Thanks

[Bullitt-]

I sanded with like 600 grit....what you put back is textured so the surface does not need to be immaculate.

[burdar]

I'll try that tomorrow.  The stock texture is extremely fine.  A lot finer then some other pictures I've seen.   I need to get the bezels cleaned up pretty good if I want to put back a very fine texture. 

The radio bezel is accually in very good shape.  The heater bezel has a few chips in the wrinkle paint.  I know I'll never get the texture to match up perfectly so I'll be repainting both pieces.  Thanks

[quapman]

Bead blasting should work fine as long as you don't have your pressure too high or linger in one spot too long. It will leave a slightly rougher surface that will help the new paint adhere better as well.

[burdar]

Thanks Steve.  I went around to some stores today and no one has any wrinkle paint.  I may waite a little while on the bezels.  I can work on painting the dash frame in the mean time.  My bead blaster is put away for the winter...in a few weeks I should be able to get it back out.

Does anyone recomend a certain brand of wrinkle paint?

[Bullitt-]

Not wrinkle.....textured, I used this Rustoleum & I'd call it a dead match
http://www.rustoleum.com/CBGProduct.asp?pid=27&sid=7220830

[burdar]

Wade, do you have a close-up pic of yours?  I wouldn't call the finish on mine just "textured".  It definatly has a wrinkled pattern to it.  I've heard this stuff works good.

http://www.bullseyegear.com/bullseyepistol/images/D/wrinklelr.jpg

[quapman]

A lot of folks use SEM brand, but it's high dollar stuff. I like Wade's low-buck suggestion. 

[Bullitt-]

best shot I could get...the flash washes everything out....no wrinkle, just grainy kind of like fine sandpaper

[burdar]

I just got home and looked at my radio bezel.  I see what you are talking about Wade.  Part of my bezel is wrinkled and other parts are just textured as you described.  Wrinkle paint needs to be sprayed heavy in order for it to wrinkle.  If it's sprayed too thin, no wrinkling will take place. 

My guess is that every car will have it's own level of wrinkle to it depending on how the paint was sprayed.  The paint on your car probably didn't wrinkle at all.  It just stayed looking like fine sandpaper.  That also explains why some bezels I've seen have a very heavy wrinkle to them.  Every car is going to be a little different.  I can try to get a picture of the "wrinkle" on mine but it may be difficult.

[Bullitt-]

I bought another bezel that has no wrinkle... I have never seen one that I would call wrinkled

[burdar]

Hard to see but it's wrinkled.   There's a wavy pattern in it that doesn't look like sand paper at all.  The thin lower section of the bezel that is covered up by the trim looks just like sand paper though.

 

[Bullitt-]

Looks like yours got an extra heavy coat.  Still not what I call wrinkle paint.

[JayBee]

I used this stuff and was content with the results, it is pretty expensive though ($25.00). Sorry no pictures, nor can I get any, my car is unaccessable for the time being.
 

[burdar]

I've heard the Harley stuff is good.  Thanks for the info.

Here's a post I found on another site.
http://board.moparts.org/ubbthreads/showflat.php?Number=6095379