Removing & Stripping Paint From Lexan Polycarbonate

[Corona Powered 1]

Hello -

I have (as I am sure many of you do also) a shelf full of old polycarbonate shells with paint flaking off that could be "saved" if there was some miracle way to strip the paint off. After searching many threads here on Tamiya Club, this is all the information I have been able to collect on this subject:

1. De-Solv-It Graffiti Remover: This is the best method I have read about. Tamiya Club member "pandafred" had excellent results using it. He mentioned that he left the product on for 10-15 mins and the paint came off. The results speak for themselves in his showroom: http://www.tamiyaclub.com/showroom_model.a...9&sid=29543

I don't know if he tried letting it soak for any long period of time. Unfortunately, I live in the United States and this product is not available over here. I tried contacting Orange-Sol directly (they market De-Solv-It products) and the product is actually produced by Mykal Industries, a UK based company. I haven't gotten a reply from them yet on US distribution (but I doubt it), so I'm desperately trying to find a way to get this stuff over to this side of the pond!

2. Brake Fluid: Not Recommended. Brake fluid is safe for hard plastic polystyrene bodies. The consensus is that brake fluid attacks lexan, causing it to fog or become brittle.

3. Nitro Fuel: Some members have recommended using nitro fuel. Apparently it is the nitromethane that actually removes the paint - look for a higher nitro content and a low oil content. I will experiment with this method myself once the weather warms up. There are hazardous fumes, and nitro is a known carcinogen. Although the consensus is that it does not attack lexan, I did read of at least one member complaining that it fogged the clear plastic. NOTE: some polycarbonate paints actually etch into the plastic, causing clouding, so it may not have been the fuel. This thread had a lot of info on using nitro fuel... http://www.tamiyaclub.com/forum/index.php?...0paint&st=0

4. Krud Kutter Graffiti Remover: I stumbled upon this product on Amazon and ordered some (should arrive in a few days). This is a water based (not solvent based), non-abrasive biodegradable cleaner. The product claims to remove all different kinds of paint AND be safe on plastic and plexiglass. It is available in the US, so I'm hoping this stuff works.

5. Heavy Duty Oven Cleaner/caustic soda: Not Recommended. It damages polycarbonate.

6. Parma Fashine: I have read mixed results on this product. I does not appear to cause any damage, but may not be effective on Tamiya PS paints. I intend to get some from my LHS and give it a try.

Any other ideas for removing paint off polycarbonate without doing permanent damage? In particular, I have a nice 959 shell (among others) w/o too much damage but with plenty of old paint on it that I am hoping to save, but these are very brittle to begin with so I really do need magic in a bottle.

THANKS!

NOTE: This post has been updated. It will continue to be updated as new information/results from experiments are available.

[Mouton 1]

While I am unsure of how you have used the search function and how carefully you have read the threads found, I am sceptical that people really have recommended brake fluid for lexan bodies. It is an absolute no-no!

Brake fluid is only to be used for ABS plastic bodies and never on lexan as it will leave a matte finish and make it very fragile in the process. Same goes for Mr. Muscle Oven Cleaner and other oven cleaner products. Mr. Muscle is an IPMS favourite when it comes to remove paint from plastic models.

And yes, nitro fuel is perfectly safe for lexan, but remember to wear protective gloves. It must sit for a while and you will have to rub with a toothbrush, but the paint will come off without any harmful sideffects.

[Corona Powered 1]

Thanks for your reply Mouton.

My purpose for creating this thread was to create a bit of an END ALL discussion on this topic since opinions vary widely. Ideally, this would be a Wiki entry that could be updated by the more experienced members. As it sits now, to get any kind of real answer you have to sift through many different threads, with all different kinds of titles. I am merely collecting info and passing along my findings. The 959 shell is a good guinea pig because it is expensive and also probably the most fragile lexan shell out there. My hope is that I can post before and after pictures of my 959 shell (I have three to experiment on) and let readers be the judge on what worked.

Yes, it appears that brake fluid is a no-no for lexan, as far as submerging in a bath. Have people used it on lexan before with favorable results? This thread has one poster citing his positive experience with it (for a 959 shell no less): http://www.tamiyaclub.com/forum/index.php?...hl=remove+paint

I think one aspect of this discussion that is making everything a little vague is the difference between brushing/wiping techniques and submerging in a bath. Some chemicals will only attack polycarbonate (fog, dissolve or cause brittleness) for extended periods of exposure. Some attack instantly. I intend to specify that difference in my findings. For something as fragile as a 959 shell, a submerged bath method would be ideal because you would not have to handle the shell or rub as much (minimizing the chance of cracking or crinkling).

[Wandy 1527]

And yes, nitro fuel is perfectly safe for lexan, but remember to wear protective gloves.

Incorrect. I immersed a Kyosho Optima Mid wing in 40% Nitro and left it overnight. When I got up the next morning the wing had turned to mush.

