Best Way To Remove Old Paint?

[mowgli kenobi]

In the short time that I have had my lunch box up and running I have managed to absolutely destroy the paint work so I have decided while it's off the road awaiting new parts that I'm going to give it a new paint job.

 I was just wondering if anyone had any hints/tips on how best remove the old paint job, was just gonna use a light sand paper and rub it down, is there any products I can use to help remove the paint with out damaging the shell?

Cheers

[HunterZero]

A quick forum search will tell you what you need to know. For hard shells, the best ways to remove paint are either soaking in brake fluid, or heavy-duty oven cleaner spray.

Maybe we need a 'sticky' topic on paint removal?

- James

[Rusty2903]

I used Mr Muscle oven cleaner on my MB shell and it worked a treat [y]. It  took about 3 goes though.

[T.C~Tamiya]

Bucket of brake fluid works for me...

[KEV THE REV]

Yep , me too  []

[gobby]

Must be a bit costly filling up buckets with brake fluid? How long does it take for the paint to come off? Why doesnt the bucket melt!

[T.C~Tamiya]

It doesn't melt plastic, that's why it's good for getting off the paint without harming the body, time taken depends on the type of paint, can be as quick as 24 hours or as in the case of the one in the photo about three weeks.

As for the price, I can't say, I just used up all the old bottles of brake fluid I had sitting around, as luck would have it, there was about a bucket full.

[KEV THE REV]

I bought a gallon (4.5 litres)of brake fluid from Halfords for around £15 (old brake fluid will do though, as previously stated).I have used it and reused it many times on different hard shells and drivers etc. It is very economical because it is re- useable with a bit of straining out here and there.Probably a lot cheaper than buying cans of oven cleaner , but it is each to their own.[]

[mowgli kenobi]

I can get the brake fluid from work thats not a problem, and if it takes ages, well it will be something to stare at whilst eating a sandwich on my lunchbreak. People at work will think I've gone nuts.

[KEV THE REV]

they probably will when you tell them your going to throw brake fluid all over your car, [:S] The stripping process time can vary , but it is worth the wait- you will normally see a reaction after a day or so depending on the paint , then just rotate the shell if it is not completely covered in the fluid bath, also, you can brush over the fluid while the shell is soaking , rather like basting a sunday roast LOL, use a toothbrush and things like macdonalds' wooden stirrers and toothpicks to clean out the details on the shell.When you are happy that all of the paint is off ( sometimes the paint can stain the plastic and wont all come out - but its cool)  you can wash the shell in warm soapy water ,then degrease ready for spraying- easy eh !! []

[Shodog]

I have never been a fan of brake fluid.  while it will eventually work after a few days, It's expensive for the amount you need and then you have the issue of disposal after your all done with it.

 Easy off heavy duty is my weapon of choice.  Only took me about 2 hours and two applications to strip this body. 

http://www.tamiyaclub.com/showroom_model.a...34664&id=34 

At $5 a can it's well worth its weight in gold

[MikeT]

Jim, that may be so mate, but what about us in the UK??!?!

I don't fancy buying brake fluid as it's a bit pricey for one or two uses, and since it's hygroscopic it will absorb water and become useless after time.

I've tried Mr.Muscle and it just left a foamy residue on the shell, didn't touch the paint.

Oven-Magic - Removes anodizing great, didn't touch paint though

Acetone - Works amazingly well, didn't damage the styrene, but expensive for a little bottle from the chemists.

Thinners, Nitro Fuel, White Spirit are all a BIG NO-NO on Styrene shells, unless, of course you want a puddle of melted plastic where your body once was []

[Shodog]

It's possible that you don't have what we consider heavy duty oven cleaner.  Easy off makes a sissy, safe for the environment with a lemon scent oven cleaner that doesn't work worth beans.  The heavy duty stuff on the other hand makes short work of paint stripping. 

[MikeT]

That's a possibility Jim! The Tree-hugging oven cleaner is useless! It's like with pain killers, they sell normal, and extra strength. Why would you buy the normal ones? If you don't mind if the Headache goes or not?!?!??!

[KEV THE REV]

Even though it can be messy , i still stand by the brake fluid method, although it does absorb moisture over a period of time , it is still effective as a paint stripper ,I have a gallon container which i keep the fluid in a pour it into a tub which sits in a black bin bag to stop any spillage.Once the shell or part is stripped the fluid is filtered back into the container ready for the next job  [Y]

[MikeT]

Possibly Kev, but for a student it's a bit pricey mate!

