Paint Strippers - What to Use?

[camaroman]

Clayton is Right!!!

Super Clean is the way to go, but be careful ...it will remove your fingerprints if you expose your hands too long...

I bought a Rubbermaid container with a rubber seal. I have been using the same S/C for around two years now.

Actually I use two containers of the stuff, one for the first soak(heavy removal) and the second for the stubborn stuff.

I will strain the first soak S/C through a paint strainer every now and then to remove some of the gunk.

[roadhawg]

Clayton is Right!!!

Super Clean is the way to go, but be careful ...it will remove your fingerprints if you expose your hands too long...

I bought a Rubbermaid container with a rubber seal. I have been using the same S/C for around two years now.

Actually I use two containers of the stuff, one for the first soak(heavy removal) and the second for the stubborn stuff.

I will strain the first soak S/C through a paint strainer every now and then to remove some of the gunk.

I've been using Westley's Bleche-Wite (yes, that's spelled correctly lol) for a long time for plastic and it works great. I just used it on a resin body and it worked for that too. You can find it in auto parts stores and I would imagine WalMart/Kmart too.

Like Camaroman said, just chunk it in a Rubbermaid container for awhile. Good luck.

[Brendan]

I've got a couple of bodies that I want to re-paint. I have been using "Scalecoat II wash away" as a paint remover. Not very effective and pretty pricey, $9.95 for one pint, which hardly covers a body. Any recommendations for something that will zap the paint without zapping the plastic?

What paint are you using? I use Scalecoat II all the time and I've been able to strip everything with it except for vinyl or latex paint. Also are you straining the Scalecoat after you use it? It starts losing its power after about the tenth use of it. But what I do is put the model kit in a plastic bag and pour a quarter of a cup of the stripper in and shake it. Then put the bag into another bag just in case it leaks and let it sit for about 15 minutes. Then take a toothbrush to it.

[m408]

What paint are you using? I use Scalecoat II all the time and I've been able to strip everything with it except for vinyl or latex paint. Also are you straining the Scalecoat after you use it? It starts losing its power after about the tenth use of it. But what I do is put the model kit in a plastic bag and pour a quarter of a cup of the stripper in and shake it. Then put the bag into another bag just in case it leaks and let it sit for about 15 minutes. Then take a toothbrush to it.

First couple of bodies were painted with model paints, Testers, Tamiya, etc... Strained after each use. Worked very well for the first few bodies. The paint that I'm having the problem with is Dupli-Color. primer, paint, and clear. I have just been soaking the bodies in a tuperware container for about 15 minutes.

[Clay]

First couple of bodies were painted with model paints, Testers, Tamiya, etc... Strained after each use. Worked very well for the first few bodies. The paint that I'm having the problem with is Dupli-Color. primer, paint, and clear. I have just been soaking the bodies in a tuperware container for about 15 minutes.

Super Clean will work wonders on any paint. Its about $6 for a 5 gallon jug

[roadhawg]

First couple of bodies were painted with model paints, Testers, Tamiya, etc... Strained after each use. Worked very well for the first few bodies. The paint that I'm having the problem with is Dupli-Color. primer, paint, and clear. I have just been soaking the bodies in a tuperware container for about 15 minutes.

15 minutes? The resin body I just stripped took 4 days! And that included taking it out and scrubbing it every 6-10 hours or so.

[roadhawg]

Super Clean will work wonders on any paint. Its about $6 for a 5 gallon jug

Thats probably $6 for a ONE gallon jug! You can't get 5 gallons of ANYTHING for 6 bucks anymore! LOL!

[Brendan]

First couple of bodies were painted with model paints, Testers, Tamiya, etc... Strained after each use. Worked very well for the first few bodies. The paint that I'm having the problem with is Dupli-Color. primer, paint, and clear. I have just been soaking the bodies in a tuperware container for about 15 minutes.

That's kind of odd. I use Dupli-Color all the time and I've never had a problem with it being stripped. Sometime takes a little longer but it comes off in the end. Might have gotten a bad batch of Scalecoat. I know they have had problems in the past with it being diluted.

[Brendan]

15 minutes? The resin body I just stripped took 4 days! And that included taking it out and scrubbing it every 6-10 hours or so.

Scalecoat II is great stuff. It acts quickly and doesn't leave on an oily residue. All you need to do after you strip it is to wash it, let it dry, and it's ready to paint. It will strip putty and body filler off. That's the only downside. With most paints it does take about 15 minutes. The longest I've ever had to wait was an hour because I had several layers of paint. It is worth the money, usually around $10 a bottle. It's non-toxic and after it's gone through its usefulness, you can flush it down the toilet.

[fatherdevine]

I know most of the guys here have a passion for the purple stuff, but I have used brake fluid for the last five years or so. It will not warp the body as I have left many of my bodies in the dunk for months at a time with no problems. Now that I think about it, everything that I have started has found its way into the fluid. Even though I'm using brake fluid I can't seem to stop putting them in the bucket.

[roadhawg]

I know most of the guys here have a passion for the purple stuff, but I have used brake fluid for the last five years or so. It will not warp the body as I have left many of my bodies in the dunk for months at a time with no problems. Now that I think about it, everything that I have started has found its way into the fluid. Even though I'm using brake fluid I can't seem to stop putting them in the bucket.