[Corona Powered 1]

Wandy -

That is interesting to hear about the Nitro fuel. I have two theories on why that may have happened.

1. The % Nitro in the fuel you used may have been too high. From what I read, the nitro is the ingredient that is doing the dirty work. Other members had said the more the better, but perhaps it is better to stick in the 15% range?

2. Perhaps Nitro fuel is only good for brushing/wiping and NOT submerging in a bath? It seems like the members who had luck with this method brushed it on and wiped it off.

Just trying to get to the bottom of this tangled web.

This particular thread was very informative. Lots of folks advocated the Nitro Fuel, and one even used it on an Optima, so go figure...

http://www.tamiyaclub.com/forum/index.php?...0paint&st=0

[Trexx75 2]

i have ordered paint killer from carson(still waiting.....),i wonder how well it works.

http://www.carson-modelsport.com/en/produc...m?sArtNr=908113

[Corona Powered 1]

Wow Trexx75. That paint killer DOES look like magic in a bottle! It claims to remove all kinds of lexan paint without harming the plastic. Please keep us informed how it works when you get it and try it.

I'm guessing it's yet another solution that us Yanks won't have access to.

[Live Steam Mad 17]

Incorrect. I immersed a Kyosho Optima Mid wing in 40% Nitro and left it overnight. When I got up the next morning the wing had turned to mush.

Verified on Frog PolyCarbonate as well.

Left in O'Donnell racing fuel 16% NitroMethane for over a day and came back and the scrap re-release Frog PolyCarbonate that I had painted on had distorted quite badly like it was softened by the fuel - I think it removed the plasticisers in the PolyCarbonate (this was actually an experiment to see if I could remove PS1 and PS11 Tamiya PolyCarbonate spray paint that I had just bought from an LHS - needless to say it did nothing to the paint whatsoever when I tried to then mechanically remove it whilst still immersed in the fuel).

However 20 minutes or more of bathing a Kyosho Optima shell in the exact same fuel but from a freshly opened fuel bottle did not harm the PolyCarbonate in the slightest, and the paint nearly fell off like water within a few minutes I use a smoker's toothbrush to rub the paint off with as the bristles are much harder than normal (I am not a smoker though). The shell was left perfectly clear with NO cloudiness

Note that in Europe the PolyCarbonate here is often not the same as the PolyCarbonate that is made by General Electric ( GE ) which has the tradename Lexan . In Europe we have a lot of the PolyCarbonate that has the tradename called Makrolon and is made by Bayer ;-

http://www.makrolon.com/bms/db-rsc/makrolo....nsf/id/home_en

I have no idea which PolyCarbonates that Tamiya or Kyosho used through the years. China etc. no doubt also make their own PolyCarbonates.

Cheers,

Alistair G.

[Live Steam Mad 17]

6. Parma Fashine: I have read mixed results on this product. I does not appear to cause any damage, but may not be effective on Tamiya PS paints. I intend to get some from my LHS and give it a try.

Fashine is wonderful stuff on Styrene shells with a lot of paints but only works for the first couple of hours on PS paints on PolyCarbonate. Once the PS paints cure properly Fashine cannot remove them. As James ( HunterZero ) I think mentioned, the best way to remove PS paint is to spray more PS paint on of the same color and then it starts to dissolve the original paint off.

Cheers,

Alistair G.

[Live Steam Mad 17]

Brake fluid is only to be used for ABS plastic bodies and never on lexan as it will leave a matte finish and make it very fragile in the process. Same goes for Mr. Muscle Oven Cleaner and other oven cleaner products. Mr. Muscle is an IPMS favourite when it comes to remove paint from plastic models.

Please could I remind all TC members not to use "ABS" as a catch all term for all rigid plastic bodied buggies. An awful lot of Tamiya's buggies do NOT use ABS, they are made from Styrene. Holiday Buggy is even made from PolyEthene. Yes some are ABS like Honda CRV, but you get my point...

Yes I know I keep banging on about it but it bugs me greatly and seems to have become an urban myth, maybe from old magazines which TC members grew up with and which magazines seemed to constantly use the term ABS when in fact the shell was not.

I bring this up because it is relevant to paint removing chemicals. Different paint removers will act differently on different materials...

Thank you for your attention

Best Regards,

Alistair G.

[Live Steam Mad 17]

This particular thread was very informative. Lots of folks advocated the Nitro Fuel, and one even used it on an Optima, so go figure...

http://www.tamiyaclub.com/forum/index.php?...0paint&st=0

Oh yeah that member sounds like it was probably me. It was an original Optima shell. The paint nearly dissolved straight off in a mere few minutes! I have added the relavent info' to a previous reply here.

Cheers,

ARG

[Live Steam Mad 17]

Eazy-OFF oven cleaner works on all plastic readlly avaiable.

