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paint removal


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OK now where in the hell can I buy this stuff at? I went to autozone as well as advance auto parts, the autozoe ppl looked at me like i was stupid and I saw nothing at Advance.

I buy mine at the local Wal Mart. It's back in the automotive section next to the cleaners and waxes. About $7 for a gallon. And it will dissolve super glue....

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You can use it over and over. If it seems like it's taking noticably longer to strip the paint, then swap it out. I swap mine out about every 6 months, and have had no problems. And it get used a lot over those 6 months :angry:

Just be sure to keep it in a sealable container....

Edited by Junior73
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  • 1 month later...

Just today I had to strip the paint off a hood. It was painted with Mopar automotive lacquer…very “hot†paint that had been cured on the hood for 6 months. I soaked it in Scalecoat II Wash Away. Within 10 minutes the paint was very soft and after 30 minutes it came off under running hot water and scrubbed with an old toothbrush. This stuff works great. I got it at my LHS. It was designed to remove pre painted model railcar paint jobs so find a hobby shop that handles train stuff, for your best chance of getting it. Hope this helps.

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  • 2 weeks later...
  • 1 year later...

Here is an old build-up I found last spring. I am in the process of removing the paint to repair the body and rebuild the whole thing.

The starting point. Traded a good promo for two glue bombs to satisfy the builder in me

2009031.jpg

After weeks in the Purple Power Pond, some of the paint just was not coming off.

Observation; if it dose not come off in the first day or three it won't come off in a week or three.

2009ply001.jpg

Here is the same model(other side) after only 36 hours in brake fluid(non-silicone type) it easily came off with a tooth brush.

2009ply002.jpg

Close-up of emblem that had been filled with paint. There is no way to remove this without damaging the detail unless the paint is softened.

2009ply003.jpg

Conclusion; Purple Power is a corrosive degreaser that works well on paint that has not cured completely or is otherwise disposed to fall off a model body. But it dose not soak into paint that has acheived that ideal rock hard status. Like I said above, the paint that had not softened in the first few days of soaking was no closer to coming off after weeks of soaking. It just had no effect beyond a point.

Brake fluid breaks down the paint and softens it regardless off its state. The brake fluid is a true solvent.

Further, I had damaged the body by trying to make the PP work, scrubbing and heating and just handling the body so much that some of the previous glue work and fragile featrues were stressed. I have in the past left parts in brake fluid for months without affecting the plastic.

I hope this helps someone who is not sure where to turn if the Purple Power dose not do the job. It works to a point, but that is it.

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Differant paints require differant removers. I have seen the reverse on some paints and have had to use both(SuperKlean for the chrome and brake fluid for the under coat). 91% alcohol, (on the model stupid! Not in the modeler! :blink: ) also is needed some times. You also need to be careful, as each of these can react with differant formulations of plastic and you wind up with an nicely cleaned pile of goo! In reality it is just like using paint thinners. You don't use enamal thinners on acrylics, etc.

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Mike, as Pete said there are different solutions to each problem. I have heard much said about corrosive degreasers as paint strippers, but their use is limited. My reason for using PP on the two models I did was because the degreasers are a little easier to clean up and even use in my work area inside the house(no bad smell). And most of the paint came off both models right down to the plastic, each had been repainted at least once in it's life with different colors that had then been painted over.

Another reason to use degreasers is that I have heard that brake fluid makes plastic brittle. I have not experienced this but thought I would try PP on these old bodies just in case. When it came down to the end, I did more damage to the Plymouth trying to scrub the paint off than if I had used the brake fluid from the start.

And that is why I decided to share this. Good old brake fluid dose a nice job. Caveat emptor.

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I tried brake fluid once....ONCE!!

Never again. There are ALWAYS other alternatives. And I don't use Purple power either, as it seems like a watered down version of Super Clean.

NEVER use force. If a gentle scrubbing does not get it off, then try rubbing it off with 91% rubbing alcohol, or superglue debonder. NOTHING lasts for long, against super glue debonder. Just don't get it on any clear parts.

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Once scrubbed clean in the wonderful purple pond of super clean I just thoroughly rinse in warm water and dry.

I have never used brake fluid so I am not sure on that subject.

I've found that even with the purple pool and an old or new toothbrush, there will be residual paint to scrap off. It hides out in corners and crevices but comes off easily. Depending on whether primer remains, it should be ready to repaint after the wash and dry. I can't get it that smooth. Just check it over real good.

Gary

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I think Soft Scrub is your best bet. What I like the most about it is its abrasive properties! :lol:

i too use SS on all new or stripped bodys before primer. like marcos said it abrasive qualities rock.

you can see areas that weren't thoroughly cleaned by the lack of scratching/scuffing of the plastic. it also scuffs up the surface just enough to except your primer coats. so no other scuffing is necessary

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I have never used anything except undiluted PINE-SOL to remove paint from my models. It always takes off 100% of the paint, all I have to do is rinse and dry. No matter how long it's been since the paint has been applied (even 10 years) it only has to soak between 8-24 hrs to strip down to bare plastic. I hope you find this information useful.

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  • 4 months later...

I had bought some purple power from Walmart when I heard it was used to take off paint from models.

The stuff worked great on a bunch of built models I found at the Goodwill. But now it seeams to have slowed way down taking the paint off parts from the same car that it easily stripped other parts from the car. The only change has been the temperature.

Any Ideas?

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