Paint Strippers - What to Use?

[Roadrunner]

2. Easy Off Heavy Duty oven cleaner. Great for Testor and Pactra enamels, old and new, also works on some other Tamiya paints. What I like about it is the speed--no 24 hour soak involved. Spray on, let sit 15-20 minutes, attack with an old toothbrush under warm running water. Repeat as necessary.

Exactly what I'm doing right now (sort of), except that I'm using a no name generic oven cleaner from the dollar store. Roughly 75% of the chrome is already gone after this first 15 minute soak.

[fun9c1]

Anybody ever tried Purple Power on tires? I'd like to remove a botched white letter job (testors) but want to make sure it won't wreck the tires. I found that it does eat through ziploc (different brand but like ziploc) bags after a day or two. These tires are from the Revell/Monogram '55 Chevy Street Machine.

[StevenGuthmiller]

24 hours in Super Clean. Steve

[Captain Obvious]

Does anyone know what type of paint the ColorPlace spray paint from Walmart is? I use it frequently for smaller parts, but recently used it on a body, with unfavorable results. It didn't seem like the 91% alcohol I usually use did much good on it...any suggestions?

[Mike_G]

Does anyone know what type of paint the ColorPlace spray paint from Walmart is? I use it frequently for smaller parts, but recently used it on a body, with unfavorable results. It didn't seem like the 91% alcohol I usually use did much good on it...any suggestions?

It's enamel- Ez-off oven cleaner should take it off. Put the part in a ziploc bag and spray the oven cleaner in the bag and seal it up. The vapors are as effective as the actual liquid.

[Captain Obvious]

I will definitely give that a shot when I get home...thanks much!

[StevenGuthmiller]

Enamels are generally easy to remove compared to lacquers. Any number of techniques should work. You could try soaking in Super Clean too. Steve

[jacoballardtattoo]

I did not know simple green was good for this. I have never used simple green in this manner but feel that it would be the best option. Simple green is non toxic and as safe as a chemical can be health wise. It has been used in many medical facilities for years due to how safe it is. I use it regularly as a cleaning agent for all surfaces in my tattoo studio and while working as a mechanic for over ten years found it was great for wound care after a trip to the urgent care after a screwdriver accident, it sucked always be safe in anything you do. It was actually the physician who told me that most mechanic bays have simple green if you have a minor cut soak it in the simple green for a few minutes to help prevent infection.

(Please note though with this I am not a doctor, I do not use simple green on the tattoos I do, and this was said to me by only one physician about 13 years ago.)

[jacoballardtattoo]

I used simple green for the first time as a paint stripper tonight and I gotta say I'm SOLD! I have used simple green fort years now in the garage, tattoo studio, even in medical offices I have worked in it's non toxic has no crazy fumes and gets the job done. I feel it's the safest striper you can use as far as health goes, I have even used it as a wound cleaner (only minor cuts and only in a pinch, it was a trick I learned in Afghanistan from the PA, and mind you I am not a doctor so I am not recommending it for others in a medical form)

[Stray]

I have the Chevelle body in the brake fluid again, this is the 3rd time!

So, it is the same fluid as the last times, it was pretty clean after the 2nd strip so I poured most of it back into the bottle. This time it is a bit milky (I think that may be because the resin wax I used when polishing the body) and flaky. I think I will filter it through some stockings and return it to the bottle again, as it stripped the paint quite well again.

So. How many times have you re-used the same fluid to strip paint? How long does it maintain it's stripping capabilities?

Thoughts?

[dublin boy]

Thankfully, I don't have to strip paint too much anymore, but I always found fresh brake fluid works faster than the stuff you've already used to strip paint.

It will work, but it's full of stuff from the old paint and takes much more scrubbing with a toothbrush.

[Roadrunner]

I must say that I'm stunned. A couple of weeks ago, I botched a lacquer job on a 32 Vicky, and have been wanting to strip it. I just remembered that I had some Polly S stripper (Easy-Lift-Off), spread some around with a soft brush, and the lacquer is lifting already. Way cool stuff!

[Longbox55]

I have a small metal model of the Old Navy Truck and I would like to strip it & used is as a test bed for the weathering process. Any ideas as to what I could use for the paint removal, it almost looks like a laquer based paint.

Thanks

Aircraft stripper. Brake fluid might work fine on it, too. Stay away from any of the lye based degreasers, as it will eat the metal. Remove any plastic parts from the body first, as aircraft stripper will damage the plastic.

[peteski]

I must say that I'm stunned. A couple of weeks ago, I botched a lacquer job on a 32 Vicky, and have been wanting to strip it. I just remembered that I had some Polly S stripper (Easy-Lift-Off), spread some around with a soft brush, and the lacquer is lifting already. Way cool stuff!

Why are you surprised? It is doing exactly what it was designed to do.

Another thing to consider when stripping paint is the temperature. Warm stripping solution will be more agressive and work faster than cold one. My workshop in the winter is cool (in the low 60s) and I have a laboratory hot plate I place the container with the stripping solution on. I set it for around 80 degrees F and that works really well. No need to do that in the summer but it would speed the strippign slightly too.

[Pete J.]

