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Paint Strippers - What to Use?


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1 hour ago, wisdonm said:

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.

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On 1/10/2020 at 11:18 AM, drodg said:

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So used the LA totally Awesome this weekend and so far letting it soak for multiple hours in a tub does the trick!   Still  working on scrubbing it off. Looks like it is a winner especially at the price point.  

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Just took interior pieces out of LA Totally Awsome(been soaking a month)  Dried lacquer and primer..Used the coarse part of a small sponge and presto all came off..Lacquer color and primer(duplicolor light grey)..I was impressed but think it might have been quicker if I'd have scratched it with a fine brillo pad at first..

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Further to my previous post. Oven cleaner here in the UK seems to be in short supply, our local Tesco supermarket hasn't any and doesn't now when there will be any in.

I went to my local small hardware store that sells my Plasti-Kote sprays and he said that Ammonia would do the job as oven cleaner has a high percentage of ammonia in it.

I tried it yesterday but OUTSIDE!  The fumes are shocking.

Later in the day, not wanting to leave it outside for cats/wild animals or birds attempting to drink it. I tested it the fumes had gone so took it indoors, added very hot water and washing up liquid and after cooling down all the chrome coating had gone as has the slippery coating that oven cleaner leaves behind!

Sorted! This morning I put back and fronts of chromed wire wheels from an Alfa Romeo kit in the plastic tub, lid off. The Alfa has gloss black wires in the 1:1 version! 

 

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Oven cleaner is based on Sodium Hydroxide (Lye), not ammonia.  It will remove the metalization and also the clear base coat. Ammonia will not remove the base coat.  The "purple" cleaners also contain Lye, so they also remove "chrome"and paint from plastic.

The "chrome" is a very thin coating of aluminum, so any strong acid or base will easily "eat it off".

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Does anyone have knowledge of a sodium hydroxide (lye) cleaner available in the UK? All the brands mentioned on this thread don’t seem to be available here. 
I’m looking for something that will strip ‘chrome’ and the underlying clear coat off plastic, as well as paints. I’ve had poor luck with brake fluid - it seemed to make the plastic go brittle. 

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35 minutes ago, beeRS said:

Does anyone have knowledge of a sodium hydroxide (lye) cleaner available in the UK? All the brands mentioned on this thread don’t seem to be available here. 
I’m looking for something that will strip ‘chrome’ and the underlying clear coat off plastic, as well as paints. I’ve had poor luck with brake fluid - it seemed to make the plastic go brittle. 

I've been using la's totally awesome cleaner even on resin. the only place i've found it in the uk is amazon but it works. I had the same problem with brake fluid, a bodyy i had in it overnight crumbled when I took it out. I'd probably strip the chrome in bleach or mr muscle oven cleaner before putting it in the totally awesome to remove the last of primer. Its not a stinky cleaner either unlike dettol which makes your entire house smell

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11 hours ago, beeRS said:

Does anyone have knowledge of a sodium hydroxide (lye) cleaner available in the UK? All the brands mentioned on this thread don’t seem to be available here. 
I’m looking for something that will strip ‘chrome’ and the underlying clear coat off plastic, as well as paints. I’ve had poor luck with brake fluid - it seemed to make the plastic go brittle. 

I suspect that just like on this side of the pond, Lye is used for unclogging drains.  Check the ingredients on those products.  Same goes for oven cleaners.  Check if they contain Lye. If they do, then those should strip "chrome" and paint from plastics.  Lye is also also used for making soap (and that seems to be one of today;s hobbies)  You might also be able to buy Lye from a chemical supply dealer.  Just remember never to add water to lye. Always slowly add lye to water.

https://www.soapqueen.com/bath-and-body-tutorials/tips-and-tricks/back-to-basics-lye-safety-guide/

 

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I tried a bath of Zep Industrial Purple degreaser and then tried a bath of Simple Green to remove Model Master Lacquer over Tamiya primer. Neither one had any effect on removing the paint after soaking for a day and a half. But after couple hours in some DOT 3 brake fluid, the lacquer and primer came right off.