Which Easy Off is this? The spray on one with the yellow label? I ask because there are 3 different ones, with blue, yellow or black cans ;-

http://www.easyoff.us/

Which PolyCarbonate shells did you use it on with success? Did the body go even slightly brittle or cloudy at all?

Cheers,

ARG

[Swarm 242]

Eazy-OFF oven cleaner works on all plastic readlly avaiable.

Yeah it works well on fingers as well (no fingerprints from personal experience) wear gloves .

[VagabondStarJXF 350]

I've got a few Qs about the De-Solv-It Graffiti Remover before I go and buy some... Is everyone happy with results from this one? Is it harmful to decals? How quickly does it work? And has anyone tried this on Styrene/ABS etc. shells yet? (I have more than just polycarbonate shells to strip y'see. )

[Hibernaculum 933]

i have ordered paint killer from carson(still waiting.....),i wonder how well it works.

http://www.carson-modelsport.com/en/produc...m?sArtNr=908113

Any update on this one? Because it certainly sounds great.

Because the sad truth is that, right now, I feel like I could read about 100 pages of "how to remove paint" topics here on TC, and still not find a way to actually remove the Tamiya PS spray paint that I painted on my Frog shell a few months ago.

So I continue to wait to discover the magic solution that will REALLY work once and for all on polycarbonate!

H.

[Corona Powered 1]

Well, I thought I was on to something promising.

The Krud Kutter Graffit Remover: I submerged a 959 shell in it for a week. Now, I purchased this shell used, so I can't say for sure what paint was used on it. The body was painted red and the windows were painted black. The solution removed the black paint off the windows very quickly. The red paint came off it spots, but did not "melt" off like I was hoping. The good news is that the lexan was not harmed and did not cloud, after a week. It did remove some fresh dupli color spray paint from a different piece of polystyrene as a test - that fell right off after a couple minutes, so the product does work! I'm going to try spraying some fresh Tamiya PS over the old paint and see if that helps the process at all.

[OCD 514]

Eazy-OFF oven cleaner works on all plastic readlly avaiable.

I wouldn't recommend using Easy-Off on polycarbonate -- In my experience it makes the plastic de-laminate and turn very brittle.

[Live Steam Mad 17]

I wouldn't recommend using Easy-Off on polycarbonate -- In my experience it makes the plastic de-laminate and turn very brittle.

PolyCarbonate bodyshells have no laminations to delaminate ?!

I agree with you about the use of Sodium Hydroxide on PolyCarbonate though, there are many reports of it going brittle. However PolyCarbonates vary in composition and some have reported success in removing paint with it as long as the exposure to the NaOH is relatively brief.

Regards,

ARG

[Live Steam Mad 17]

Well, I thought I was on to something promising.

The Krud Kutter Graffit Remover: I submerged a 959 shell in it for a week. Now, I purchased this shell used, so I can't say for sure what paint was used on it. The body was painted red and the windows were painted black. The solution removed the black paint off the windows very quickly. The red paint came off it spots, but did not "melt" off like I was hoping. The good news is that the lexan was not harmed and did not cloud, after a week. It did remove some fresh dupli color spray paint from a different piece of polystyrene as a test - that fell right off after a couple minutes, so the product does work! I'm going to try spraying some fresh Tamiya PS over the old paint and see if that helps the process at all.

Very interesting. Yes, the only viable way to remove PS paint so far is to use more PS paint and rub off, this worked for me.

I frequently use PC paints instead to paint with.

Cheers,

Alistair G.

[TamiyaDan 8]

.

[OCD 514]

PolyCarbonate bodyshells have no laminations to delaminate ?!

It delaminates because Lexan/polycarbonate is made of several thin layers of film that are pressed together. If you bend a piece a bunch of times you can see the layers begin to separate.

-Steve

[jonnas42 53]

After reading this thread I thought I would let you know how I got on with Desolve it Graffiti remover.

I only wanted to remove the rear section of paint from my Mclaren mp4/6 F1 ( the flourescent red chevron) as this had flaked, then been repainted by the prevoius owner.

I masked off the rest of the paint, about 6mm from the paint line into the white section. The rest of the shell was fine so my intention was to repaint the red, then overcoat with white, hence blending back in with original white.

I painted on the clear gell with a brush and left for 10 minutes, I kept on agitating with the brush, but nothing seemed to be happening.

I left the solution on for a further 2 1/2 hours, checking from time to time, but nothing seemed to be happening.

By this point I was dissapionted, but after reading this thread again I saw that a toothbrush was used also to rub the paint.

A quick raid on the bathroom later I tried gently rubbing the treated area and to my amazement, the paint started to move. It took on an almost melted plastic form, and with further rubbing with the toothbrush, lifted right off.

