paint prep over vinyl

[n3wt0n]

Hi everyone,

I have a super off-road cab that I am refurbing at the moment. From what I have read these cabinets had a very thin vinyl applied to the outside instead of laminate or paint. The vinyl appears to be extremely thin. I can't get a corner to start pulling and I can't really peel it at all anywhere on the cab. I'm actually really impressed at how well it is on there. The sides aren't horrible but there are some parts that will need filled and sanded but for the most part I would just like to put on a fresh coat of paint to make everything match. Can I just sand it a bit to scuff and then paint over this stuff with tremclad black? What black do you use? semi-gloss? gloss?

Thanks for the help,
Jeremy

[thomas_surles]

Get some rough sand paper. Should come off with some force I like the finish of satin black.

[vwalbridge]

You might consider a heat gun to remove the vinyl.

[n3wt0n]

Thanks guys, I took a real close look and it is only on one panel  . The rest appears to be painted. I am going to sand the rest and peel of the vinyl. Heat gun may be necessary, thanks for the tip.

[harveybirdman]

There is no ninja way, only heat gun, scraper, time, and your best swears.

[vwalbridge]

There is no ninja way, only heat gun, scraper, time, and your best swears.

These words are so true they hurt my face.

[behrmr]

And then can sand off remaining adhesive and/or use citrustrip. Go slow with heat and try to peel monolithically if you can. Don't melt the vinyl or it becomes brittle and breaks. You want to soften it and pull it off.