[KEV THE REV]

Ok ,but I'm no millionaire and I look at it this way .If i'm doing a lot of parts / body stripping , i can put all of the parts into the tub , let them soak , work on them all in one go .How much are cans of oven cleaner or other products?.I have had this gallon of fluid for about a year already, and have stripped many bodies ,drivers, and the like and i can continue to use and reuse it for as long as i want, i call it long term economics .Works for me , but each to their own i guess. []. Have you tried asking at a local garage or the like to see if they have any used fluid you can have? 

[vert1]

Ok ,but I'm no millionaireand I look at it this way .Ifi'mdoing a lot of parts / body stripping , i can put all of the parts into the tub , let them soak , work on them all in one go .How much are cans of oven cleaner or other products?.I have had this gallon of fluid for about a year already, and have stripped many bodies ,drivers, and the like and i can continue to use and reuse it for as long as i want, i call it long term economics .Works for me , but each to their own i guess. []. Have you tried asking at a local garage or the like to see if they have any used fluid you can have?

I have tried all the above with mixed results, my latest project Monster Beetle had 5 paint jobs on it and the HD oven cleaner used in the past has been painfully slow on some of the harder paints so I decided to try some caustic soda powder (98% pure)

Mixed about 200grms in 6-7L of warm water in a bucket and with a 12hr soak all 5 layers came off in one go.

Warm water is the key, it mixes much better and strips quicker. All I need now is some kind of heating element to keep the brew warm, it works good cold too but as I said with warm water its much quicker.

Using a bucket isn't ideal as you can only do one half of the body at a time but oh well.

[The Mad Modder]

I have never been a fan of brake fluid. while it will eventually work after a few days, It's expensive for the amount you need and then you have the issue of disposal after your all done with it.

Easy off heavy duty is my weapon of choice. Only took me about 2 hours and two applications to strip this body.

<a href="http://www.tamiyaclub.com/showroom_model.asp?cid=34664&id=34" target="_blank">http://www.tamiyaclub.com/showroom_model.a...34664&id=34</a>

At $5 a can it's well worth its weight in gold

At Advance auto parts, a large bottle of brake fluid goes for $2.50, you could completely submerge a 1/10 body with about 5 bottles. As for the time, it depends on the type of paint. Tamiya TS paint is best left for several hours, however even thick testors/model master paint came off in a couple of minutes for me.

[WINDPOWER]

HI GUYS - AS A FORMER LAB. TECHNICIAN , TRY USING CAUSTIC SODA (SODIUM HYDROXIDE) .YOU SHOULD BE ABLE TO GET IT FROM A HARDWARE STORE - B & Q I BELIEVE SELL IT OR CHEMISTS MAYBE. BE VERY VERY CAREFUL THOUGH - AS IT SAYS IT IS CAUSTIC AND WILL BURN YOU . BE SURE TO USE GLOVES WHEN HANDLING THIS CHEMICAL. IT WILL REQUIRE PATIENCE AND PERHAPS SEVERAL APPLICATIONS AND SOME SCRUBBING IN BETWEEN TO ACHIEVE THE DESIRED RESULT. THE GREAT THING ABOUT USING THIS IS THAT WHEN FINISHED WITH YOU CAN DILUTE IT EXTREMELY WELL WITH COPIOUS AMOUNTS OF WATER AND FLUSH IT DOWN THE DRAIN. ( BE SURE TO PUT A LOT OF WATER BEHIND IT TO THOROUGHLY DILUTE IT ). HOPETHIS HELPS SOMEBODY ! REGARDS MARK (WINDPOWER)

[HunterZero]

Ouch, my eyes! Capslock off please!

Caustic soda is the main active ingredient in heavy-duty oven cleaner, which is why it works.

It's fine on ABS plastic bodies - however don't try using caustic soda on polycarbonate, it will disintegrate.

- James

[skip665]

I have a CR-V shell I am trying to strip and it seems to have been painted in automotive paint as the paint is VERY hard - a week and a half in brake fliud didnt even touch it - and it was the cheapest DOT4 I could find - tried an hour in some foaming oven cleaner (which stripped the chrome from my Hilux parts nicely) and that didnt do anything either - will give it another go tonight - but my question is does anyone know if one of the methods mentioned has been tried on 1:1 car paint on an RC shell??

[Blacque Jacque]

Skip, if you had that shell in brake fluid for a week & a half with no signs of progress it sounds like it may have been painted in 2 pack.

I had one of my 1:1 Hilux's done with that & it really is hard as nails, I doubt if brake fluid will do anything to it as it's an epoxy.

[skip665]

That was my worry - I threw in another CR-V spare wheel cover and the silver paint just fell off that in a couple of days...

Any ideas how I can paint the shell if that is the case? Rub the shell down to key the surface - prime it with normal (not plastic) primer and hope for the best?

[Blacque Jacque]

You can try it that way, I can't offer any info myself, I never needed to paint over 2 pack.