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Post by randtek on Sept 13, 2008 14:12:32 GMT -7
I have seen a few references by SKR about stripping paint from a car body. I am hoping he might share this information here, as I have already had a situation where it would have been useful. I just assumed it wouldn't be possible, and didn't even ask here. Well, I'm asking now. How do you strip paint? What other surface prep do you find helpful to producing a good finish? Any tips would be greatly appreciated. (These questions are not directed just to SKR, but anyone who feels they have a good tip or two!)
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Post by Demon340 on Sept 13, 2008 17:25:29 GMT -7
Hey RANDTEK
As for stripping paint I have been useing castrol purple cleaner.
I let it set over night then the next day I use a plastic brush on it
while washing it off with water. Some times you have to do it twice. The castrol cleaner also works great to take chrome off
of plastic.
TOM
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Post by nightrider on Sept 13, 2008 17:34:43 GMT -7
for AW bodies... some use ELO usually found at hobby shops... others will use pine sol.. depending on the car and experimenting deterimines which one you will use.
Sometimes a little tooth brush work and your wifes green scrubber out of the sink does wonders..
DO NOT use lacquer thinner.. it will eat the plastic...
Another option ,, don't strip it.. just scratch it up with the green scrubber(scotchbrite) prime it,, check for scratches ,, if you have scratches from the pad.. scuff it again.. and reshoot it..
I've done all of the above..
Chris
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Post by gm454 on Sept 13, 2008 21:35:49 GMT -7
I have used airbrush thinner to remove paint from original Aurora TJets to get back to the factory surface of the body. I just used a Q-tip dipped in airbrush thinner to remove the rattle can paintjobs (or in some cases brushed on Testors paint) to get back to the factory finish. If you are careful and patient, you can remove aftermarket paintjobs on the Aurora bodies and still keep the factory stripes in place once the rattle can or brushed on paint job has been removed. The Airbrush thinner is a "cool" thinner which doesn't eat the plastic parts in the airbrushes and in my experience it has not affected the original tjet plastic. I have to say, this is a time consuming and messy procedure but I have used this method to save some mint tjet bodies with rare stripe color/options that had been covered with horrible brush on paintjobs. I have never just dropped a body in Airbrush thinner and let it soak though....I always remove the paint with a Q-tip soaked with Airbrush Thinner. Not sure if airbrush thinner would work to remove the AW paint though, I hear some of that stuff can be tough to remove. However, I did use lacquer thinner to strip the paint off of an AW 69 AMX last week and it worked fine and didn't attack the plastic......but again, I used a Qtip dipped in Lacquer thinner to remove the factory AW paint. Like Chris pointed out above, I could easily see the Lacquer thinner attacking the plastic bodies if they were left to soak in a tub of lacquer thinner. By using a Qtip dipped in thinner to rub the factory paint off, I don't think the thinner has time to attack the plastic b/c it evaporates fairly quickly as you are removing the paint. I should make the disclaimer that I have only used the lacquer thinner and Qtips to remove the paint from one AW body without damaging the body. Who knows I may have gotten lucky the first time, and the next time I try it, it may completely eat the plastic.  |
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Post by allstarhr on Sept 14, 2008 7:33:32 GMT -7
While I also am very new to this, I did hear about the Pine Sol method and learn what not to do. I went to the local Walgreen's, saw the Pine Sol and their store brand knock off. Never against saving a few bucks (or pennies in this case) I went the cheap route. It takes forever!! Like a week of the body soaking in the stuff. It even evaporated quicker than taking the paint off. Of course if you are scared of damaging that one off body, this might be a good thing since it's so mild. Next time I'm buying the good stuff.
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Post by johnbalich on Sept 14, 2008 8:35:17 GMT -7
1/25 model builders and HO train guys regularly use brake fluid to strip paint. Trust me, it works very well. Test it on your plastic, but I have never had a body marred by this method. I did once destroy a plastic shell using pine sol. For stripping chrome off cleanly, liquid drain cleaner works, but use gloves, (and eye protection) as it burns, and use it outdoors. Brake cleaner does have an odor but it is mild, and reasonably benign (for a chemical!)
All the chemicals mentioned by all the posts can be safely used if you use common sense and sanity. Spray painting with lacquer thinner in a closet without vents for instance, would NOT qualify as sane, nor would eating a chili cheesburger while spraying contact cleaner on a commutator ! I mentioned eye protection.......please use it with all chemicals. It isn,t worth even one 'oopsey!" Always consider the ventilation where you are working. DEAL?
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Post by SKR on Sept 15, 2008 3:39:00 GMT -7
What I use is denatured alcohol. If you soak your car in it, I only suggest about 5 min soak time then take a rag and a tooth brush to it. You can re dip the car but don't leave it in too long. This stuff works fast for taking off factory finishes. Also, use a tooth pick in between the body lines to remove those hard to reach areas.
Last week on a mead resin body I used Lacquer thinner to remove a paint job I did that but didn't like. I dipped a rag in thinner and wiped the paint off. I wouldn't let anything soak in lacquer thinner. As Gary mentioned above by using it in small amounts the thinner evaporates before doing any damage.
These are tips that have worked for me and that I commonly use. Always test a product if you can, with a junk body to make sure you it's going to work for you.
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