Paint Strippers - What to Use?

[crazyjim]

Quit messing around and get some DOT 3 brake fluid to strip the paint.

[Rodent]

1 hour ago, crazyjim said:

Quit messing around and get some DOT 3 brake fluid to strip the paint.

I have had poor luck with brake fluid and Tamiya as well.

[Bugatti Fan]

When I used Isopropyl Alcohol it went through a layer of Automotive Acrylic Grey Primer that had been top coated with Alclad Gloss Black with minimum effort just using kitchen roll.

[Rodent]

The 91% IPA finally melted off the pink primer. Just for fun, I tossed in another part that had been primed with automotive primer and had a coat of the Testors lacquer without clear. The Testors came off almost immediately,  but the primer stayed put.

[drodg]

So just bought an Italeri Porsche 993 that was started with the body painted yellow.  I cannot tell if enamel or lacquer.  I would assume enamel if I was guessing.  So with it being painted yellow and I am changing the  color to Aventurine green (dark) what luck would I have in priming the body over the yellow and not stripping the paint?  The majority of the car has not been painted.  Just wondering your thoughts and what is the best things to use if I  strip the paint.  I am guessing from the posts that EZ -off yellow can is the best ?   I have never stripped paint but have used EZ Off for stripping chrome.   I am going to post a picture of the body.

Edited January 6, 2020 by drodg

[crowe-t]

23 minutes ago, drodg said:

So just bought an Italeri Porsche 993 that was started with the body painted yellow.  I cannot tell if enamel or lacquer.  I would assume enamel if I was guessing.  So with it being painted yellow and I am changing the  color to Aventurine green (dark) what luck would I have in priming the body over the yellow and not stripping the paint?  The majority of the car has not been painted.  Just wondering your thoughts and what is the best things to use if I  strip the paint.  I am guessing from the posts that EZ -off yellow can is the best ?   I have never stripped paint but have used EZ Off for stripping chrome.   I am going to post a picture of the body.

I'm not sure priming over the yellow and then painting will work out so well especially since you don't know what type of paint the yellow is.

The EZ Off Yellow can is better for removing paint although I have used the EZ Off Blue can with no problems.  However I mostly use 91% Isopropyl Alcohol for stripping paint.  It's much safer to be around.  If you use the EZ Off wear gloves.  It's burns the skin.  

[drodg]

6 minutes ago, crowe-t said:

I'm not sure priming over the yellow and then painting will work out so well especially since you don't know what type of paint the yellow is.

The EZ Off Yellow can is better for removing paint although I have used the EZ Off Blue can with no problems.  However I mostly use 91% Isopropyl Alcohol for stripping paint.  It's much safer to be around.  If you use the EZ Off wear gloves.  It's burns the skin.  

So I have read also about Simple Green which I also have at home but have again never used it for anything but cleaning cement.  Weird that I wouldn't think it would work at removing paint.   

[Ace-Garageguy]

1) Painting over what's there without knowing exactly WHAT it is is nothing but a recipe for disaster.

2) Whoever "painted" the poor thing didn't bother to remove the mold parting lines from the fenders. Painting over that is just sloppy and childish. Trying to sand out the parting lines with the thing still painted yellow is just begging for wrinkling and lifting on the feather-edges.

3) Different "strippers" work on different paints.

Easy Off works great on rattle can enamel. Like the man said, wear disposable gloves. You should have some in stock for painting anyway, and they're only $5 for 50 or 100 at the grocery store or pharmacy. Wear eye protection too. And after you spray the model, put in in a big ziplock bag so the stuff can work without drying out. I usually put the whole bag under warm water, too. EasyOff works MUCH better warm. It often helps to spray more stuff in the bag after a while. After the paint s loose, scrub the body with a toothbrush and some abrasive cleanser like Comet. This will remove the stripper residue, and it gets into all the little nooks and crannies. It also scuffs the surface nicely for excellent primer adhesion.

91% isopropyl alcohol works on most factory and many rattlecan lacquers, but not so hot on other paints. You need enough to soak the body, sometimes for hours.

Brake fluid works...sometimes...on stuff the first two won't touch. Brake fluid can also cause extreme brittleness on some plastics. I've taken parts out of brake fluid and watched them crumble while I was finish-cleaning them.

ETC.

4) Experiment to see what works best on your yellow mess.

Edited January 6, 2020 by Ace-Garageguy

[drodg]

1 hour ago, crowe-t said:

I'm not sure priming over the yellow and then painting will work out so well especially since you don't know what type of paint the yellow is.

The EZ Off Yellow can is better for removing paint although I have used the EZ Off Blue can with no problems.  However I mostly use 91% Isopropyl Alcohol for stripping paint.  It's much safer to be around.  If you use the EZ Off wear gloves.  It's burns the skin.  

