Two Paint Coats To Strip

[mongoose1983]

Last year I had a pretty unfortunate issue painting a 1983 Subaru Brat body because I did not know it was made of a plastic that was not the same as the yellow Black Foot wheels. Well, now I have to strip a 1984 FAV body which has two or three paint coats. Question is, will the regular brake fluid help me getting the paint off of it? I don't want to ruin the body any more because I don't think I'll be able to find another. Any ideas on how to strip it will be very appreciated.

You all have a great Sunday!

[Guest FalconFirst]

Last year I had a pretty unfortunate issue painting a 1983 Subaru Brat body because I did not know it was made of a plastic that was not the same as the yellow Black Foot wheels. Well, now I have to strip a 1984 FAV body which has two or three paint coats. Question is, will the regular brake fluid help me getting the paint off of it? I don't want to ruin the body any more because I don't think I'll be able to find another. Any ideas on how to strip it will be very appreciated.

You all have a great Sunday!

EB

--

Heya Erich,

I learnt something about stripping the paint off a FAV with brake fluid. I left all my FAV components in Brake Fluid over night and I very nearly destroyed my bonnet! It had actually started to soften the plastic and a crack had formed from one of the screw holes out. I suspect the Bonnet and the Roof are of a different plastic to that of the chassis and roll cage components. I think brake fluid is still the solution but you will need to monitor the bonnet and roof and only soak it for a matter of several hours. Get in there with gloves and a tooth brush and move the paint as quickly as possible and then get it out of there! Chassis and roll cage stripped easily after overnight soaking.

James

[mongoose1983]

Thank you James for sharing your experience regarding the FAV. I was planning to leave it under brake fluid for a whole weekend. Now I doubt I will. If I ruin it, I don't believe I'll be able to replace any parts, so... I better do things the best possible way with it.

Have a great Sunday!

 

[WillyChang]

i'd choose caustic EzyOff ovencleaner rather than brakefluid to strip paint

[Jim the wookie]

having a lot of success with fashine at the moment, havn't used it on this actual model though.

Jim

[Swarm]

Hi EB hope you are well mate .

I am currently stripping a FAV in brake fluid which also had 3 coats of paint on it .

The brake fluid is great works a treat with no damage to the FAV .

I have used oven cleaner on the FAV as well but its very caustic you need to wear gloves,the brake fluid is hassle free just needs time to soak and a toothbrush helps as well .

I soak the parts then hit them with the toothbrush and wash the whole thing in soapy water to neutralise the brake fluid then start the process all over again if needed.

The brake fluid can be used again I strain it and place it in a bottle when not using it as its pretty expensive to buy for each project .

Hope you have luck mate .

Stuart.

[mongoose1983]

Thanks, Stuart. The FAV project will have to wait some weeks, I have too much backlogged work to solve in here. End of semester's always a h*ll

You all have a great Wednesday!

 

[Live Steam Mad]

I had a look at the 1985 Tamiya Guide Book and it doesn't mention what plastic the body ( hood / bonnet part ) is made from Whereas normally it tells you. Perhaps because it has almost no bodywork...

Cheers,

Alistair G.

[Live Steam Mad]

Just noticed that the Guide Book mentions that the frame is a bathtub type made of ABS plastic. That includes the left and right panels which have yellow paint on in your picture.

I've only ever stripped Styrene ( Sand Scorcher 1979 original body and Hilux original release body), and I can tell you that Sodium Hydroxide (Caustic Soda) and Easy Off oven cleaner in yellow label bottle and Tamiya brand Lacquer Thinner are all HARMLESS to Styrene, they do not affect the surface at all apart from slight yellowing, the plastic remains glass hard when I test it hours after I have washed the stuff off.

Don't know what's safe to use on ABS ?

Usual disclaimer on the chemicals used LOL.

Cheers,

Alistair G.

[mongoose1983]

Hiya Alistair -how're you doing.

Oh, well. I tested nail-polish remover on both parts. It will eventually take all the black paint fairly easy without harming the plastics, but it is not strong enough to remove the yellow paint, which is pretty thick. Anyway, no time to do more testing until next weekend -lots to do in here (plus tomorrow's early morning worldcup match!)

Thanks for the info - I guess I will have to try brake-fluid. Yellow paint in this car is NASTY.

Have a great Wednesday!

Erich

--

[Live Steam Mad]

Hiya Alistair -how're you doing.

Oh, well. I tested nail-polish remover on both parts. It will eventually take all the black paint fairly easy without harming the plastics, but it is not strong enough to remove the yellow paint, which is pretty thick. Anyway, no time to do more testing until next weekend -lots to do in here (plus tomorrow's early morning worldcup match!)

Thanks for the info - I guess I will have to try brake-fluid. Yellow paint in this car is NASTY.

Have a great Wednesday!

