Paint Strippers - What to Use?

[GLMFAA1]

I just tried purple power and like the results, Just soaked over night a model I painted in the 70's and tonight the paint is at the bottom of my container. I use a Scotch pad to remove the rest. I was an oven cleaner advocate but the purple power has sold me, It was on sale at AutoZone last month

Don't know what the shelf life of using it is, but I have stripped 3 models so far and it still works

greg

[Longbox55]

If you can find it, Zepp Purple Degreaser works much better than the other lye based degreasers on the market. I get mine from the local Menards. Advance Auto also stocks it, but you'll have to ask for it They don't stock it with the "regular guy of the street" cleaners, it's in the back with the Commercial Sales products.

I won't say for all resin, but Superclean and Zepp are both safe to use with Modelhaus castings. Superclean is even mentioned on their site as the preferred stripper.

[Spooky Benson]

Best paint stripper I have used hands-down is Scalecoat Ii Wash-Away Paint Remover. It's a little pricey, but it will strip any paint, and quickly.

[highway]

I just remembered to about something else my friend I mentioned earlier in the thread (while this was still in the truck section and not merged with an old dead thread ) that I had wondered if it would work as a paint stripper and he tried, Dawn Power Dissolver. I haven't tried it myself to confirm his results, but in his trial, he told me it stripped paint almost as quickly as it does chrome. If I remember correctly, he had sprayed it on a body in the afternoon and by evening, the body was ready to be cleaned off.

[Longbox55]

I recently tried the Dawn Power Dissolver, so far, I'm not really impressed. Tried it to strip chrome from a Revell '99 Silverado, didn't even budge it.

[fitforbattle]

What DOT should I look for when buying brake fluid? Think I've read dot 3, but the widely available in Sweden is dot 4 and dot 5.1. Any of these work?

[Longbox55]

4 or 5.1(glycol base) will work, they are chemically similar to DOT3, the main difference being the higher boiling point. I don't know if they have it over in Europe, but do not use DOT 5. That one is a silicone based fluid, it will not strip paint.

[unclescott58]

For me, Castrol Super Clean has worked the best. I used Easy Off oven cleaner for years with fairly good results. But, then other members of our local model car club told me about Castrol Super Clean. I'll never go back to Easy Off again after trying the Castrol. I've tried other automotive cleaners that salesmen at auto part stores have told me are the same as the Castrol. But, in the few cases I've tried the other brands, I've had no luck what so ever. In fact, the Easy Off worked better. So I'm very specific that I only buy the Castrol Super Cleaner now. Because that's the only one I found that really works.

Scott

[bigbluesd]

Dawn power dissolver just saved one that I had botched with duplicolor lacquer. Brake fluid and easy off weren't getting the job done, DPD did it with ease.took some effort to find it, I ended up buying a few bottles at Food Lion.comes in a blue squirt bottle (like Windex) with a white nozzle.

[AzTom]

For me, Castrol Super Clean has worked the best. I used Easy Off oven cleaner for years with fairly good results. But, then other members of our local model car club told me about Castrol Super Clean. I'll never go back to Easy Off again after trying the Castrol. I've tried other automotive cleaners that salesmen at auto part stores have told me are the same as the Castrol. But, in the few cases I've tried the other brands, I've had no luck what so ever. In fact, the Easy Off worked better. So I'm very specific that I only buy the Castrol Super Cleaner now. Because that's the only one I found that really works.

Scott

Just for the record it is no longer Castrol. They sold this several years ago and is now just called Super Clean. I have been using it for about 15 years with great success.

[Mike Chernecki]

Anyone have success stripping the pre-painted bodies in the amt Pro shop kits? I have the 1967 Mustang sitting in Super Clean for a few days and all it did was remove the blue rocker stripe. Any suggestions?

Edited July 15, 2014 by Mike Chernecki

[Uliusmc]

I just want to say that, this is great site. I painted a motorcycle cowl with testors gloss white and it bubbled up on me. I thought I had ruined the model but with this thread I dipped it in Brake fluid and it worked like a charm.

[GLMFAA1]

How long is the potency of Purple power?

greg

[cruzer]

Ok, now that you people have convinced this old goat that a couple of my models can be redone, can you PLEASE, tell me if the break fluid or any of the other items mentioned here will remove the acrylic paints? This is what I mainly use for airbrushing. It's a lot easier for cleanup and there is not an odor that displeases my wife. One of them I want to really make into a custom job. An help would be greatly appreciated.

[Marc @ MPC Motorsports]

As a model builder that likes to restore previously built models from the 1960's and 1970's, I have stripped more models and parts of paint than I care to admit. Super Clean and later Purple Power have been my stripper of choice for years for removing most hobby enamels.