LOL! They probably have a support group for that somewhere! I've used brake fluid in the past on plastic and it worked ok, but I was told not to use it when stripping resin as it will turn the resin to mush.

[roncomatic]

I agree that a lot of the guys here seem to have a purple passion but I've had really good luck with a product made for cleaning pots and pans. I'm talking about Dawn Power Dissolver. It removes chrome. It removes paint. Takes a few hours. Stuff rinses off with plain old tap water. I just put the parts in a plastic baggy and then spray in enough Dawn Power Dissolver to coat everything. Let things set up for a few hours and then rinse.

I admit that I haven't tried Purple Power or break fluid for removing paint from models. Ditto for Easy Off Oven Cleaner and some of the other products that have been mentioned in other posts on this topic. Some or all of them may do a fantastic job but I used a lot of really harsh automotive chemicals for years working on 1:1 cars. In my book anything that gets me away from them is worth a try. And, while it's probably a good idea wear rubber gloves while working with any chemical of this type... including Dawn Power Dissolver, my feeling is that Dawn is possibly less harmful than most automotive chemicals. The smell is much less offensive as well.

ron

[JoshaWaRX]

I've used DOT-3 with great success. At wally world you can get their super-tech brand pretty cheap and it works very well. It doesn't give off too strong of a smell but I would still recommend using in a ventilated area. Also if you go the brake fluid route, wear plastic gloves, or else it will dry your skin out something fierce.

[m408]

15 minutes? The resin body I just stripped took 4 days! And that included taking it out and scrubbing it every 6-10 hours or so.

Well, so much for "truth in advertising". Manufacture recommended soak time is 20 minutes.

[Guest Gramps-xrds]

Well, I'll tell ya what I've used for yrs, but it's not good for ya. ( use in a well vented area or outside) Acetone diluted w/ a little water. It's cheap and strips almost instantly w/ a short haired bristle brush. You have to test to see how much water to add so not to eat the plastic. Works great on lacquers and enamels and it will let you remove CA. You can use it over and over and when it won't remove the paint just add some more acetone.

[935k3]

Purple Power works good on most paints except I got quicker better results on Tamiya and Duplicolor laquers with 91% Alcohol., it tuened Duplicolor clear laquer to goo in 20 min. I have even stripped Krylon with it. ScaleCaot is getting very expensive(around $12 bucks a pint).

[samdiego]

A discovery I made recently is the Mr. Clean Magic Eraser. I was stripping a Cobra gone bad (I knew there wasn't enough paint in that can). After the overnight soak in CSC, I was reaching for a toothbrush when I saw this thing on the sink and grabbed it instead. Everything came off with a gentle pass or two and you can force into crevices and around countours. It feels like maybe 2,000 grit so don't hit the chrome or windows with it.

[Semi Trailer Mechanic]

What's goin' on...

I haven't read all the replies from the others just yet so if this is already covered pardon the redundancey. Any high concentrated degreaser such as Castrol Super Clean will work and that's found at major auto parts stores. Right now in the bucket I'm using a product called Manny Rose equivallant to CSC obtained thru industrial suppliers. That stuff is very potent and effective!!!

Good Luck!

[Spike]

I've used DOT-3 with great success. At wally world you can get their super-tech brand pretty cheap and it works very well. It doesn't give off too strong of a smell but I would still recommend using in a ventilated area. Also if you go the brake fluid route, wear plastic gloves, or else it will dry your skin out something fierce.

i use brake fluid with good success also

[gasman]

so i've got a few older builds I would like to redo. I used Tamiya (Primer and Color) paint on them. but 91% isopropal alchohol won't touch it. it won't remove any of it. anyone know of anything stronger that I can use that might strip this paint.

[Johnnycrash]

Easy Off oven cleaner. Safe for all plastics, and will not fog clear parts. Use the pump bottle, coat well, and let sit for 30 minutes (in a well ventilated area like a bathroom with a exhaust fan). Use an old toothbrush (or a roommate's you don't like) and rinse and scrub the model. You may need to repeat to get all the nooks and crannies.

[MrObsessive]

I've found ELO (Easy Lift Off) to be great for stripping paint. Most good hobby shops should have it.

It smells (and feels) like brake fluid-------but brake fluid may be harsh on styrene (and deadly to resin!) so it's got to be something else. I used it when I had to repaint the Ford I'm working on.........only drawback though, is if you've got any putty work, kiss it goodbye as it'll break that right up!

Brush it on, let it sit for a couple hours, and the paint'll start to lift with ease!

HTH!

[Brendan]

I use a product called Scalecoat II. It's a really good paint stripper especially for Tamiya. It was originally made for Acrylics, but it strips lacquer based paints just as well. It's non-toxic and also can be reused several times. Also it can be flushed down the toilet when you're done. One bottle usually lasts me about 10 to 13 stripping jobs. Usually works in about 15-30 minutes and it just peels it off like butter. Just use a toothbrush to get all the tight areas.

[evilone]

castrol super clean sidewalk cleaner

put it into a rubbermade food holder that is bigenough to hole the project

let it sit for about 1 hour-24 hours

and bam it will peel off or you can use a tooth brush to take it off

[sdrodder]

what evil said. Castrol super clean is great stuff. Painted a 57 ford one year ago. Didnt like it so i started striping it couple weeks ago. Put the doors and hood in and it lifted off easyly. Even takes of old bondo and putty