Paint Strippers - What to Use?

[Ace-Garageguy]

As everyone says, use gloves and EYE protection, and don't forget and absent-mindedly scratch your face or other un-protected areas.

It's perfectly safe to use slightly hazardous chemicals AS LONG AS YOU KEEP YOUR BRAIN IN GEAR, and take the necessary precautions. If you elect to use dissolved lye crystals, keep the container covered and re-use it indefinitely. As it's sold as a drain opener, proper disposal of small quantities isn't really an issue, but as with all toxic materials, try to maintain a respect for our environment and minimize what you use, and dispose of.

Lye has been commonly used in hot-tanks to strip paint and grunge from ferrous (iron-based) parts for many many years. I have a vat of the stuff here, and just keep it tightly sealed when not in use.

HOWEVER, if you have CHILDREN, keep the stuff locked up, PLEASE.

[hotrodblder]

ok, Now the real question, Where can I find it to buy it? I have got to two doaler stores and the gorcery store and can not find anything that says "lye crystals" or "lye powder".

[Art Anderson]

ok, Now the real question, Where can I find it to buy it? I have got to two doaler stores and the gorcery store and can not find anything that says "lye crystals" or "lye powder".

Look for "Lewis Red Devil Lye". It will be in a small (about pint size) plastic cannister, white, with red and blue lettering on it. I always find it at my supermarket here, right in with laundry detergent, dishwashing liquids; you know, cleaning supplies.

Art

[Mike Kucaba]

I've used several stripping products to remove vacuum metallizing(chrome). I've settled on ammonia as I believe the clear coat underneath is an aqueous acrylic,and very safe to use. As an aside,I also use some very fine steel wool to polish the plastic before and after.

[hotrodblder]

I had to go to Menards today and buy a dog collar. So while I was there I looked for lye crystals. After walking right past them 4 times I asked someone and they took me right to them.

Long story short. I got home, mixed 3 tbs of crystals in warm tap water so they dissolved and then set my parts to soak. I had already stripped the 'chrome' off, just had the clear left. After about 15 min or so I scrubbed with a tooth brush and what was left came right off. A wash with soap and water and they're set to air dry.

I think this is one of the better solutions to stripping chrome that I've learned yet, even if it's caustic. It'll defiantly make my painted parts look better now.

Thanks Mr. Anderson.

Edited August 15, 2012 by hotrodblder

[sjordan2]

I assume this is how it looks on the shelf. Just so you know what you're looking for.

[retroguy]

I've been using drain cleaner,drano/liquid plumber with great results,what I've observed is the length of time it takes to desolve the chrome really depends on the quality of the plating...

[Chuck Most]

Just bought some of this today, and immediately plunked a set of '52 Hudson steel wheels into it. Within 15 minutes, the chrome was disappearing. Moebius doesn't seem to have such a thick enamel undercoat for their plating, so I'll check tomorrow and see if it's gone.

[blueoval92]

i bought some of this today to strip the chrome from an engine kit and was wondering how you guys mix it. do you go by the instructions on the bottle or do you just use it straight.

[Longbox55]

Use it straight.

[blueoval92]

thats what i figured. i went ahead and tried it and man i love it. By the way, its not bad on bare skin, at least to me anyway, but im used to haveing brake parts cleaner and other automotive chemicals on my hands all the time so im use to thing like that.

[Chuck Most]

It seems to work very well on Revell and Moebius plating/undercoat. I leave it in a sealed container on the porch so the sun heats it up. Keeping it as warm as possible will help to speed up the chemical reaction. (Trust me- I'm a janitor by trade, I know how cleaning solvents work! ) Some manufacturer's thick undercoat (cough cough, Round 2) takes a little longer, but within 24 hours the plating and undercoating on the Revell and Moebius stuff was gone. A quick scrub and a rinse under hot water did away with the remainder.

It also stays clearer than other strippers like Purple Power. I've stripped quite a bit of stuff in it over the last two weeks and it doesn't appear to be losing any effectiveness.

Still haven't tried it on paint, but I've had pretty good luck with Purple Power there.

[raildogg]

OK now that I've found it and using it has anyone recycled it. I've noticed some chrome flakes on the bottom of my dechrome tray. Can I run it through a filter and reclaim it for storage when I'm finished decheoming??

[Fat Brian]

You should be able to reuse it a few times but I have noticed that it loses it's effectiveness after a while so don't plan on buying once and it lasting forever.

[oldnslow]

Jim, I've stripped several of the Phantom bodies with 91% and they came clean with very little brushing.

[eizzle]

91% isopropyl alcohol works great to strip lacquer and urethane paints and clear coats. I have a mustang body with a couple coats of clear on it and a couple coats of lacquer paint that I needed to strip and redo. I filled a storage Tupperware container about halfway up the body and sealed it up, let it sit overnight, about 6-7 hours, and this morning, the paint is coming off in sheets! I didn't take any pics, but the fumes must do some damage to, the car was upside down and the paint on the bottom of the car was peeling off to. Next time you need to strip a body, try this, it's a lot easier on the lungs and it won't do anything to the plastic.

[Ace-Garageguy]

I've really got to try this. I often use 70% isopropyl alcohol as a cleaner to remove wax and polish residue from paint and mold lubricant from parts specifically because it doesn't do any damage.

[eizzle]

I use it to thin my urethane clear coats. Works great for that to!

[hooterville75]

I don't know if it will react any different with paint or not but when I strip chrome wheels, I use regular old bleach and it strips chrome in no time at all.

[eizzle]

I don't know, I guess it would since it will strip a plating, but your gonna have to try that one, I found this by spilling a bottle of alcohol on my desk and watching it wrinkle off overspray on my cutting mat. The paint will literally come off in sheets, it doesn't dissolve it as much as it breaks the adhesion to the plastic. There is a little sanding to do afterwards, but it works a lot better than oven cleaner for me.

BTW, I strip my chrome parts the same way.

Edited September 23, 2012 by eizzle

[eizzle]

This is a sheet of paint that came off the hood, keep in mind, this is at least two layers of urethane clear coat, a couple coats of tamiya flat aluminum acrylic, and a coat of model master lacquer. The lacquer seemed to have dissolved as the alcohol was blue. Anyway, check out the hood vent detail.

The hood is smooth and when it's dry (I washed and rinsed it really good) it will be ready for a new coat of primer.

Edited September 23, 2012 by eizzle

[beancd5]

I bought a half gallon of the LA's Awesome stuff and it does work very well, Took off the chrome on some wheels and stripped 2 hoods, smells like windex!!!

Thanks for the TIP!!!!

[Jordan White]

I still prefer Easy Off for stripping chrome. It'll strip it off in about 10 minutes and seems to take off the undercoat as well.

[Platerpants]

ive know about using alcohol since 6th grade in science

[eizzle]

It doesn't seem to be working all that well on model master lacquers, but it works great on urethane and acrylics.