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I forgot to remove the plastic protective film from the outside of a metal door. The door is white prime/painted. I was able to remove the film from the inside of the door, but the outside is baked on and cracked. I have tried using a metal paint scraper, but the plastic is very resistant to that. I have tried soaking it in water, spraying JigALoo, and now GoofOff.

Should I try ammonia or a citrus cleaner or something else? enter image description here

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3 Answers

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The trick is to put it in the sun to warm it up. Spray it with WD-40 and let sit for about an hour. Get a non-scratch plastic scraper and have at it!

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I did the same thing -- I haven't done it yet it yet, but I believe Acetone will remove the plastic film -- it sure melts regular plastic.

Take a look at http://www.woodgrain.com/questions/faq/faq.html

They suggest a acetone based solvent to remove the plastic film.

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Greg - Note that the window lite frame is plastic. I would hesitate to use Acetone because you'll risk damaging the window frame. – Karl Katzke Sep 3 '11 at 23:11
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If Goof-Off isn't doing it, I'm thinking your best bet is to sand it and re-prime it.

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I am hoping to keep this as a last resort :( – tegbains Aug 11 '11 at 0:46
Yeah, the problem is that nothing is going to penetrate the plastic to get at the adhesive, unless you use something that's going to actually melt the plastic (i.e. a strong gel-type paint stripper), which could also damage the window lite. I think sanding to bare metal is your best bet. Doesn't take long with a random orbital sander. – Karl Katzke Aug 11 '11 at 14:18

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