Nasty yellow junk under chrome plating

[Relic_Models]

What is it?

And how do I get rid of it?

A day and a half sit in some Windex got rid of the crome but the yellow junk is still clogging all the details up.

Edited July 2, 2015 by Relic_Models

[1930fordpickup]

It iis Paint to help the chrome stick better. Just strip it like you would any paint. Purple power will do the trick. It takes the chrome off in minutes but you must wear gloves with this product.

[1930fordpickup]

http://www.modelcarsmag.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=83153

Just read this section.

[Foxer]

I've had no problems removing paint with all the typical products in the thread Andy linked to, but this under chrome coating is especially tough to remove. I've soaked chrome for days in the others with little or no results. I have found success with Dawn Power Dissolver on most chrome. Be aware that there are great differences in this coating from kit to kit and company to company.

[Longbox55]

Try 91% rubbing alcohol. That seems to take it right off without much issue. That stuff is actually a lacquer that's applied, as mentioned in the earlier posts, to allow the "chrome" to adhere better.

[JTalmage]

I've never wore gloves when using purple power...

[Mooneyzs]

Try using ammonia... thats what I use to stripy chrome with. I had a good friend show me that years agao

[detailstymied]

after stripping, i've used a brass toothbrush to dislodge the underchrome goop. what stays after that either gets sanded or painted over and then life moves forward.

[Art Anderson]

What is it?

And how do I get rid of it?

A day and a half sit in some Windex got rid of the crome but the yellow junk is still clogging all the details up.

All plastic model "chrome" is applied over a high gloss coating--that's what makes it adhere to the plastic (hopefully), and gives it that high level of "shiny". In most cases, this clear coat can be removed, but only by using a caustic solution--sodium hydroxide, which is also called "lye". If you want to get rid of that, a soaking in anything containing lye (up to and including Lewis Red Devil Lye--which is still avaiable in ANY well-stocked supermarket or big-box store. Lye, also called "caustic soda" was for decades, the most effective paint remover, and it will dissolve the micro-thin aluminum coating we know as model car kit "chrome" in mere minutes.

It does take some "manning up" to use the stuff--what with all the politically correct rhetoric out there, but with proper protective gloves and eye protection, it WORKS! I've been using the stuff for more than 50 years--just maybe I might know something about it?

Art

[scaleauto]

I have always used a two step process.

1. EasyOff oven cleaner takes off shiny chrome, washed with Dawn dish soap

2. Then a few days in brake fluid (dot 3), this variable perhaps five days then

using a wooden sharp toothpick carfully remove the high gloss coating (goop)

I wash then with toothpaste and finally dish soap again.

I know I struggled with this same challenge.

Brake fluid is expensive but it works for me.

The parts are down to the raw plastic

[StevenGuthmiller]

I've always had very good luck with Super Clean.

I've never had any issues with the undercoat not coming off with it.

Usually a soak overnight will take care of it.

I've soaked chrome parts from old kits for less than 2 hours & had them come out bright shiny white.

Steve

[Spex84]

I've never wore gloves when using purple power...

Neither did I...until one day last year when I lost a small taillight bezel in the bottom of a yoghurt container full of slightly diluted Purple. I spent longer fishing the part out than usual. I felt a prickling sensation in my hand, nothing major. I washed my hand thoroughly afterwards, as usual.

Within 3 days the skin of my hand was dry and cracked, especially at the joints. A mild chemical burn. Now I use tweezers to extract parts from the Purple bath!

//back to the original comment: Purple works well to strip chrome and the yellow stuff. At one point I tried using Coca-Cola...it took the chrome off, but not the yellow undercoating.

[Danny Lectro]

I find Simple Green works better than Purple Power to soften the undercoat enough to remove. Unfortunately, it still needs scraping with a dental pick or probe to get the stuff out of parts like grills and finned valve covers.

[slusher]

Purple power removes the oil from your skin. Best to use rubber gloves...

[Kit Basher]

Seems to work different for me every time. Sometimes Totally Awesome gets it all, other times I may have to use brake fluid or oven cleaner.

[Tom Geiger]

Purple power removes the oil from your skin. Best to use rubber gloves...

Neither did I...until one day last year when I lost a small taillight bezel in the bottom of a yoghurt container full of slightly diluted Purple. I spent longer fishing the part out than usual. I felt a prickling sensation in my hand, nothing major. I washed my hand thoroughly afterwards, as usual.

Within 3 days the skin of my hand was dry and cracked, especially at the joints. A mild chemical burn. Now I use tweezers to extract parts from the Purple bath!

//back to the original comment: Purple works well to strip chrome and the yellow stuff. At one point I tried using Coca-Cola...it took the chrome off, but not the yellow undercoating.

and that's the visible part... Purple Power, Brake Fluid, Gasoline... you absorb it through your pores and it makes it's way through your tissue and into your blood stream. Do that a lot and you can have some issues. Seriously!

[Mike_G]

That coating is different depending on the manufacturer, no single product will take all of them off

[3100 chevy]

I used brake fluid on some amt parts took everything off in under a minute!

[horsepower]

I've had pretty good luck using the blue nail polish remover quoted in the article shown, but never let it sit longer than a couple of minutes at a time. I lost, actually LOST a hubcap I forgot and left in while I answered the phone, 30 minutes later all I could find was tiny chrome particles on the surface, and some unidentified goo on the bottom of the container.

Edited July 4, 2015 by horsepower

[Danny Lectro]

Brake fluid can be very effective. However, in my experience, it can weaken styrene plastic if left to soak for more than a few hours, making it brittle and even causing it to crack while soaking.

[Tom Geiger]

I've always used Mr Clean kitchen floor cleaner to strip my chrome. I put some in a regular drinking glass, toss in my chrome parts and let it sit over night. No nasty smell, it's lemony fresh! When done, I just put the Mr Clean back in the bottle for next time.