Getting clear coat off a powder coated enclosure

[drezdn]

I was putting a decal on a pedal and I dropped the enclosure while adding the second coat of clear coat. Is there a good way to get the clear coat off without messing up the powdercoat?

Normally I'd just sand the whole thing down, but it would be nice if I didn't have to repaint it.

[davent]

Not having seen it or knowing what the clearcoat is, is may be quite salvageable. Add more coats of clearcoat and then level wet sand with a hard block backing without sanding through the clearcoat to the powdercoat. If it's a lacquer the subsequent layers melt the previous so you have one thick coat rather then seperate layers which might be a problem.

dave

[AntKnee]

Did it damage the decal?

[drezdn]

The decal got a little dirty when it was dropped. I'm going to try lightly sanding with like 1500 sandpaper around it and see if that works.

[wgc]

You can sand the clear off. Don't worry about fine sandpaper scratches in the colorcoat. They'll fill in with new clear and never know they were there  I'd use 400 grit, work through to 1200. Just try to avoid sanding though the powder coat to bare metal.