Beware of plastic containers!  Thought I would add a warning to this discussion.  I have used DOT3 brake fluid for years to strip Tamiya paints.  SuperClean(purple power) won't touch the stuff and alcohol just cleans the surface.  I had a body in the brake fluid for about three days and it was doing it's job.  The other night I went to my shop to lock up and found brake fluid covering a portion of the bench.  To my surprise I had a cracked plastic container.  This wasn't the cheap Walmart stuff but a good  XOXO brand container.  Apparently the brake fluid reacted with the plastic and the bottom cracked.  Not sure what was going on.  Interestingly, I had been storing my SuperClean in it for about a year with no adverse effects.  I was also lucky in that the brake fluid didn't get on anything important.  It just missed my Tamiya RC Tiger I.  Had I gone out later that would have been ruined and that would have been expensive!  Since then I went to the outlet mall and grabbed some cheap Pyrex for future use.

[peteski]

Beware of plastic containers!  Thought I would add a warning to this discussion.  I have used DOT3 brake fluid for years to strip Tamiya paints.  SuperClean(purple power) won't touch the stuff and alcohol just cleans the surface.  I had a body in the brake fluid for about three days and it was doing it's job.  The other night I went to my shop to lock up and found brake fluid covering a portion of the bench.  To my surprise I had a cracked plastic container.  This wasn't the cheap Walmart stuff but a good  XOXO brand container.  Apparently the brake fluid reacted with the plastic and the bottom cracked.  Not sure what was going on.  Interestingly, I had been storing my SuperClean in it for about a year with no adverse effects.  I was also lucky in that the brake fluid didn't get on anything important.  It just missed my Tamiya RC Tiger I.  Had I gone out later that would have been ruined and that would have been expensive!  Since then I went to the outlet mall and grabbed some cheap Pyrex for future use.

DOT3 brake fluid and CSC are totally different chemicals so it is not so surprising that the container was not affected by CSC and was by the brake fluid.  I have several paint strippers in my arsenal since some strippers work better on different different hobby paint formulations.  But I do not use brake fluid.  The Floquil ELO (Easy Lift Off) paint stripper formula is similar to the DOT3 brake fluid.  Using glass containers is a safe bet with the paint strippers we use in out hobbies.  As far as the quality of plastic containers goes, remember: they're all made in China. Walmart and XOXO. :-)

[Roadrunner]

Why are you surprised? It is doing exactly what it was designed to do.

Not surprised,... impressed. My overall experiences so far though, oven cleaner, ELO, brake fluid and 90% alcohol, still leave something to be desired. Most will readily and easily attack and remove the Testors lacquer, but few of them seem to touch the dupli-color primer, leaving me with a patchwork quilt of paints and primers to deal with.

[crazyjim]

Have you tried LA Awesome?

[Roadrunner]

Have you tried LA Awesome?

Me? No, I haven't.

[crazyjim]

Pretty good stuff and it's environmentally friendly.  The Dollar General store by me carries it.

[Roadrunner]

Pretty good stuff and it's environmentally friendly.  The Dollar General store by me carries it.

Excellent. I'll look for some. Thanks.

[Mr mopar]

Hi guy's I have a problem ! I'm trying to strip the paint of my ZZR kit ,I've used easy off with great Success but this time it's a no go

the paint is not stripping ,so I used super clean no luck there ,now it's on to simple green ,and it's not looking good for this one ether

and I do not like brake fluid ,can anybody help me out ? This is a very rare kit do not want to wreck it. There must be something out there that will work on it .thx

ok I found something call EZ strip. It worked just have to be careful you don't leave it on to long!

Edited August 8, 2015 by Mr mopar

[Aaronw]

Has anyone used Dawn Platinum? Sometime back someone recommended Dawn Power Dissolver, but I wasn't in need of a paint stripper. I recently finished off the last of the Super Clean I usually use and thought I'd give the Power Dissolver a try (I've found Super Clean seems less effective since they took Castrol off the label). Apparently Power Dissolver has been replaced with Dawn Platinum, there is a liquid and a foam. There also seems to be a version formulated for cleaning BBQ grills. I would like to avoid pioneering a new product if someone already has some experience with it.

[Aaronw]

How long is the potency of Purple power?

greg

I find Super Clean a bit more effective than Purple Power, but they seem to be closely related. My experience has been that it is use rather than storage life that makes a difference in potency. I keep a plastic tub with a lid filled with Superclean. I've had a batch good for a year or more, but also had it "go bad" in much shorter times if I've had to strip a lot of paint. Chrome seems to have less impact, although that could also be due to the overall much smaller quantity of material being removed.

I have read that the various purple cleaners can react and damage resin although I haven't had an issue there. I did stop using it with resin after hearing that though, so might have just been lucky.

[ChrisBcritter]

Had to use another variation recently: Some 50-odd-year-old light blue enamel on an interior was being stubborn; it was on the seat pattern and I couldn't sand much without losing detail. So I ended up soaking as much off as I could in the purple stuff, then carefully applied a little ELO and went over it with the plastic bristle brush on the Dremel at low speed. (This was after a toothbrush wasn't strong enough.) The stuff came off and spared the upholstery pattern, but I did have to keep rinsing it in the purple as I did it or else it would dry and stain the parts again. And yes, I was very careful not to get liquid into the Dremel and wore rubber gloves.