EB

--

Hi there Erich, nice to hear from you again!

Nail Polish came in 2 different kinds over here depending on the era I think. The old one contains Acetone but the new one is Acetone free. The old one will dissolve Styrene so I have read but I don't know what effect it has on ABS (FAV chassis and body 'sides'). I don't know anything about the new type. Which one did you use? Any chance of some high resolution pictures of the labels front and rear on the bottle?

Have you got any DOT3 brake fluid or Tamiya brand Lacquer Thinner or Easy Off oven cleaner with the Yellow label, or Caustic Soda that you could use? The latter three are harmless to Styrene but I don't know what any of these would do to ABS since I never tried stripping paint on ABS before.

Pictures of your progress would be great.

Cheers,

Alistair G.

[mongoose1983]

Hi there Erich, nice to hear from you again!

Nail Polish came in 2 different kinds over here depending on the era I think. The old one contains Acetone but the new one is Acetone free. The old one will dissolve Styrene so I have read but I don't know what effect it has on ABS (FAV chassis and body 'sides'). I don't know anything about the new type. Which one did you use? Any chance of some high resolution pictures of the labels front and rear on the bottle?

Have you got any DOT3 brake fluid or Tamiya brand Lacquer Thinner or Easy Off oven cleaner with the Yellow label, or Caustic Soda that you could use? The latter three are harmless to Styrene but I don't know what any of these would do to ABS since I never tried stripping paint on ABS before.

Pictures of your progress would be great.

Cheers,

Alistair G.

Hi again buddy,

Right now I am still knee-deep into backlogged work -the last three weeks of the semester are pretty busy in here. But I will get some picture of the stuff I mentioned for you. I yet have to dissasemble the car again and get it on brake fluid... will post pics of that too as soon as I can.

Have a great Tuesday!

Erich

--

[mrhemi]

Not sure if you can get it in the UK, but here in the states I've been using a product called chameleon for years, and I've never had a problem stripping either ABS or styrene. and strips them day one new too.... it comes in quart bottles is perfectly clear and harmless, other than drying skin...

[Tamiyaho]

I had a look at the 1985 Tamiya Guide Book and it doesn't mention what plastic the body ( hood / bonnet part ) is made from Whereas normally it tells you. Perhaps because it has almost no bodywork...

Cheers,

Alistair G.

Hi Alistair,

Could you have a look at the Guide Book and check for me to see what plastic the body of a Terra Scorcher is made from.

I have posted in another post here but have had no reply.

Hope it is not too much trouble.

Thank you in advance.

[Live Steam Mad]

Hi Alistair,

Could you have a look at the Guide Book and check for me to see what plastic the body of a Terra Scorcher is made from.

I have posted in another post here but have had no reply.

Hope it is not too much trouble.

Thank you in advance.

Sure, the Terra Scorcher body is made of PolyCarbonate, and the bathtub chassis is made from ABS. At least so says Tamiya in their 1989 Radio Control Guide Book.

To strip the body on that one I personally would use Glow fuel with as much NitroMethane content as possible, and exposure of the shell to the stuff should be over a magnitude of some minutes, not hours.

Cheers,

Alistair G.

[Tamiyaho]

Sure, the Terra Scorcher body is made of PolyCarbonate, and the bathtub chassis is made from ABS. At least so says Tamiya in their 1989 Radio Control Guide Book.

To strip the body on that one I personally would use Glow fuel with as much NitroMethane content as possible, and exposure of the shell to the stuff should be over a magnitude of some minutes, not hours.

Cheers,

Alistair G.

Thanks Alistair...also noted the comments in the other topic.

Cheers.

[mongoose1983]

Well, just last Friday I could stop a minute and get onto working the FAV again. This time I think I come up with a useful way to use the brake fluid to strip the parts. My buddy Julio gave me a little bottle of brake fluid (have a look at the pictures). I had nothing else to use, only that very little quantity of fluid, so I had to think of a possible way to get things working properly for my money. I grabbed the bonnet, side bars and plates and covered them with some ordinary plastic film that is used to cover sandwiches. Prior to doing that I covered them with brake fluid using a small brush. I did the same with the bonnet. The main body was not as easy, although only the sides of it were pianted. I just covered the sides of it with very little brake fluid again using the small brush but had to let it out in the air, no plastic film covering it.

After less than one day I noticed the paint started to wrinkle and today I could take the paint off the parts. It was pretty easy, although for the main body part I had to repeat the process, because not all the paint came off. I got most of the paint off of it, and now I repeated the process. I think the 3rd or 4th time will get it all off and ready. And the best part of this is... I still have plenty of brake fluid!

I thought about sharing the experience with you guys because I have used lots of brake fluid in the past to strip a Monster Beetle, and I have noticed most TCers like to submerge parts in lots of this expensive fluid. Well, here's a cheap way of doing it. Hope the info will be of use to you guys.