I refuse to try brake fluid. I've tried Chameleon Paint Remover when it was available. I had read rave reviews on the stuff, but it did not work for me. I use Testors Easy Lift Off for more stubborn paints but it can damage plastic if you are not careful.

A model builder on Facebook directed me to try Sam's Club brand Commercial Floor Stripper. I bought a gallon of it a couple of months ago. A gallon costs about $8.00. A 24 hour soak in this stuff has removed thick, brush painted 45+ year old hobby enamels that the "purple pond" didn't touch in two weeks! I've had success stripping Testors and Tamiya hobby lacquers with the stuff as well as removing chrome plating and the undercoat from parts. All without not apparent damage to the styrene.

Take the same safety precautions with this stuff as you would any other chemicals. Use in a well ventilated area. Wear chemical resistant gloves to protect your skin. My cheap Harbor Freight nitrile gloves are only good for about two uses before the stuff breaks them down, leaving you with bare skin.

I have not tried any Commercial Floor Strippers from the big box stores like Lowe's or Home Depot, but I would expect similar results.

[Jeremy Jon]

+1 Super Clean

[om617]

Any good tip for stripping resin?

[Ftlovesoldcars]

Testors enamel thinner and brush cleaner works great.

On enamel of course

[Pierre_tec]

what if i paint it with krylon paints, dupli-color clear, did super clean( or brake fluid) will also work for me??

that trick will work for enamels and laquers?

Edited September 18, 2014 by Pierre_tec

[cswilliams1963]

Brake Fluid. I put the body and hood from a build that was done years ago in a gallon zip-lock bag with a quart of fluid and shook it up real good and within 30 minutes parts of the paint were gone all the way down to the original finish

[Snake45]

I haven't read all 22 pages but here's what I use:

1. 91% rubbing alcohol. Fabulous for many old AMT and Pactra lacquers, for SOME Tamiya paints (not all), many Krylon spraybomb paints, and for most of the new Testor Model Master lacquers including the one-coat clear. Put a little on a rag and try it on the paint to be stripped. If ANY of it comes off, it should ALL come off with a 24 hour (or less) bath. If none comes off, time to move up.

2. Easy Off Heavy Duty oven cleaner. Great for Testor and Pactra enamels, old and new, also works on some other Tamiya paints. What I like about it is the speed--no 24 hour soak involved. Spray on, let sit 15-20 minutes, attack with an old toothbrush under warm running water. Repeat as necessary. It usually takes three or four applications to get all the paint but I've stripped multi-coat enamel paint jobs this way in one to two hours. If the first application doesn't take ANY paint off after 15-20 minutes, give up and try something else. If the first ap takes ANY paint off, keep at it, it will eventually get it ALL. BTW, I've seen the AMT lacquers shrug off Easy Off but yield immediately to rubbing alcohol.

3. Brake fluid. Only had to use this once, on a body that was apparently painted with Pontiac Engine Blue Paint. The above made no dent in it, but a weeklong soak in brake fluid eventually got it all. I really should use it more, I guess, but I'm comfortable with the other two methods.

I assume that somewhere in these 22 pages, someone has posted the standard warnings about dealing with Easy Off or anything else with lye in it. Nasty stuff that can really mess you up if you don't respect it, which I do.

[1hobby1]

So I have had a hood sitting in purple power for about 2 days and the paint has not stripped yet. Usually by now I see some paint coming off but it almost looks untouched. I used dupli color primer and paint 2 coats each.

Anyone else have this problem? Might have to give the brake fluid a try this round.

[Bullitt]

I have a small metal model of the Old Navy Truck and I would like to strip it & used is as a test bed for the weathering process. Any ideas as to what I could use for the paint removal, it almost looks like a laquer based paint.

Thanks

[fun9c1]

Figures, I had over a gallon of used brake fluid sitting in my garage for a year or more. I just took it to the dump a couple weeks ago and now I discover this and I want it back! lol

[Mr Stock]

In the Uk we cannot get Purple power or the like, and to be honest Ive never had good results from either Mr muscle oven cleaner or brake fluid.

Ive finally found something that will work (If you are in the UK of course), Screwfix sell a product called De-solv-it Graffiti remover, it comes in a 1 litre can and is about £11, it looks very much like the old Nitromors Gel paint stripper but its safe for use on plastics.

Ive just managed to remove paint from a 50 year old AMT Buick riviera with this stuff that nothing else would touch, it sometimes takes a few attempts but it works and it doesnt harm the styrene.