I rinsed the shell under warm water and was very pleased to see no fogging or scratch marks. I reapplied some more solution and left for 10 more minutes to remove the last few stobborn bits of paint and rinsed again.

It left a raggy line where the paint stopped reacting, a genle rub with my finger nail left a smooth line.

I havn't repainted the shell yet, but when I do, I will post some pics so you can see the results.

Desolve it Graffiti remover is available from screw fix - £9.99 for 1 litre.

Well worth a tenner I say.

[Shanks 5]

I've got a few Qs about the De-Solv-It Graffiti Remover before I go and buy some... Is everyone happy with results from this one? Is it harmful to decals? How quickly does it work? And has anyone tried this on Styrene/ABS etc. shells yet? (I have more than just polycarbonate shells to strip y'see. )

I have just used the De-Solv-it to strip 2 Bearhawk bodyshells which according to the website is injection moulded styrene & also on an Astute bobyshell which is a polycarbonate shell and I have to say that i've had awesome results on all the shells.

Worked wonders on the Bearhawk shells as I had tried soaking them in caustic soda ( Sodium hydroxide ) which I think has been used by others on the forum with good results. I however had had poor results despite constant brushing with an old toothbrush & long soaks only some of the paint was removed.

I washed both shells well with water let them dry, then the next day I decided to try the Graffiti remover on the most banged up of the 2 shells with the hope that if it all went wrong I would still have another shell spare. So I painted the shell all over with the gloopy graffiti remover in an old plastic washing up bowl waited approx 15 mins gave it a scrub with an old toothbrush and the paint just scrapped off.

After 3 apps of the gloop the bodyshell is almost ready to be repaired & painted just a few little bits in tight places that need attention. Tried the same on the other hard bodyshell with the same results only thing is as it was painted black the shell is "stained" but im sure with a good rub down with some super fine wet & dry it'll be ready for an under coat & painting.

Had the same results on the Astute body except the paint had etched the shell causing clouding where that specific paint was used no clouding where a different paint was used.

So yes I am very happy with De-solv-it, not tried it on decals yet, You can strip a body in 1 to 2 hours, I used it on Styrene with no ill effects to the body ( might react different to other paints perhaps test it first ).

So a BIG Thank you from me to Pandafred for letting us know about it you've saved me a lot of time & effort

[VagabondStarJXF 350]

I have just used the De-Solv-it to strip 2 Bearhawk bodyshells which according to the website is injection moulded styrene & also on an Astute bobyshell which is a polycarbonate shell and I have to say that i've had awesome results on all the shells.

Worked wonders on the Bearhawk shells as I had tried soaking them in caustic soda ( Sodium hydroxide ) which I think has been used by others on the forum with good results. I however had had poor results despite constant brushing with an old toothbrush & long soaks only some of the paint was removed.

I washed both shells well with water let them dry, then the next day I decided to try the Graffiti remover on the most banged up of the 2 shells with the hope that if it all went wrong I would still have another shell spare. So I painted the shell all over with the gloopy graffiti remover in an old plastic washing up bowl waited approx 15 mins gave it a scrub with an old toothbrush and the paint just scrapped off.

After 3 apps of the gloop the bodyshell is almost ready to be repaired & painted just a few little bits in tight places that need attention. Tried the same on the other hard bodyshell with the same results only thing is as it was painted black the shell is "stained" but im sure with a good rub down with some super fine wet & dry it'll be ready for an under coat & painting.

Had the same results on the Astute body except the paint had etched the shell causing clouding where that specific paint was used no clouding where a different paint was used.

So yes I am very happy with De-solv-it, not tried it on decals yet, You can strip a body in 1 to 2 hours, I used it on Styrene with no ill effects to the body ( might react different to other paints perhaps test it first ).

So a BIG Thank you from me to Pandafred for letting us know about it you've saved me a lot of time & effort

Thanks for the reply. That's excellent news. After a lot of Umming and Ahhing I decided to order some and just this week I've received my package of De-Solv-it. I've honestly been a little scared to get started on my Scorcher and Rough Rider shells until I read your reply. I'd even bought another graffiti remover at the same time to try out too just in case the De-Solv-it didn't work. Can't wait until I have the time to get started now!

So here's a big thanks to both you and Pandafred!

[Hibernaculum 933]

This thread needs to focus on the polycarbonate aspect Removing paint from hard body shells is actually quite easy, because hard plastic is less likely to melt and a range of products seem to work - I use Mr Muscle oven cleaner, and a tooth brush. Cleaned the enamel paint off a Scorcher body perfectly.

Removing paint from Polycarbonate is far harder to do, and there has never been a reliable way that everybody agrees with. Is this "De-solv-it" stuff working for anybody else?

Also, if it manages to remove the paint but leaves the polycarbonate cloudy, has anybody tried rubbing back the polycarbonate afterward with Tamiya Finishing Compound? This might remove the clouding and make it more clear.

cheers,

H.