Paint Removal.

joey_d1119 · Post by **joey_d1119** » Sun Apr 23, 2006 9:22 pm

How do I remove paint, a thick coat of it, off of clear resin? Specifically DLM's Nebula Conversion.

Lt. Z0mBe · Post by **Lt. Z0mBe** » Sun Apr 23, 2006 11:19 pm

joey_d1119 wrote:How do I remove paint, a thick coat of it, off of clear resin? Specifically DLM's Nebula Conversion.

What type of paint is it?

Kenny

JimPV · Post by **JimPV** » Mon Apr 24, 2006 6:51 am

Arsenic Hipster wrote:An update, I took the test minis out of the simple green after about 3 days and in about 10 minutes had removed most of the paint off of them both with an old toothbrush. I've chucked them back in to get to the paint left in the recessed areas but it looks like this will be the way to go.

Yep, I've had good luck with "Simple Green" as well. The fact it ain't harmful to the enviroment (supposedly...) is a plus, too. I've removed thick, factory-applied paint jobs from prepainted Fewture figures.

To aid in cleaning the details, I use those wooden "shish-kabobs" sticks from the grocery store. The pointed ends work well getting into fine details, and I also like to break a section off leaving a bristley, frayed end. I use this as a mini scrub brush for details.

I've had great success with this method; though, depending on the amount and type of paint used, it can be labor intensive. You also have to give it a day or two soak in the "Simple Green", and it often takes two applications.

Darth Humorous · Post by **Darth Humorous** » Mon Apr 24, 2006 7:45 pm

Super Cleaner/Degreaser works well. Simple Green is similar in behavior.

Mark

kallen-bortas · Post by **kallen-bortas** » Thu Apr 27, 2006 2:30 pm

What's the best way to make sure you get ALL the Super Clean off your model that you have soaked in it?

Darth Humorous · Post by **Darth Humorous** » Fri Apr 28, 2006 11:50 pm

Very easy to remove. It is water soluable and is safe for drains.The Cleaner-Degreaser itself is watery so it runs off, except for the wet film which can be rinsed off with clear water.

I Just rinse it off in clear water. Or, if you're concerned about trapped pockets, submerge it in a tub of clear water and swish it around a little. I've not placed anything in a tub of water yet. I just held it under a running faucet and turned it over so as the running water hits everything. I haven't had any repercussions. My parts haven't been so recursively made such that I was concerned enough to submerge them tho. You, on the other hand, might have such parts.

Of course if the paint is stubborn, there may be a little paint adhering in cracks and crevises after rinsing, but in every case I've encountered, the paint was softened greatly to the point where a toothbrush under running water took care of the rest. Only when dealing with the most tenacious and thick multilayered of paints was it necessary to do a second soaking in the Cleaner-Degreaser, and this was not on a model.

When done rinsing it off, and you're satisfied, just let it dry or wipe it dry as desired. It will be squeakey clean.

Mark

kallen-bortas · Post by **kallen-bortas** » Thu May 04, 2006 11:51 am

The main problem I'm having is it will still "bubble up" after repeated rinsing, soaked for 3 days, and re-rinsing. It may be because the water in my area is softer than a baby goose on a bag of cotton balls. I was scrubbing it w/ a toothbrush and it keeps "soaping up". Even when I rinse it, it was still soaping up. Like I said, it may be my soft water.

It was primer I was soaking and there is still some in crevices and low spots. I need to get that completely out before I primer again correct?

Darth Humorous · Post by **Darth Humorous** » Thu May 04, 2006 10:27 pm

Actually, your water is "softENED" hard or well water. The softener process adds chemicals to the water, which makes it seem perpetually "soapy". It isn't really soapy though. Water that is already "soft" without having to condition it behaves the way most would expect (though others might never know what that is). But is the Cleaner-Degreaser really rinsed off? Probably. I would ask, though, do you get rain where you are? If you do and you get enough, you could collect it for rinsing. It will behave much better.

If you live in an arid climate, I don't know what to tell you. In that case, if it were me, I'd try to paint the model anyway. I really doubt it would be a personal hazard even if rinsed with softened water. If the paint fails to cure properly or peels up, then you know there was enough residual Cleaner-Degreaser (no matter how diluted) to prevent successful painting, though I still doubt it. Anyway, you can strip it again.

If you don't live in an arid climate, and you do get rain, I offer the following information below.