You all have a GREAT Sunday!!

Erich

--

[mongoose1983]

Well, it took me many hours to get the body ready to the point I wanted it to be. Here's a picture so you can see I repaired the two holes in the bonnet. Hopefully, I'll have some time to stop and work this buggy again next weekend.

[Swarm]

Great idea Erich very innovative I would never have though of using cling wrap very clever that is thinking outside the square .I have had my FAV soaking for 4 weeks now I finally hit it with a scourer yesterday with good results .

By the way that has to be the smallest bottle of brake fluid I have ever seen ,but it did the job and that is what counts

What is with the hole on the bonnet looks like it was where the on/off switch was .

What colour are you going to paint it mate ?.

Stuart.

[berman]

Fantastic results Erich! That brake fluid bottle looks smaller than a shot glass, great idea to make it go the distance! Looking forward to the seeing the finished FAV shell

[Live Steam Mad]

Well, it took me many hours to get the body ready to the point I wanted it to be. Here's a picture so you can see I repaired the two holes in the bonnet. Hopefully, I'll have some time to stop and work this buggy again next weekend.

That looks great Always good to see restoration going well. Good work my friend.

Cheers,

Alistair G.

[mongoose1983]

Great idea Erich very innovative I would never have though of using cling wrap very clever that is thinking outside the square .I have had my FAV soaking for 4 weeks now I finally hit it with a scourer yesterday with good results .

By the way that has to be the smallest bottle of brake fluid I have ever seen ,but it did the job and that is what counts

What is with the hole on the bonnet looks like it was where the on/off switch was .

What colour are you going to paint it mate ?.

Stuart.

Hiya Stuart! Well, when making it "outside the square" I was thinking "anywhere fitting my budget".

Yeah, the hole that was on top of the bonnet was there for a Futaba on/off switch. First thing I thought when seeing it was "Good Lord, what was the owner of this one thinking when punching a hole in this legendary car!" but as soon as I had to turn the switch on I understood perfectly the reason: there is no other way to turn on this car than picking it up from the floor. And by the way, even more dramatic than the bonnet holes are the ones the original owner made on to the car's right side. They were made to have easy access to tuning the MSC. And again, when I first ran it I knew the reason: you have to take off all four screws to have access to the electronics!

Color? I'll paint the hood and sides Light sand color. Pretty much like the original color only less shiny, so I believe most FAV fans will find my car boring. I love the looks of the contrast that military vehicles painted that color make with blue colored uniforms. But I am missing the body and head of the driver! I only have the left arm... I guess it's going to be a long search for that part, unless of course I get super lucky again and come across one to restore.

Fantastic results Erich! That brake fluid bottle looks smaller than a shot glass, great idea to make it go the distance!

Ha, ha. That's true, Neil. Actually, the bottle is smaller than a Te-kill-ya shot!

That looks great Always good to see restoration going well. Good work my friend.

Cheers,

Alistair G.

Thanks, Alistair. I'm in hopes all this work will look pretty good in the end. I will try to renew my membership by the end of this month (I had a very unfortunate setback at work) so I can have again a showroom to showcase this one when ready.

Anyway, thank you guys for your support!!

You all have a great Tuesday!

Erich

--

[mongoose1983]

Today I had to come back home a bit earlier because of the rains we have had. No worries -I spent a couple of hours working the FAV.

By now I know I'd rather work and restore ten cars before painting another one! I love to paint the details, but the bodies are always such a pita! Anyway, I'm loving this model. Recently I noticed TC member Regressing saying "the FAV is too cool to run it". Well, I'm starting to have the same feeling... but I know in the end I'll take this one for a run or two as soon as possible

I love the repro lamps made by NZ's Beetlelover. They look cool beside the front hydraulic shocks.

I really believe the Fast Attack Vehicle must be one of the most beautiful RC models ever made by Tamiya!

[Swarm]

Looks like winter has set in as well and truley Erich I am wearing a beannie as well as I type this .

The Fav is my favourite Tamiya buggy I have 8 I would collect all of them if I could they are great to work on the detail on them is amazing .

They run well virtually bullet proof can take the knocks and still come back for more.

Your resto job looks great so far mate it looks like you are enjoying yourself and that is what matters .

I have recently done two up in civvy colours and currently working on a third one in french blue .

Looks great EB

Stuart.

[mongoose1983]

Well, the FAV restoration is now in its last steps. I can not do any more with this model because I have not found the missing parts (driver body and right arm, top parts of the box and the bit that goes on top of the rollcage, oh, and the M-60, too).

Tonight I finished the lamps. These are the wonderful reproductions that NZ's TC member Beetlelover has for sale. I would recommend these to anybody looking for replacements.

Anyway, here's some pics of my whisky buggy.

You all have a great Sunday!

Erich

--