Stripping Paint

[VW Bug]

Hey everybody,

still working on that SSR of mine. I'm almost finished, just need to paint the body, but that's where I'm having trouble. Ok, so I painted it a first time, and it sucked, so I somehow got most of the paint off, sprayed it with primer, sanded it, and repainted it. Now it looks like this:

http://flickr.com/photos/14693929@N04/1509237819/

http://flickr.com/photos/14693929@N04/1510099006/

http://flickr.com/photos/14693929@N04/1510102118/

My question is, how do I remove the paint without damaging the body, and then how do I make it so that the paint actually looks good. I'm using tamiya spray cans.

Oh, and I have another problem. I inadvertently broke the area surrounding the windshield (hopefully you can see that; it's broken down the middle, kinda split in two):

http://flickr.com/photos/14693929@N04/1510102118/

Any ideas how I could fix this. I tried glueing it back together, but it just creates a big blob of paint, and when I tried to sand it down, the piece broke again because the glue would be sanded down as well.

Thank you guys for your help

Oh, and sorry about the bad quality pics, I'm still trying to learn how to take decent close up pics

[VW Dave]

I'm still trying to learn how to take decent close up pics

Read the manual for your camera and see how to set it on 'macro;' make sure the camera and the subject are on solid surfaces, to minimize movement(and blurry pics). I use a mini tripod on my camera, which was about 7 bucks shipped from an Ebay seller.

If you're trying to strip Tamiya sprays, I've had decent luck with 91% rubbing alcohol. Some folks say brake fluid works well too, but I refuse to bring that into the house. As long as your sanding/re-priming/repainting routine hasn't messed the plastic parts up to badly already, you should probably be fine.

[dub]

Some folks say brake fluid works well too...

The key to the brake fluid is fresh fluid. It does work, but once it has sat around for a week or more it doesn't strip anything. Another issue is small styrene parts float in the stuff so you have to somehow hold them down. For a rotten vandal it works fine on your 1:1's paint but isn't worth the trouble for us scale guys.

Edited October 11, 2007 by dub

[bobss396]

The key to the brake fluid is fresh fluid. It does work, but once it has sat around for a week or more it doesn't strip anything. Another issue is small styrene parts float in the stuff so you have to somehow hold them down. For a rotten vandal it works fine on your 1:1's paint but isn't worth the trouble for us scale guys.

Oh yeah, on 1:1 cars it works GREAT, and in seconds too! Just ask my ex-landlord who held my security deposit on me.

Bob

[VW Dave]

I love everything about Tamiya sprays, except the fact that CSC hardly touches it.

Bug - On the broken windshield surround: It's hard to see it in your pic, but if glue is reacting poorly with the paint I'd say worry about repairing it until after you strip the paint. If you're careful applying it, a small amount of 5-minute epoxy on the inside can do a great job(if there's room, you can add a small strip of paper towel/napkin and 'lay it up' just like fiberglass).

Edited October 11, 2007 by VW Dave

[Brendan]

VW Bug,

The stuff I use for stripping paint is called Scalecoat II Wash Away. It's non-toxic and can be reused several times. I'm up to 30+ times on one bottle. It doesn't harm plastic or resin. You just let the model soak in it for about 15 minutes and the paint just peels right off. It works on automotive lacquer, acrylics, and enamals with no problems.

For the crack in the plastic, after I've stripped the paint, I would put a drop of super glue in between the crack and fit it together. Sand smooth and put on primer. If it still shows up a little bit, use some polyester putty.

It looks like what happened with the paint is when you sanded the primer, the primer still had some small scratches in it. So then when you shot the Tamiya paint over the primer, the primer lifted up from the solvents in the paint. When I prime, I sand and then put another coat of primer over the top. Then I use my lightest grit sandpaper and do a light wet sanding. Then I wash and let it dry. I do two dust coats of the Tamiya spray and then one wet coat. It's always better to build up paint slowly.

Hope this helps.

[VW Bug]

thank you guys for all of your help. It is really appreciated and I will try to try them all. Hopefully I can work on my model soon, but with school and everything, it might be a while, so don't hold your breath

[mr moto]

My favorite stripping method is Easy Lift Off. It's not instant but it's worked on everything I've tried it on and the fumes don't knock you over like the oven cleaners do. No damage to the plastic. Sold at LHS's and lots of places on the web.

[Jantrix]

I've found that if you sand through the Tamiya paint down to the primer in several locations on the part to be stripped, the Super Clean/Purple Power will eat its way through the primer (I use Krylon) and dissolve whats under the Tamiya paint, so that the Tamiya paint lifts off in big pieces. It takes a bit longer, but it can be done.

[wagonmaster]

I have had very good luck using pine-sol or the wally world brand very-pine. I have stripped both Enamels and lacquers with it. even chrome.

Tim