One way to collect rainwater is to connect building downspouts to direct their flow into containers, like 5 or 10 gallon pails. If there is more rain than they will hold, they will just over flow. Just make certain to reconnect the downspouts later when done so there isn't a water accumulation problem around the foundation.

Another way to collect water, though technically not rainwater, is to collect the runoff from air conditioners. There is usually a hose or pipe where the water runs out. This is water that is condensed out of the air, and is essentially distilled water (so is rainwater). Not as quick as a gullywasher of a storm, but it is consistent in the summertime.

I've seen people collect air conditioner water and rainwater in rural areas quite successfully.

A third way would be to collect the water from basement dehumidifiers. The output may not match that of an large air contitioner on a humid day, but it is a source.

Mark

didihno · Post by **didihno** » Fri May 05, 2006 2:55 am

What are similar products for the European market?
It took me long enough to hunt down future floor wax! (brilliant stuff)

Post by **TER-OR** » Fri May 05, 2006 9:33 pm

Actually a water softener removes the calcium and magnesium - divalent ions - from the water. There is a resin in the softener which preferentially adsorbs these ions. On a schedule, the resin is flushed with sodium ions (salt) which displaces the divalent ions by sheer concentration. Then it's rinsed (it may remain salty for a day) and is ready to bind more ions.

You can "soften" water by adding phosphates - which bind the ions and make detergent work better.

An ion exchange softener makes detergents work better by simply removing the ions which interfere with surfactants.

Darth Humorous · Post by **Darth Humorous** » Fri May 05, 2006 11:51 pm

TER-OR wrote:Actually a water softener removes the calcium and magnesium - divalent ions - from the water. There is a resin in the softener which preferentially adsorbs these ions. On a schedule, the resin is flushed with sodium ions (salt) which displaces the divalent ions by sheer concentration. Then it's rinsed (it may remain salty for a day) and is ready to bind more ions.

You can "soften" water by adding phosphates - which bind the ions and make detergent work better.

An ion exchange softener makes detergents work better by simply removing the ions which interfere with surfactants.

O.K.â€¦if you say so. But every softener I've ever had experience with (a lot) issued forth water that felt soapy, regardless of age, time of day, when during the cycle the water was sampled, etc. Brand new installations re-checked by installers to find all was as it should be had soapy feeling water. Resin and/or salt in the water falls under my simplistic wording of "chemicals". It is this soapy sensation that would be good to lose to make the water feel "normal" to the skin. Would adding phosphates accomplish this? Or would they actually contribute to the soapiness sensation? If the latter is the case, then removing phosphates might help the feel. Whatever is causing the soapiness feeling is the result of chemicals. They may be there as a byproduct of other operations, and they may be flushed out, but they are never flushed out enough.

Mark

Post by **TER-OR** » Sat May 06, 2006 5:26 pm

What you're used to - that film of salts and soap leaving your skin feeling dry is not normal for water. Well, it is normal for "hard" water. If you used nothing but distilled water you'd have that slick feeling, too. There is no resin in the water, it's insoluble. There is a bit of remaining sodium chloride salt which is mostly gone within a day of the softener cycling. All the magnesium and particularly calcium salts are adsorbed by the softener resins.

If you use softened water you will use less soap, as it is more effective. That does take a while to get used to, when you wash clothes or yourself. The sheeting effect you get with softened water is normal for more pure water. Most of us are just used to hard water with all the salts.

Darth Humorous · Post by **Darth Humorous** » Sat May 06, 2006 11:11 pm

Actually, I have used distilled water in the form of rainwater on my grandparents farm (my first experience with it). Sure feels like "normal" water to me. I've bathed in it. I've consumed it. I've done laundry in it. I've hand washed dishes, cars, dogs, etc. It feels like typical city water that is NOT well water. It does NOT leave my skin feeling soapy or "slick" at all. My grandparents also had well water. IT made my skin feeling soapy. They finally got city water, so they had all three kinds of water. The city water felt like the rainwater, NOT the well water.

Since adulthood, I've lived in and visited many different places. Some places have well water which ALWAYS leaves my skin feeling soapy and unrinsable. NO exceptions whatsoever. Other places had "normal" water that would rinse off. I have absolutely NO problem with "normal" water.

I have had to use well water in places I've lived in and have never been able to get used to soapy feeling water.

BTW, I've been in the position to distill my own water as well as purchase distilled water and use it in domestic ways. I've distilled it in laboratories in very controlled settings. It all cases, it felt like "normal" water, and did NOT leave my skin feeling soapy.

