What's the best solution to use for removing decades old flat black enamel?

[Monty]

I'm guessing this was Testors flat black, which was sprayed over 20 years ago.  At some point I lost interest in the kit and it ended up in storage until some recent resin "finds" gave me some new inspiration.  

I'd heard flat black is one of the hardest shades to remove, especially when sprayed thickly (one of the last times I used a rattle can) so TIA for all helpful answers.

[Oldcarfan27]

I have a really tough time removing flat black completely. Best you can hope for is to get as much thickness off as you can, there WILL BE dark color in the crevices and maybe lighter black on the surfaces - if you're lucky!

I've tried brake fluid and Easy-Off oven cleaner, both of which take a long time and remove very little. But purple cleaners do nothing. It may take multiple long sessions with the former methods to get enough off.

If you're dealing with paint stripping on a resin part, DO NOT USE BRAKE FLUID, it will most likely ruin it. Oven cleaner can work, but I wouldn't leave it soaking for too long. Overnight is as long as I would recommend. 

Might be safest to sand it smooth and leave it as a base coat.

[Bainford]

Like Patrick, I find flat black enamel difficult to remove, and purple cleaners seem to do nothing. It may help to sand some of the paint thickness away. Brake fluid is the most potent stripper in my arsenal, so I would go straight to that. Expect a long soak, and maybe pull it out every couple days to scrape the surface. That may help. Regardless of the stripper, if you are successful, don't expect clean plastic. There will be black staining, and a panel scriber will be needed to clean out the panel gaps and shut-lines and other crevices.

There is a bespoke paint stripper that is mentioned frequently on the forum, the three letter name escapes me right now. I've not used it, but according to others on here, it seems to be very potent. It's a product you brush on rather then soak in it, as soaking will ruin the plastic. Hopefully someone will chime in with the name. EDIT: The stuff I was thinking of is Testors Easy Lift Off (ELO) Also, I just read a thread on a product called QCS Stripwell that looks very promising. 

 

Edited July 29, 2022 by Bainford
old age and decrepitude

[Repstock]

[Bainford]

Cheers Tom. I think you were posting while I was editing.

[espo]

One thing to keep in mind if you're trying to strip paint from a resin anything. Not all resin products are made of the same resin compounds. A few years ago, I managed to turn a resin body into mush after soaking it in the purple pond. Now I have heard of others here that have had zero problems with the purple pond and resin parts. My suggestion would be to try a small expendable part in the cleaning product before committing the body, and this would apply to any cleaning product for that matter. Again, different casters have used different resin compounds that sometimes react differently to different striping products. Proceed with caution. 

[Dpate]

This stuff here works amazing.  Not sure how it works on resin or enamels but anything else it'll take off no problem and wont hurt the plastic.  Can soak up to 12 hours, but it can strip lacquer primer and paint that's 2 weeks old in less than 30 mins.  It's pretty strong smelling too so wear a mask or do it outside.

[bh1701]

I have rebuilt several kits that I did as a kid in the 1960's and 1970's and encountered interiors I had brush-painted with Testor's Black enamels.  Definitely a thick layer of old paint that also proved difficult to remove. My usual approach with Easy Off had little to no effect on it.  If my memory is accurate, I did have pretty good results using Tamiya Lacquer Thinner. I would use a paint brush to apply it, let it sit for a few minutes, then apply some more and move the paint brush around  to "scrub" the surface. When the paint had loosened up, I would then apply Lacquer Thinner to a paper towel and would wipe the surface. I'd repeat the process as often as needed until the paint had been removed. As mentioned before, there still may be some staining on the plastic that will never go away, and you may have stubborn paint in crevices (a paint brush with stiffer bristles or a toothpick can help work some of that out). When you're all done and apply some primer everything will look good and all of the details covered up by brush-painted Testor's enamel will be visible again!

Thanks,

Bart

[Oldcarfan27]

On 7/29/2022 at 6:05 AM, Repstock said:

Loved that band. Jeff Lynne was a genius! ?

[showrods]

Try Scalecoat.  It works.