Removing decals

[junkyardjeff]

I picked up a builder that has decals all over it and what takes them off.

[stitchdup]

if its not cleared just a soak and a wash should take them off. If its been cleared you'll need to strip the clear first

[jeffdeoranut]

if its an old, old build soaking will probably not work...easy off will work if there is paint under the decals, otherwise you mite have to sand them off.

[Dave Ambrose]

You might get them off with Walthers Solvaset. The model railroaders use it and it a lot more powerful than the Microscale products. 

[Snake45]

31 minutes ago, jeffdeoranut said:

if its an old, old build soaking will probably not work...easy off will work if there is paint under the decals, otherwise you mite have to sand them off.

Easy-Off will also remove all paint. 

This has worked remarkably well for me twice recently. Let the body sit in HOT tap water (your tap shouldn't get hot enough to damage the plastic, which takes 180* or more), then pull it out and scrape the decals off with a fingernail or thumbnail under more hot running tapwater--as hot as you can stand it. 

This worked even on some decals that were resisting rubbing alcohol and attempts to carefully shave them off with an Xacto knife. 

[jeffdeoranut]

34 minutes ago, Snake45 said:

Easy-Off will also remove all paint. 

This has worked remarkably well for me twice recently. Let the body sit in HOT tap water (your tap shouldn't get hot enough to damage the plastic, which takes 180* or more), then pull it out and scrape the decals off with a fingernail or thumbnail under more hot running tapwater--as hot as you can stand it. 

This worked even on some decals that were resisting rubbing alcohol and attempts to carefully shave them off with an Xacto knife. 

I had a 71 mpc roadrunner that had decals on the bare yellow plastic and nothing short of sanding worked...

[junkyardjeff]

This is a recent kit so I hope they are not that hard to get off.

[935k3]

TAPE

[High octane]

I tried M-80's but the results weren't too good. I would try using scotch tape over the decals and after rubbing them on, removing the tape may pull off the decals. It's worth a try. Of course some builders clear over the decals to protect them, protect them from what I don't know as I don't leave my finished models on the deck where they are subjected to rain, hail, sleet, snow, sun rays, etc.

[junkyardjeff]

I thought it was molded in color but has been painted so its going to get a bath to remove all.

[Snake45]

2 hours ago, junkyardjeff said:

I thought it was molded in color but has been painted so its going to get a bath to remove all.

Did you try the hot water and fingernail yet? 

[junkyardjeff]

Not yet.

 

[Art Anderson]

On 11/3/2018 at 8:13 PM, junkyardjeff said:

This is a recent kit so I hope they are not that hard to get off.

A little-known fact about decals:  The "glue" that holds decals to their sheet of blotter paper, and also to the surface of your model is nothing more than "gelatin"--basically the very same material that is the basis for you know,"JELL--O".  I have found, first quite by accident, that a good QUALITY masking tape, laid down over a decal, and rubbed down completely, will almost invariably damage the decal, initially at the edges,  sometimes very quickly in the middle of the decal itself.  I've used this technique to remove decals off and on for years, especially during my years of building models of Indy Cars, when I wasn't happy at how the application came out.  If a decal was laid across say, the "grooves" on the sides of the body shell (that mark the doors edges), that is a weak spot for the decal, especially if the original builder did not work the decal itself--so carefully slit the decal(s) where they cross a door line, and then use the masking tape.  Walthers Solvaset works quite well, but so will Isopropyl alcohol (good old rubbing alcohol!), which comes standard as a 70% solution, but most all drug stores also sell the 91% version which is much stronger.  If the decals are not laid down over a paint job you want to preserve, Purple Power will strip them in very short order as well, without any damage to the plastic.

Art

[peteski]

This is like deja-vou all over again Art.  Your post is pretty much identical to one you posted some time ago and I then chimed in that from what I understand about the waterslide decals, the sticky coating on the decal paper is dextrose (sugar), and not gelatin.  But either stuff is water soluble.