Sorry to disagree, but I must.

Mark

Savion · Post by **Savion** » Sun May 07, 2006 9:21 am

How removing paint from a vinyl model? Obviously, I don't want to damage the model in the process!

I found a partially-built Horizon Catwoman. Overall, the construction was pretty good, but the paint job on the face was botched so it needs to be redone.

I'm not entirely certain of what paint it is- I was told that it was probably flat enamel over an acrylic primer.

Anyone having paint removal experience of this kind?

Darth Humorous · Post by **Darth Humorous** » Sun May 07, 2006 10:23 am

Savion wrote:How removing paint from a vinyl model? Obviously, I don't want to damage the model in the process!

I found a partially-built Horizon Catwoman. Overall, the construction was pretty good, but the paint job on the face was botched so it needs to be redone.

I'm not entirely certain of what paint it is- I was told that it was probably flat enamel over an acrylic primer.

Anyone having paint removal experience of this kind?

I'll say it again. Super Cleaner-Degreaser.

Mark

Andrew C. · Post by **Andrew C.** » Thu May 25, 2006 9:54 am

I highly recommend using Mr. Hobby Color Thinner for removing paint from injection plastic. Simply pour a bit on a rag and start wiping back and forth over the area. I have a very old mpc Braniff SST model kit that was half-covered in brushed-on, thick old paint and it came off nicely. (Takes a wee bit of patience, don't hurry on this.) This dulled old model kit from the sixties now looks brand-spanking-new, (I wiped over all the non-painted areas, too.) even the thin and delicate raised panel lines survived the process without any special care. This stuff simply does not solve injection plastic at all.

I would still like to advise caution and everyone should test-wipe an unimportant area of the inside of the model to see if there might be a chemical reaction - you never know if the kit isn't made of some type of plastic that can dissolve after all.

I haven't tried this on resin yet, so be careful when trying it out. I'm guessing that it will work here also - but it's just a guess.

Darth Humorous · Post by **Darth Humorous** » Thu May 25, 2006 10:43 am

Andrew C. wrote:I highly recommend using Mr. Hobby Color Thinner for removing paint from injection plastic. Simply pour a bit on a rag and start wiping back and forth over the area. I have a very old mpc Braniff SST model kit that was half-covered in brushed-on, thick old paint and it came off nicely. (Takes a wee bit of patience, don't hurry on this.) This dulled old model kit from the sixties now looks brand-spanking-new, (I wiped over all the non-painted areas, too.) even the thin and delicate raised panel lines survived the process without any special care. This stuff simply does not solve injection plastic at all.

I would still like to advise caution and everyone should test-wipe an unimportant area of the inside of the model to see if there might be a chemical reaction - you never know if the kit isn't made of some type of plastic that can dissolve after all.

I haven't tried this on resin yet, so be careful when trying it out. I'm guessing that it will work here also - but it's just a guess.

In most cases, very little if any scrubbing is necessary with Super Cleaner Degreaser, and then only in crevices IF it didn't loosen up from the first dunking, which is unlikely with any except the most tenacious of paints like lead based types. When pulled out of a pan/tub/vat of Super Cleaner Degreaser, most if not all the paint will come off in sheets. That which doesn't probably will come off with the pressure of rinse water flowing on it from the spigot. And it does NOT attack styrene. Don't believe it attacks resin either, but I haven't tried first hand yet.

Mark

Saturn · Post by **Saturn** » Thu May 25, 2006 3:11 pm

I use Super Clean on resin all the time. Not only does it strip paint very well, I've found it to be indispensible for cleaning resin prior to priming. From Black Box/True Details cockpits to the Alliance Galactica and every resin kit/conversion/base I've bought from the SM store. I've never had a problem with it. I love the stuff.

didihno · Post by **didihno** » Sat May 27, 2006 8:04 am

didihno wrote:What are similar products for the European market?
It took me long enough to hunt down future floor wax! (brilliant stuff)

Question repeated!

Andrew C. · Post by **Andrew C.** » Mon May 29, 2006 4:04 pm

Mr. Hobby's Mr. Color Thinner #110 is available in several airbrush artists shops here in Germany. Might it also be available to you in an airbrush shop in Ireland?

