A couple of questions - Stripping paint off old plastic model kits & Prep tips please?

G'day everyone!

Does anyone have any suggestions as to what is the best way to remove paint off old pastic model kits. I would like to re-do some of the models that were damaged over the past few years from when i was younger. Is there a chemical that will strip it without warping the plastic?

Is it just best to use a bit of elbow grease and some wet-n-dry paper? Perhaps a mixture of both?

Assuming someone has a suggestion that does involve chemicals, what would then be the best way to prepare the car for a new paint job? I have some Tamaiya Primer which i have used on a car i am currently building. It looks ok even though i didn't do anything to it before putting the primer on. Should i have done something to the body before i put the primer on?

Sorry for the long winded questions and thank you in advance if you have any info you can pass on...

Cheers Rich

some people have used brake fluid, others have used oven cleaner... probably wait for one of them to explain the specifics, cause i dont really know

On a styrene (plastic) body?
Sanding all the paint of will be messy, take forever and you risk removing detail and breaking fragile parts like A pillers.
Brake fluid, caustic soda solution or oven cleaner will do the job much easier.
I use brake fluid in a tupperware container. Take the body out every so often and scrub with an old toothbrush. Once paint starts to lift the brake fluid will get underneath it and lift the rest quicker.
Do not put resin parts in brake fluid as they will turn to jelly.
Wear gloves and take car not to splash it on your clothes unless you want small holes eaten through your trousers.
Save the brake fluid when you've finished as it can be used again.
Once stripped I rinse the parts under tha tap and then let them soak in clean water to get any residue off. Rinse again and then leave to dry on a clean rag or tea towel.
Check for any bits the brake fluid missed. You might need to pick them off or sand them. Carefully scrape any left over paint out of panel gaps with the back of a knife blade. Give the body a light sand with a sponge sanding pad, rinse, air dry and it's now ready for re-painting.

For painting a fresh from the box body Some people will wash it to remove mould release. I don't bother. I prepare it by removing imperfections (mould separation lines, sink marks, ejector pin marks etc) and deepening panel gaps if needed. I then give it a quick once over with a sponge sanding pad, rinse it under the tap, air dry it and hit it with White Knight Super Primer. Then undercoat, then colour.

All this has benn typed out a dozen times before. Have you had a look through the old forum posts?

G'day Zenrat, thank you for your brilliant reply. You guys are all so very knowledgable and i appreciate your efforts in typing it out again for the umpteenth time. (Sincerely!)

In all honesty, i was probably being a little lazy and only skimmed through the front page looking for the info. I was tired when i posted the thread and probably should have come back later to go through the other threads properly. My wife had our second child only a couple of days earlier and it's fair to say sleep was pretty well non-existant.

But as i said, i really do appreciate your efforts in re-typing it. Thank you!

Wouldn't you have to wash the brake fluid off with some sort of soap, I've never been game to use it.
Sorry Fred, maybe I've missed something along the road but why do you use primer and undercoat, thought they were the same thing or is there a difference when using Bunnings paint as opposed to auto acrylics? Not being a smarty, honestly don't know the answer.

I've found clean water is good enough. Brake fluid is strongly hydrophillic (the reason why you should never top up your brakes from an opened container) and so doesn't linger on the styrene.
I prime with light grey primer and then undercoat with white undercoat if I am putting on a colour that wants to go over white.
This is because white primer doesn't cover very well but grey does and undercoat doesn't stick to bare plastic as well as primer but covers brilliantly.
If I am putting on a dark colour then i'll put it on straight over the grey.
Also, because it's the way i've always done it.

Furry muff

I.m a big fan of caustic soda solution. It strips just about any enamel overnight though it is sometimes slow on yellow and flat black. Testors, PlastiKote, Humbrol come off easy as. If the original builder never sanded the body you will be left with virgin plastic - no need to clean out door lines or anything elsse. Sanded plaastic will sometimes stay stained but it will still be stripped. It does not damage kit plastic or clear windows but will strip chrome which can be a good thing if that's what you want. It also tends to loosen old glue joints.

I put a cupful in a Nappysan container full of water - an ice cream container would work well. It looses its strength noticeably if left in an open container for more than a week but in a sealed cotainer seems to last forever.

A quick rinse in water and she's ready for paint. Don't put your hands in the stuff because it makes your skin slippery and feel likes it one size too small for your hands - obviously not a good thing. However, holding a body or parts under running water wont cause any grief so just wear gloves while you fish out the bits.

