Striping a bad paint job??

[slappy55]

ok guys last time you all gave me great tips & tricks about airbrushing. but, now i have a new problem!! i messed up real bad on my last paint job, i've tryed to sand an repair, but i keep makin it worse! so ....what should i use to strip it all off so i can start from scratch. and how should i go a bought it? thnx for any help....chris

p.s im real glad i found this forum . im all ready buildin better then i ever have! thank to everyone for all the help!

[Andy Wyatt]

It really depends on what paint you are using. Castrol Super Clean will take off most paints...some in a matter of hours, some in a couple days. Some people use 91% alcohol. Some use oven cleaner. I've only ever used Castrol Super Clean. Submerge the body in a SEALABLE container. CSC seems to lose its kick if exposed to air. WEAR GLOVES AND EYE PROTECTION!!!!!!!! This stuff will eat your skin. This is true of anything that will take paint off. When the paint starts to come off, scrub with an old toothbrush to get in all the nooks and crannies, wash the body very well and start over. The CSC can be reused...strain off the chunks of paint and put it back in the bottle. Once it gets to the point wear it doesn't have enough power to take off paint, just pour it down the drain. It's biodegradable and probably cleans the pipes out. Good luck!

[Daniel Peterson]

I echo Andy's comments.

Body armor and a HazMat team on call is a good idea with CSC. It will go through the oils in your skin faster than the fat lady through the dessert line at Old Country Buffet!! It works great, but if you let it get on you and you don't remove it fast enough, it leaves your skin almost devoid of any oils, and the result is the nastiest, most painful chapped, cracked skin you ever imagined. Careful use and common sense must be the order of the day.

However, if you are talking about a resin body as opposed to a styrene kit, stay away from the CSC. Depending on the type of resin used, it may actually rubberize the resin. This, from experience. For resin, try oven cleaner. The resin tends to hold up fine and the paint gets gone pretty thoroughly from what I understand.

The high percentage alcohol works great on prepainted bodies but I have never tried it on an enamel or lacquer paint job. Testing on scrap might be a good idea. There are also specific strippers for removing paint from plastic models, and I beleive one of the sources might be Floquil.

[JAFFA]

if nothing else works, strip the body of ALL detail and buy a photo etcged detailset. And if theres chrometrim etc. to be replaced, polish it with chromepolisher.

[Steve H.]

Scale Coat II paint remover, available in most hobby shops (usually in the train section). It strips paint in ten minutes and it works on every type of paint. Yes, its caustic and you need protection, but its not as bad as some products I've tried. You can keep it in a sealed tupperware container and it will last forever, replacing only what gets washed away as you're cleaning models. Its the only stripper I use anymore. It will wreak havoc on resin unless you're very careful about time.

[BIGTRUCK]

All products are tried and true, I'll toss 2 more in the ring...ELO Polly-s easy lift off works great brush it on land let it work, found at your local hobby haunt--and Dawn Power Dissolver for pots and pans in the blue spray bottle , found in the dish detergent aisle .....

[MrObsessive]

To echo what Dan said, If you use oven cleaner (like Easy-Off), make sure it's the yellow can and NOT the blue can "Fume Free" stuff!

The blue can fume free junk is worthless for stripping paint! :shock:

As Dan said with anything you use, make sure you're wearing gloves as any of the things mentioned can be nasty to the skin!

[slappy55]

once again, thanks guys for all the help! ill let you know how it turns out. thnx chris

[JOHN_BISCI]

I have used EasyOff oven cleaner for removing chrome quickly, but I do not like the fumes or residue.

Just tried Greased Lightning and it worked well on some old (AMT '67) plastic that had a light coating of Testor's green spray paint.

[JOHN_BISCI]

I used to use brake fluid until it made one of my resin-cast bodies rubbery and turned a scratchbuilt Plastruct rollcage into a pile of limp pasta. Thanks for the tip on putting a lid on the Castrol Super Clean -- NOW I KNOW!!

How about good old Testor's gloss black bottle paint? I frequently buy "glue bombs" on Ebay so I can cut them up and re-use them (usually for '60s-'70s asphalt Modifieds from the Northeast). I have tried just about everything, but cannot find something that works on this. (And I just bought a Monogram Tijuana Taxi and it looks like a pre-teen dipped it in a vat of Testor's paint -- no detail visible! Might have to use an air chisel! LOL)

[Mr. Can Am Garage]

I used to use brake fluid until it made one of my resin-cast bodies rubbery and turned a scratchbuilt Plastruct rollcage into a pile of limp pasta. Thanks for the tip on putting a lid on the Castrol Super Clean -- NOW I KNOW!!

How about good old Testor's gloss black bottle paint? I frequently buy "glue bombs" on Ebay so I can cut them up and re-use them (usually for '60s-'70s asphalt Modifieds from the Northeast). I have tried just about everything, but cannot find something that works on this. (And I just bought a Monogram Tijuana Taxi and it looks like a pre-teen dipped it in a vat of Testor's paint -- no detail visible! Might have to use an air chisel! LOL)

Blacks tend to be the hardest to strip. Might i suggest Polly S E(asy)L(ift)O(ff) /Polly S ELO? Works on everything. Might take time (4 or 5 days for the DC black I just finished stripping) but it works.

[dukeaholic]

I have rebuilt lots of models and when I strip off the old paint, I accually sandblast them with a small sandblasting kit from canadian tire. It works very well. Just have to sand a little with fine sandpaper after. All the details get cleaned off and are still on the body after sandblasting.