Greetings,
Andrew

LOWELKER · Post by **LOWELKER** » Mon Sep 04, 2006 6:03 am

Anyone stripped a

MasterReplicas ATAT of it's snow flocking???

and the Koby....Koboky.......KobyashiMaru.......
that Japanese outfit.... vinyl figures. I have a snowtrooper I'd like to repaint.

Thanks,
Jim

rogue9 · Post by **rogue9** » Mon Oct 09, 2006 12:13 am

i used brake parts cleaner on my 1/72 mk2 viper to redo my crappy paint job. spray it on, let it soak about 5-10 min., and remove with an old toothbrush. didn't do any damage to the resin either.

bob242 · Post by **bob242** » Sat Dec 02, 2006 12:50 am

I went and royally messed up my Viper. I'd like a clean start and from what I've read on here I should use oven cleaner to have a fresh start, no?

I realize the post above stated brake parts cleaner, but would the oven cleaner have the same effect?

Digger1 · Post by **Digger1** » Sun Dec 03, 2006 4:29 pm

got a problem here.

I EZ-Offed the Oberth and the Vulcan Shuttle twice but the pain't not coming off. Some of it it but a lot still isn't.

Is there anything I can get that I can let it soak in to remove the paint without scrubbing?

Keptin Barnes · Post by **Keptin Barnes** » Thu Dec 21, 2006 9:02 pm

Hello All.
I have a quandry. I usually use Easy-off to remove paint from my models. I have even used it on kits that I have received from other people where they have painted it themselves years before and decided they didn't want it anymore, So I used them for parts or whatever.
Point being, the paint was really old and Easy-Off took it off. Granted I sometimes needed to do two, maybe three, sessions of spraying and scrubbing, but it got all of the paint off. I have never had a problem with E-O.

Now, for my problem. I have a AMT Excelsior kit that I painted about 8 years ago. It wasn't great, but I was mostly happy with it then. So I have decided to strip the paint and redo it with my now better skill.
Easy-Off won't take the paint off.
It has taken some of it. In spots. But not too well.
I soaked it 3 times, with toothbrush scrubbings after each soak.
I thought it may have been because the Easy-Off may have been old. So I bought a new can and gave it another 3 cleaning.
Still, not much paint has come off.

I have recently used Simple Green. I sprayed some on the model and let it soak in the tub for about an hour. Nothing happened. There is a patch in the tub that is slightly whiter now, though.

I have thought of using Brake Fluid, because I have heard some people mention using it before. But I didn't remember the softening plastic problem.

Also, between the Easy-Off and Simple Green, I ended up using 80 grit sandpaper. That works beautifully at removing the paint and primer. However, it requires a LOT of work. I spent 7 days sanding it and still had only half of the ship done. And a lot of grooves. Plus, I couldn't really get the paint out of the creases.

I really don't want to have to sand the model clean. I want to get this model cleaned up and finished. I have been working on this thing off-and-on for two years now. It's really been frustrating me.

I hope you guys have some ideas what will work.

Thanks for your time.

Oh, yeah. I used Brake Cleaner spray. That didn't work. And I used Battery Terminal cleaning spray. No workie there either.

Zen-Builder · Post by **Zen-Builder** » Thu Dec 21, 2006 9:03 pm

I found either bleach or 3-dot brake/clutch fluid sufficient for my needs.

Saturn · Post by **Saturn** » Thu Dec 21, 2006 10:58 pm

Immerse (completely submerge) in Castrol Super Clean in a Sterlite/Rubbermaid plastic shoe container. Seal the container. 24-48hrs tops.

Lt. Z0mBe · Post by **Lt. Z0mBe** » Fri Dec 22, 2006 1:21 am

Saturn wrote:Immerse (completely submerge) in Castrol Super Clean in a Sterlite/Rubbermaid plastic shoe container. Seal the container. 24-48hrs tops.

Seconded. In my limited stripping (paint stripping experience

), it worked the best for me.

Kenny

Keptin Barnes · Post by **Keptin Barnes** » Fri Dec 22, 2006 2:08 pm

Thanks a lot guys. I'll see if I can find Castrol (not Castrol) Super Clean around here. I'm guessing that my local Auto Zone will have it.

irishtrek · Post by **irishtrek** » Sun Dec 24, 2006 12:32 am

Last year I used pine-sol to remove some paint from the PL refit and after wards I soaked 3 other kits in the PS one of which I painted back in the late '80s. Any way most of the paint came off the models, plus I let them soak for a few hours if noot overnight.