Thanks btw!

[drodg]

How many days with the EZ Off in a bag?     Thanks again

[Snake45]

29 minutes ago, drodg said:

How many days with the EZ Off in a bag?     Thanks again

Easy Off does its best work in the first 20-30 minutes. Then hit it with an old toothbrush under warm running water. If NO paint at all comes off, you can forget EO, as it will never work on that paint. Repeat as necessary. It can take 4 or 5 or more treatments to get all the paint off, but it can be done in one afternoon. 

It's much easier to toss the body in a sealable Tupperware thing full of Super Clean, which is actually the same chemical as EO (lye). Let it soak 24 hours, come back and wash it off with the old toothbrush under warm running water. No muss, no fuss. This treatment will take 95%+ of the paint off in one shot, if it's gonna work at all. If nothing happens, time to move on to some other chemical. 

[crazyjim]

Use DOT3 brake fluid and be done with it.

[drodg]

Thanks everyone.  Going to hit it this weekend.    

[Tom Geiger]

19 hours ago, Ace-Garageguy said:

Brake fluid works...sometimes...on stuff the first two won't touch. Brake fluid can also cause extreme brittleness on some plastics. I've taken parts out of brake fluid and watched them crumble while I was finish-cleaning them.

Just for the record... avoid brake fluid on old promos.  It will destroy them!

[wisdonm]

rI have had great results from LA Totally Awesome all purpose concentrate cleaner, degreaser, and spot remover. Straight out of the bottle. These are sold at Dollar Tree. Your choice 32oz or 20 oz in a spray bottle. Cheapest way I know to get a spray bottle as a bonus.

 

 

 

Edited January 7, 2020 by wisdonm

[drodg]

18 hours ago, wisdonm said:

rI have had great results from LA Totally Awesome all purpose concentrate cleaner, degreaser, and spot remover. Straight out of the bottle. These are sold at Dollar Tree. Your choice 32oz or 20 oz in a spray bottle. Cheapest way I know to get a spray bottle as a bonus.

 

 

 

This removes enamel or lacquer?

[wisdonm]

I've used it for both and chrome too.

[drodg]

1 hour ago, wisdonm said:

I've used it for both and chrome too.

Thanks

 

[peteski]

I also heard about the LA's Totally Awesome stuff, and I even bought couple of bottles, but haven't had a chance to use it yet.

I believe the reason it should work as a stripper is because it contains Sodium Hydroxide (lye), just like many of the other stripping liquids we use on plastic models.

Edited January 9, 2020 by peteski

[drodg]

17 hours ago, peteski said:

I also heard about the LA's Totally Awesome stuff, and I even bought couple of bottles, but haven't had a chance to use it yet.

I believe the reason it should work as a stripper is because it contains Sodium Hydroxide (lye), just like many of the other stripping liquids we use on plastic models.

Interesting.  

[drodg]

17 hours ago, peteski said:

I also heard about the LA's Totally Awesome stuff, and I even bought couple of bottles, but haven't had a chance to use it yet.

I believe the reason it should work as a stripper is because it contains Sodium Hydroxide (lye), just like many of the other stripping liquids we use on plastic models.

Thanks

 

[drodg]

On 1/7/2020 at 3:37 PM, wisdonm said:

rI have had great results from LA Totally Awesome all purpose concentrate cleaner, degreaser, and spot remover. Straight out of the bottle. These are sold at Dollar Tree. Your choice 32oz or 20 oz in a spray bottle. Cheapest way I know to get a spray bottle as a bonus.

 

 

 

So I went to Dollar General and picked up a bottle of this for $1.00!  Amazon btw wanted $7.00 so what a deal!  Anyhow I am going to soak my Porsche body in a bag with it and let it soak for like 24 hours ?  Is that how I should be doing it?  Thanks everyone !  I have built models for 50+ years and have never stripped paint off.  I have done the Easy Off on chrome quite a few times but never paint.   

[crazyjim]

I put items in a plastic tub and seal the lid on.  Tupperware kind of tub.

[drodg]

2 minutes ago, crazyjim said:

I put items in a plastic tub and seal the lid on.  Tupperware kind of tub.

Thanks.  My wife loves it when I use her Tupperware!    Lol!

[wisdonm]

I bought a dedicated shoe box sized tuperware-like box at the same place. Filled it up with LA Totally Awesome and have used it for years. There is probably a quarter of an inch of sludge on the bottom. but it still works fine. Soak as long as needed. Sometimes it works in minutes, like on chrome, sometimes hours, and sometimes days. I once left a body in there for 6 months and it came out OK.