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3 minutes ago, Safire6 said:

I tried a bath of Zep Industrial Purple degreaser and then tried a bath of Simple Green to remove Model Master Lacquer over Tamiya primer. Neither one had any effect on removing the paint after soaking for a day and a half. But after couple hours in some DOT 3 brake fluid, the lacquer and primer came right off.

92% rubbing alcohol would have probably taken the Model Master Lacquer off quite easily, too. 

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3 hours ago, Safire6 said:

I tried a bath of Zep Industrial Purple degreaser and then tried a bath of Simple Green to remove Model Master Lacquer over Tamiya primer. Neither one had any effect on removing the paint after soaking for a day and a half. But after couple hours in some DOT 3 brake fluid, the lacquer and primer came right off.

DOT3 brake fluid attacks some urethane resins and also makes some polystyrene brittle.  Same family of chemicals that is in brake fluid is used in commercially available plastic-safe paint strippers:   Floquil/Testors Easy Lift Off (or ELO), and Scalecoat Wash Away Paint remover.  I'm sure both of these have beem already mentioned several times in the previous few hundred of posts in this thread.

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6 hours ago, Snake45 said:

92% rubbing alcohol would have probably taken the Model Master Lacquer off quite easily, too. 

 

2 hours ago, peteski said:

DOT3 brake fluid attacks some urethane resins and also makes some polystyrene brittle.  Same family of chemicals that is in brake fluid is used in commercially available plastic-safe paint strippers:   Floquil/Testors Easy Lift Off (or ELO), and Scalecoat Wash Away Paint remover.  I'm sure both of these have beem already mentioned several times in the previous few hundred of posts in this thread.

Thanks for the suggestions Snake and Peteski!

 

 

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iv got a method that's not exactly convenient or available to most people but it's been getting me good results.  iv done 3 bodies and 2 engines this way in the past year and a half.  iv got a heated Safety Clean solvent tank at work.  drop the body in a bucket so it's submerged and let it soak.  after a couple hours the paint is soft and pealing, a paint brush will remove it.  takes off enamel and lacquer as well as chrome plating and even some adhesives.  the key is that the solvent has to be heated so it's cloudy.  iv got a solvent tank at home with the same solvent in it but it's not heated and this method doesn't work.  so far it hasn't hurt any of the plastic, and iv yet to try it on clear parts.

just figured id throw this information out there.

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Heating any stripping solution will increase its potency.  But if too hot, it might cause damage or warping. Whenever the question of strippers comes up, I usually mention that fact. 

Edited by peteski
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I use hydraulic brake fluid in a tub and a fresh paint brush, it's worked perfectly for me. I don't know how good it would be on paint that's years old though. Non chlorinated brake and clutch cleaner is an ok paint stripper that wont destroy plastics but it's not as good as brake fluid. Methylated spirits, white spirits, turps ect, are pointless unless it's enamel paint you want removing, and depending on brand some won't do a thing, others will destroy the plastic!

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36 minutes ago, Zippi said:

I had the lower portion of the hood on my 1960 Chevy pickup setting in 91% Isopropyl alcohol for 3 days and it did nothing to the Tamiya lacquer paint.  Now what???

I've been thinking about this since you posted this in another thread.  I wonder if your 91% stuff is really 91%?  Is it the standard rubbing alcohol you get from a pharmacy or supermarket shelf?  I wonder if because of all the shenanigans related to COVID-19 the alcohol was intentionally diluted, and it is more like 50% or 70% and packaged in 91% bottle?  As I mentioned in the other thread, try getting the IPA 99% stuff from a hardware store.

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Mike, that are my plans this morning to sand it and repaint.  The humidity this morning is 95% so I may have to wait.

Peter, I used the 91% alcohol I bought at Walgreens.  I had used it a few times already so maybe that took some of the strength out of it.  

Edited by Zippi
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