Unfortunately it is pretty hopeless on Tamiya and duplicolor. Sometimes it loosens high points but I would stick with brake fluid for these paints.

Wow! What a great and thorough response ausbodies. Thank you everyone for your suggestions.

I used Zen's brake fluid method the other day on an old interior that was painted in tamiya flat black....came straight off
Bones

I've been using a product called Grill Clean from Tasman Chemicals which works quickly and thoroughly. It is an Alkaline based product. I have used it on old models and new models. I had an old nascar that i have used probably a dozen times as a test mule. Paint over paint, so many layers and took it all off in i reckon about 30 minutes?

I couldn't get Nappysan to do anything. Brake fluid didn't seem to do much for me either. Although i didn't leave it in there for very long.

The trick with brake fluid is to let it soften the paint and then scratch some off. Once it can get underneath then it separates the paint from the plastic and it usually sloughs off in sheets.

I use Caustic soda in an ice cream container with just water set up in the laundry. Always have parts soaking, cause I always forget that I've put them there. The parts can handle being left for months on end. For stripping chrome I use Homebrand liquid bleach in a margarine container that I leave in the laundry as well. They too can handle being left for months on end because of my forgetfulness. Some chrome disappears in seconds and some like Italeri chrome seams to craze first then flake off. I rinse both methods with water and they are ready for paint.

A night of a Pine-Sol bath. No more than that, though or the model becomes mashed potatoes. Check it every few hours. Rinse it off under running water.
Stripping chrome? I use Easy Off oven cleaner. Spray it on and wipe it clean down the bone after letting the spray do it's work for about a minute or so.

Today i read in a model truck forum that a guy stripped his model truck with , Dettol Anticeptic Disinfectant he lives in oz and until i read this i did'nt know this . Anyone else try this product ?

No.
Wonder what makes it work? Maybe it has an alcohol base?

Coke will strip chrome.

ausbodies wrote:I.m a big fan of caustic soda solution. It strips just about any enamel overnight though it is sometimes slow on yellow and flat black. Testors, PlastiKote, Humbrol come off easy as. If the original builder never sanded the body you will be left with virgin plastic - no need to clean out door lines or anything elsse. Sanded plaastic will sometimes stay stained but it will still be stripped. It does not damage kit plastic or clear windows but will strip chrome which can be a good thing if that's what you want. It also tends to loosen old glue joints.

I put a cupful in a Nappysan container full of water - an ice cream container would work well. It looses its strength noticeably if left in an open container for more than a week but in a sealed cotainer seems to last forever.

A quick rinse in water and she's ready for paint. Don't put your hands in the stuff because it makes your skin slippery and feel likes it one size too small for your hands - obviously not a good thing. However, holding a body or parts under running water wont cause any grief so just wear gloves while you fish out the bits.

Unfortunately it is pretty hopeless on Tamiya and duplicolor. Sometimes it loosens high points but I would stick with brake fluid for these paints.

Im tryin this now on a model that i need to strip plastic primer and acrylic from, ill post my results some time in the next day or so either way. Thank you for the tip.

what brand of brake fluid do you guys use, i tried some parts in brake fluid and could not move any paint, i have read somewhere that isopropyl alcohol will strip paint, has anyone used this stuff, i have used easy off oven cleaner with great results on various paints but cant remove anything from parts painted with tamiya spray cans, does anyone have any hints on how to strip tamiya spray can paint

Repco brake fluid. I'm so good at stuffing up paint jobs I buy it in 5 litre containers.
Sometimes you have to scuff the paint up a bit to give the BF a start.

Caustic Soda also disolves bone given enough time.

Please don't ask how I know this...

just read in the Scale auto mag that you can stirp tamiya acrylic paint in windex and is safe to use

zenrat wrote:Caustic Soda also disolves bone given enough time.

Please don't ask how I know this...

Well the nappysan hasnt worked as of yet, might just go with repco brake fluid.

mate i think you have got your wires crossed a bit with the nappysan, the way i read the post the container he used is an empty nappysan one with caustic soda solution made in it i think you will find

harley fan wrote:


Well the nappysan hasnt worked as of yet, might just go with repco brake fluid.

mate i think you have got your wires crossed a bit with the nappysan, the way i read the post the container he used is an empty nappysan one with caustic soda solution made in it i think you will find [/quote]
Thatll teach me for just skimming thru details.

Have been told by a very reliable source, caustic soda WILL strip duplicolor, acrylic automotive paint in very warm to hot water.