Cleaning paint off a coin box without damaging cab finish?

[Billkwando]

I just finished painting my Neo Geo machine in latex enamel (behr ultra premium plus in Grenadine S-G-180, for anyone who's looking), and even though I taped it off, I managed to get paint on my (formerly) super clean coin box.



In case you're wondering, I didn't remove it because of where the power supply is located:


So what I'm looking for is a way to get the paint off the coinbox in a way that won't damage the surrounding finish.

I was thinking about taking a large plastic card or folder and butting it up against the edge of the cb, and maybe using some steel wool, so there's no possibility of accidentally damaging the cab finish....but I'm worried about scratching up the black finish underneath. I know I could use alcohol but I'm worried about getting it on the cab.

Any suggestions? Thanks!

[RandyT]

Tape it off and paint it black.  Probably going to be your best bet, as long as there aren't big blobs of dried paint.

[Kevin Mullins]

Take a razor blade and score around the edge where the door meets the cabinet and then see if it will just peel off the coin door.

[Billkwando]

Tape it off and paint it black.  Probably going to be your best bet, as long as there aren't big blobs of dried paint.

Nah, that latex stuff is weaksauce on metal. You can scratch it off with your fingernail in spots. Repainting would be overkill. I was just looking for a more efficient way of doing it, or a particularly ingenious way, as this forum is full of crafty creative problem solvers.

Take a razor blade and score around the edge where the door meets the cabinet and then see if it will just peel off the coin door.

Yeah, that's definitely gonna have to be part of the plan. It's only been on there since yesterday, so that should help. When I tried to score it to pull up the making tape, I pulled off big chunks of the red, so I'm a little worried about doing that again.

[RandyT]

Nah, that latex stuff is weaksauce on metal. You can scratch it off with your fingernail in spots. Repainting would be overkill. I was just looking for a more efficient way of doing it, or a particularly ingenious way, as this forum is full of crafty creative problem solvers.

My biggest concern is being able to find something that eats whatever you can't easily scrape off, without eating the black part with it.  And since it is in such close proximity to the paint you want to keep nice, use of solvents could also be tricky.  Latex is great to clean up when it's wet, but it can be hard to remove when fully dry.  Careful and meticulous use of mineral spirits on just the parts you can't scrape off is the next approach I would try.  Some of that "goof off" stuff could help as well.  Just test it on the inside (if there black painted areas in there) to see what it does to the black before using it on the outside.

[Billkwando]

Nah, that latex stuff is weaksauce on metal. You can scratch it off with your fingernail in spots. Repainting would be overkill. I was just looking for a more efficient way of doing it, or a particularly ingenious way, as this forum is full of crafty creative problem solvers.

My biggest concern is being able to find something that eats whatever you can't easily scrape off, without eating the black part with it.  And since it is in such close proximity to the paint you want to keep nice, use of solvents could also be tricky.  Latex is great to clean up when it's wet, but it can be hard to remove when fully dry.  Careful and meticulous use of mineral spirits on just the parts you can't scrape off is the next approach I would try.  Some of that "goof off" stuff could help as well.  Just test it on the inside (if there black painted areas in there) to see what it does to the black before using it on the outside.

Yeah, I'm also thinking about trying water and one of those plastic scouring pads. I got paint on the hinges too, so that's gonna be super fun to clean up.

[RandyT]

Yeah, I'm also thinking about trying water and one of those plastic scouring pads

That's a good idea.  Watch out for the "Scotch-Brite" ones though.  They are really good at "scouring", but you probably want something slightly less aggressive.  The cheap ones from your local dollar / discount store may be a little safer to start with, and you can always ratchet up the aggressiveness of your approach if the gentler attempts fail.  Good luck!

[Billkwando]

You're gonna love this. Water + paper towel.

Basically I wet the area slightly, wait a couple seconds, and wipe it off. So I'll wet one area, go work on another area, then come back and wipe the first area off. I'm being very meticulous and making sure not to even touch the good paint with the paper towel (even though the paint is hard now), so I make small movements to avoid overwiping. I've had to use my knife to score a couple places with particularly thick paint. Part of what I did wrong previously was that I wasn't using a fresh blade in my xacto knife. Most things I use it for don't require razor sharpness. This does.

So I take a dry piece of paper towel and knock the loose flecks off, and the particularly hard to reach parts (around the hinges and between the 2 doors' frames) I'll take the point of the knife and lightly pick them off. I'm 3/4 of the way done (took a break so I don't make a mistake rushing) and figured I'd share the absurdity.  

I still have a couple places where I may need to use the card + wool technique though. If you look at my pic and see the far lower T molding, you'll see where I got red paint all over the inside edge of the side, which is still meant to be black.

[RandyT]

You're gonna love this. Water + paper towel.

Heh.  Great to hear that you made progress with such a low-impact approach.  Keep at it.  If you let it go a couple of days, it could be tougher to break loose then.

Congrats!

[Billkwando]

You're gonna love this. Water + paper towel.

Heh.  Great to hear that you made progress with such a low-impact approach.  Keep at it.  If you let it go a couple of days, it could be tougher to break loose then.

Congrats!

I picked up one of these (brand is "Lola") for the outside edges near the T molding.


I'm gonna try to block off the good paint with a card or folder like I mentioned, and use this to try to knock off the bad paint (with a little water).

I didn't get the red, cos then I wouldn't see the paint on it, and thus rob myself of my sense of accomplishment.  

(plus it would be harder to clean off after lol)