removing paint w/o hurting model

[raser13]

i know that this has been asked a million times but the search didn't bring anything up. what do you guys use to strip paint off your models that doesn't mess up the plastic of the model up?

[USS Atlantis]

"Super Clean" - Use to be known as "Castrol Super Clean"

Very powerful de-greaser used to clean car engines and parts - any good auto-parts store should have it

Warnings - this is caustic to skin, wear gloves, do not splash it on you

Get a bucket or tub big enough to fit the piece(s) in, pour in the Super Clean - soak for 24 hours, lightly brush with a SOFT toothbrush - repeat if needed - then wash in mild dish soap and dry

Best stuff I've used to strip models - and I've used the other standby's (Testor's, Simple Green, Paint Thinner)

[Rogviler]

Oven cleaner is another option that's essentially the same as Super Clean that you might already have. Both work largely via lye (sodium hydroxide). In fact I know a lot of car guys who use oven cleaner as a degreaser because it's thicker. So I'd consider them interchangeable.

Both work great though.

-Rog

[bigbluejavelin]

The best results I've had were from soaking the parts in brake fluid for a day or so, then scrubbing with an old toothbrush. To clean off any residue, I use Westley's Bleach White tire cleaner and the old toothbrush (after using soap & water). Be sure to wear rubber gloves for the Westley's as it is really bad on your skin!

[irishtrek]

Depends on what type of paint you want to remove and what type of plastic.

[ajmadison]

A model paint stripper available from the grocery store is Pine Sol. Problem is, *some* plastics don't react well to it (ie. they melt). Any mainstream kit from the last 20 years *should* be fine (even there, there have been exceptions), but I'd be careful with kits from the former iron curtain of the last few years or the funkier Trumpeter kits.

OTOH, if you have a bunch of older kits from the standard manufacturers that you want to rework, Pine Sol has a couple of advantages. One, you can dilute it substantially to get more volume and still have the same efficacy. That is, you want to immerse the entire model or you have a big ship kit you want to strip. I've diluted it one to one with water and gotten the expected results. Another advantage is, you can re-use it. I took this same dilute solution, poured it into a jug, and re-used it 6 months later, again, with the desired results.

If you used the non-solvent based paint, those are usually some variant of a latex based paint, and simple Ammonia (aka a big jug of regular formula Windex) should remove them.

BTW, yes, oven cleaner does work. However, it attacks all solvent based products on your model, so it won't differentiate between filler & the paint. If you want to disassemble the model, then oven cleaner might be preferable. OTOH, if you just want to strip the paint, but preserve the filler (and on an AMT/Ertl kit, there may be a lot of it), try one of the less caustic products that's been suggested. I used oven cleaner on one Star Trek effort and had to redo all of the filler. Ugh. Tedious once, lobotomy like tedium having to do it over.

[Joseph C. Brown]

I recently had to deal with the dreaded orange peel on a model, and got a suggestion that I try using Dawn Power Dissolver to gently buff down the peel.

So. it was squirted on, spread around, and after 60 seconds, I started to gently scrub the model with an old toothbrush. It took the enamel paint (Krylon Pewter Gray) off down to the primer! I've been using this as a cleaning product for years and had never thought to use it on a model.

http://www.dawn-dish.com/en_US/powerdissolver.do

So, it's an answer, but, maybe not the one you want.

[Ziz]

The best results I've had were from soaking the parts in brake fluid for a day or so, then scrubbing with an old toothbrush.

Watch out with the brake fluid. I remember a story once of someone who tried using it to strip a resin kit. The brake fluid broke down the resin and he ended up with a rubbery mess.

[Tony Agustin]

I prefer the 'EasyOff' way. Just dump the parts to be stripped inside a 2 gallon Ziplock bag and carefully spray them. Make sure the place is ventilated. Just zip the bag up and let it sit for 20 min or so.

[Wug]

Hi raser13,

Here's an old article but a good article that compares many popular paint strippers.

http://www.bonediggers.com/1-3/strip/strip.html

His results more or less match my own. I now use Super Clean to remove paint and chrome. I've only had it fail once on model paint. That was on thick light blue Testors enamel that had about 40 years to set.

I've had pine cleaner and brake fluid soften parts I let soak too long.

Mike