striping paint question

[Dephcon5]

Ok, this is an RR shell painted with tamiya paint out of the spray can. Easy off does not seem to do anything to remove it and I am afraid of any other chemical strip agent for fear of melting the plastic. Any suggestions to strip genuine tamiya paint without melting the plastic? I need something available in the US.

thanks guys!

g

[netsmithUK]

brake fluid is the most reliable method by far that i've found. Its nastyish stuff but kind to hard plastic bodies - just wear gloves and goggles (think thats true for most chemicals) And alternative is sand/bead blasting - no chemicals at all, just need to be careful on some of the finer details

Search the forums for lots more tips on stripping bodies.

[Stevenchat2000]

Yes and some times its needs to be left soaking for atleast a week , then wire wooled then put back in to soak off any thats left.

[bkm72]

and if it was sprayed with primer....it makes it even more difficult to remove.

I use easy off.....let it sit for at least 24 hours....then use an old tooth brush to scrub it away...

It may take several tries....but you have to be patient.[]

Also....keep a bucket of water so you can submerge the body every once in a while to wash away all the mess.

Kinda speaks to how well primer works[^]

[gozone]

For the moment i have 2 bodys soaked in brake fluid also.. One of them is the Golf Racing 1/12 circuit car, which has been in the fluid for a couple of months now.. (It must be ready soon), and the other one is a Thunder Dragon, just started the "paint-dissolving" treatment earlier today.. I have tried to strip down a Juggernaut body also, using the chemical stuff to remove paint, but it is simply too harsh for the hard ABS-bodies, and also makes it a kind of "spongy" on the surface, but i have never experienced problems, using the brakefluid, other than it might take quite a while, but patience is a virtue.

However, when it is a hard body, it might be a better idea simply to sand it down gently and still very careful, if the layer of paint is not too thick..

Good luck on your project..

Cheers.

Michael

[rc-martin]

quote:For the moment i have 2 bodys soaked in brake fluid also.. One of them is the Golf Racing 1/12 circuit car, which has been in the fluid for a couple of months now.. (It must be ready soon), and the other one is a Thunder Dragon, just started the "paint-dissolving" treatment earlier today

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What type of brake fluid are you using??? the common rule everybody has found is that lexan/polycarbonate bodies are ruined by the stuff. the normal rules are,

Hard ABS Bodies use brake fluid or easy off to strip the paint

Polycarb Bodies use nitro fuel to strip the paint.

Martin.

[gozone]

Wel, i was first using the Texaco brand of fluid, but now i have bought another brand, (can´t remember the name), and also, when i get overspray on my Lexan Touring-shells, i usebrakefluid to wipe of the paint from the outside of the body.. No problems whatsoever.. At least not yet, and i must admit, that i over the years have airbrushed quite a lot of TC-bodies, but again, without encountering any type of problem concerning the use og brakefluids.

Michael

[Stevenchat2000]

There is a brake fluid out which is designed not to damage your 1/1 cars paintwork.

I dont think the stuff these days is as strong as it used to be !!

I remember fixing my brothers brakes when I was about 15 on his old orange Marina coupe and getting it all over the wing , it did not take long to bubble [}]lol .

[rc-martin]

I see you're in Denmark, maybe the fluid we have in the UK is of a different type. Very strange, just thought i'd mention the problems others including myself have encountered using brake fluid.

Martin.

[Stevenchat2000]

Its also to make them safer and bio degradeble and all that

[gozone]

Yes, you are probably right.. Everything has to be "green" today.. No wonder why all my wood on the house has to be painted over and over again. My opinion is this: The more toxic, the better the stuff is...

But it also might be right that the contents in the brakefluid varies from one country to another?..

[bkm72]

LOL....I tried brake fluid here in the states....

Didnt do a darn thing.....LOL

just made a mess.

[Shodog]

The key with paint removal is to scuff up th surface first. this allows either the easy off or the brake fluid to penetrate the paint.

Jim

[bkm72]

quote:Originally posted by Shodog

The key with paint removal is to scuff up th surface first. this allows either the easy off or the brake fluid to penetrate the paint.

Jim

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Good thought...sell me a set of technacraft

LOL

[Call me Keith]

Try soaking it in a castrol super clean. It works on about 75% of the paints I noticed over the years. Buy one or two gallons. Its about $8 a gallon in states. Comes in a purple plastic jug. Email me if you want some pics of it working. I took some pics of one of my strip jobs. I have noticed if the body has been clear coated, it will not work. Other than this, with a few days to a week, it will dissolve any paint and not harm the styrene what so ever.

Keith

[larbut]

I have used Caustic Soda on both a WW1 and SS body with good results.

Here is a picture taken in the middle of the messy process. The SS body had more that 8 layers of paint, but the "soda" took it all just after about 24 hours in soak. BUT the "Soda" is a real mess to work with, it is higly corrosive and makes gasses that makes you cough for a week ;-)

Anyone with bad experiences using Caustic Soda ?

Lars

[Vintagenewbie]

I know this might sound like a cop-out to the whole striping topic... I would just get myself a nice Repo shell... I figured It cost me more time and effort and dont forget money to strip and re-paint when I could have just bougt a nice repo shell and painted it up.

[bigvern]

i,m stripping a Lamborghini LP500s shell at the moment , its soaking in brake fluid the first five layers of paint have softened and come off but the last two or three are rock hard , i,ll give the costic soad a go and see what happens and let you know.

quote:Originally posted by Vintagenewbie

I know this might sound like a cop-out to the whole striping topic... I would just get myself a nice Repo shell... I figured It cost me more time and effort and dont forget money to strip and re-paint when I could have just bougt a nice repo shell and painted it up.

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[alister]

so let me get this straight... brake fluid is fine on abs bodies? or not? but don't use it on a lexan body?[?]

[Stevenchat2000]

I thought lexan was the hard ABS plastic and polycarbonate is the cheap clear plastic [?]

[mr_pushrod]

You are correct Alister, this is the majority finding. There are some who have used brake fluid on lexan successfully although for many others it has left it cloudy or damaged. Lexan is a form of polycarbonate and is the stuff they make the clear shells with. I wouldn't call it cheap, lexan is used to make bulletproof glass!

[Stevenchat2000]

So whats the proper name for the hard plastic bodies are they just called ABS plastic ??

[bkm72]

the Hard plastic bodies are Styrene

Check the link below, then in the left menu, choose "Vintage Info", and go down to "Stripping Styrene Bodies"

http://www.rc-model-cars.com/index.htm

[alister]

so let me ask everyone... coz i am needing to be knowing. What is best for lexan?

I have an unused Ultima that needs stripping. HELP!!! ARGGHHH!! ARGGHH! THER'S A COWBOY IN THE ROOM. no not really but.. well yer knarr us northerners!

quote:Originally posted by mr_pushrod

You are correct Alister, this is the majority finding. There are some who have used brake fluid on lexan successfully although for many others it has left it cloudy or damaged. Lexan is a form of polycarbonate and is the stuff they make the clear shells with. I wouldn't call it cheap, lexan is used to make bulletproof glass!

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[mr_pushrod]

I would look into using Delta Activator or nitro fuel, a quick search of the forum should provide plenty of opinions on both. I have some Delta and can vouch for its effectivness although it is pretty expensive. Saying that, others have found similar graffiti removers in DIY shops for much less that seem to do the job just as well.