TS Paint Stripping

[1972coronet]

I realise that this subject's been discussed before. Keeping this in mind, I employed the "Search..." feature - and I found some 76,000,000,000 pages to scroll through, each with "Paint" and/or "Tamiya" in the subject.

No thanks.

So here I am. I need to strip Tamiya TS 16 (gloss yellow) from the bonnet of the latest '71 Demon. This was painted over the bare plastic (after only a good scrubbing with dish soap and a thorough rinse, etc.) ; there's no primer coat. 

Purple Power didn't touch it one bit. I seem to remember this being a common 'issue'. 

Recommendations, please.

Thanks. 

[stitchdup]

ipa 99.9%

[ColonelKrypton]

Tamiya Paint Remover product no. 87183

or Tamiya Lacquer Thinner (yellow cap) product no 87077.

Lacquer Thinner is a generic term and not all lacquer thinners are the same as other lacquer thinners.

Typically the first thing that comes to mind when someone mentions lacquer thinner is a "hot solvent" thinner that will "eat" or damage polystyrene. It is certainly true that there are lacquer thinners which are very "hot" and will damage polystyrene but there are others which will not

Tamiya lacquer thinner (yellow cap) product no. 87077 will not damage polystyrene. It is mostly isopropyl alcohol ( i.e. IPA (not India Pale Ale )  cas no. 67-63-0 ).  I have tested this several times. In fact I have soaked model "chrome" parts in this for several days with no ill effects. It will remove the "chrome" by softening the underlying lacquer/enamel causing the "chrome" to flake off. Better yet and my favourite is a 50:50 mix of Tamiya Paint Remover product no. 87183 and Tamiya Lacquer Thinner (yellow cap) product no 87077. These products can be re-used multiple times. The solid bits will settle to the bottom and can be filtered out.

I have tried just isopropyl alcohol but found that it was not as effective as the Tamiya Lacquer Thinner (yellow cap) product no 87077 or Tamiya Paint Remover product no. 87183 or a mix of the two.

I am purposely being very careful to note the Tamiya product names and product numbers as there are the only ones I have tested that I know work.

I have  not tested Tamiya Retarder Lacquer Thinner (orange cap) product no. 87194 but I have tested a couple of the Mr Color thinners ( but not all ) and they have something in their mix which will damage polystyrene if left to soak for any length of time.

If you are curious as to what chemicals polystyrene is resistant to, there are many documents to be found on the web; including this one which I find is a good quick and handy reference:

https://nationalpolystyrene.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Chemical-Resistance-Table.pdf

cheers, Graham 

 

 

 

 

[Can-Con]

Like Les said above, 99% Isopropyl alcohol should do the trick. 

Just moisten a cotton ball or piece of paper town and bub until all the paint is off. 

[StevenGuthmiller]

For future reference, if you use a couple of coats of Duplicolor primer under your paint, regardless of the brand or type, you won't have to go hunting for every obscure chemical suggested for removing this paint, that one, or the other.

Super Clean, Easy Off oven cleaner, IPA, brake fluid.....whatever your preferred chemical, should do the trick, regardless if it's Tamiya TS lacquer, automotive lacquer, enamel, or whatever.

 

As long as the chemical can reach the primer at some point, these chemicals will dissolve the primer causing the tougher paints to peel off in sheets.

Of course, when choosing a stripping medium, choose the best available of that type.

In other words, if using a degreaser/cleaner, use Super Clean, not a cheap knock off such as Purple Power.

Just as you would use 99% IPA over a lower percentage, or yellow cap Easy Off versus the blue.

 

As far as I'm aware, none of the products mentioned above will have any detrimental affects on the plastic, although I will not attest to the IPA or brake fluid.

I have heard rumors that they may dry out the plastic and make it brittle, but I have no first hand proof of that.

However, I can attest to the fact that Super Clean or Easy Off will not damage the plastic.

 

 

This model was primed with Duplicolor primer, (I don't recall whether it was sandable primer or primer sealer, but it's the same result in either case) and then painted with multiple coats of automotive lacquer and probably 5 coats of automotive clear lacquer.

After soaking in Super Clean for a couple of days, the primer begins to dissolve, loosening what ever finish is applied over the top of it to the point of it sloughing off in sheets.

 

 

 

 

The remaining primer can be easily removed simply by wiping down with some alcohol wipes.

 

 

 

Just some thoughts that you may use or dismiss as you wish.

 

 

 

 

 

Steve

Edited March 9 by StevenGuthmiller

[R. Thorne]

I use 91% isopropyl alcohol for TS Tamiya (pretty much all I use anymore).  A good sealing container and an old tooth brush are your friends.   Let it soak a day or so, sometimes 3 or 4 days is necessary.  As the lid shows, I have used this successfully for a number of years.

[1972coronet]

Thank you, one and all. 

I'll grab some 99% IPA tomorrow.

Failing that , I'll grab some Super Clean at work on Tuesday.

[peteski]

19 hours ago, 1972coronet said:

I'll grab some 99% IPA tomorrow.

That is not something you'll likely find in a supermarket of a pharmacy. They usuaklly carry 91% IPA.

Look for it in the paint thinners isle of your hardware store.  Ive seen it called 99 IPA or Isopropanol 99. Will probably be about $30/Gal.  The price got jacked up during the COVID pandemic and has  not dropped.

Edited March 10 by peteski

[slusher]

I don’t think you will have any problems with stripping it with isp 91 or 99 or super clean..

[stitchdup]

I wouldn't use brake fluid. i've had a revell t3 camper body turn to crumbs after 5 hours in it and a after using it on a aoshima lexus none of my paints would stick. i scrubbed and sanded that thing i dont know how many times but nothing would stick to it. it did take the paint off though

[StevenGuthmiller]

9 hours ago, slusher said:

I don’t think you will have any problems with stripping it with isp 91 or 99 or super clean..

I'm not confident that Super Clean will work in this situation.

Lacquer over bare plastic is a bad combination for many solutions used for stripping.

The paint itself either needs to be dissolved by the product, or it somehow needs to be able to get under it.

Lacquer is usually hot enough that without a barrier coat, it's going to etch into the plastic to some degree.

In that case, getting under the paint is difficult to say the least, and as Tamiya lacquers have a reputation for being highly impervious to many stripping solutions, dissolving the paint itself could prove difficult as well.

I'm not entirely confident that alcohol will do the trick either.

 

In this situation, the OP may have to follow the advice of Graham, or something similar.

 

4 hours ago, stitchdup said:

I wouldn't use brake fluid. i've had a revell t3 camper body turn to crumbs after 5 hours in it and a after using it on a aoshima lexus none of my paints would stick. i scrubbed and sanded that thing i dont know how many times but nothing would stick to it. it did take the paint off though

It's funny, but I hear people frequently recommend brake fluid as "The Best" alternative for stripping paint.

Likewise, I hear some oppose it as being the worst.

 

I can't tell you myself as I haven't used it since one failed attempt probably 40 years ago, but I hear that it works well on nearly every type of paint.

I also hear that it's quite hard on the plastic.

 

 

Steve

[dmthamade]

I.ve had to strip builds before where i used Tamiya sprays/AK Lacquers/Tamiya spray primers. Used Mr. Color Leveling thinner. This will not attack the plastic, i simply soaked a paper towel with the stuff and wiped away. Use outdoors, vapors are pretty brutal.

 

Don

[slusher]

5 hours ago, StevenGuthmiller said:

I'm not confident that Super Clean will work in this situation.

Lacquer over bare plastic is a bad combination for many solutions used for stripping.

The paint itself either needs to be dissolved by the product, or it somehow needs to be able to get under it.

Lacquer is usually hot enough that without a barrier coat, it's going to etch into the plastic to some degree.

In that case, getting under the paint is difficult to say the least, and as Tamiya lacquers have a reputation for being highly impervious to many stripping solutions, dissolving the paint itself could prove difficult as well.

I'm not entirely confident that alcohol will do the trick either.

 

In this situation, the OP may have to follow the advice of Graham, or something similar.

 

It's funny, but I hear people frequently recommend brake fluid as "The Best" alternative for stripping paint.

Likewise, I hear some oppose it as being the worst.

 

I can't tell you myself as I haven't used it since one failed attempt probably 40 years ago, but I hear that it works well on nearly every type of paint.

I also hear that it's quite hard on the plastic.

 

 

Steve

There’s always easy lift of.  Why not sand it down and paint over it. That’s what I would do…

[stitchdup]

I went back and reread your post. since you used the tamiya paint without primer why not use it as a base to start again. the tamiya paint lays down pretty thin so you would need 10 coats or more before you really need to strip it. obviously if you were using primer or auro paints it would be a lot less coats but the tamiya should be safe enough to try again over

[StevenGuthmiller]

1 hour ago, slusher said:

There’s always easy lift of.  Why not sand it down and paint over it. That’s what I would do…

That might be all that’s required if it’s just the hood.

 

 

 

Steve

[1972coronet]

3 hours ago, stitchdup said:

I went back and reread your post. since you used the tamiya paint without primer why not use it as a base to start again. the tamiya paint lays down pretty thin so you would need 10 coats or more before you really need to strip it. obviously if you were using primer or auro paints it would be a lot less coats but the tamiya should be safe enough to try again over

Replying to @stitchdup, et alia : I'd neglected to mention that I had applied the kit-supplied Sizzler stripes to the bonnet, then painted the centre semi-gloss black.

It turned out awful !

I've got Ray's Decals 1971-1972 Demon decals coming some day - those include the full Sizzler hood decal set... no mask-and-paint ! 

In the meantime, I had to get rid of the whole shebang. The Purple Power easily lifted the semi-gloss paint, but left the (super thick) decals intact, and didn't touch the yellow.

I bought a quart of 91% IPA today, and put some in a small container. I dropped the hood in and let it soak. thus far, the decals are gone. 

Now I can simply scuff-and-shoot - and if the IPA loosened the paint, even better. 

[R. Thorne]

Sometimes, the bear eats you.  I have never had this much trouble removing Tamiya paint before.  I soaked it in 91 iso for 5-6 days.  Didn’t phase it.  Scrubbed it and resealed for 3 days.  Nothing.  Gave up and used ELO .  Took off some of the paint, but not all.  Took Mr. Hamade’s advice and used Mr. Color leveling thinner and scrubbed with a paper towel.  Bingo!  Sometimes, in the process of giving advice, we learn to take advice.  TS10 was the paint I used with Mr. Super Clear gloss.  This was my first time using that gloss coat (perhaps significant?).

[ZTony8]

Any advice on stripping Tamiya purple TS paint from an old '55 Chevy resin body? I painted the thing years ago and it turned out terrible (so the model is unfinished). I'm wary of what alcohol or other strippers might do to the body.