I have an old (ESCI?) F-16 cockpit in 1/12th scale. My problem: the guy who gave it to me painted some of the main ejection seat parts with crappy testors enamel paint that has brush marks everywhere. How do I strip this off without damaging the plastic? I also have a ferrari that I sprayed wit acrylics, but got massive orange-peel. Any ideas on how to strip that? Sanding the ejection seat is out of the question, too much detail there to be damaged. Thanks for any ideas.
Acrylics can be shifted with Windex/Ammonia based cleaners, some on your side of the pond also use ‘simple green’
UK users have Windolene(ammonia version) & Fairey power spray, or a more drastic solution of Mr Muscle Oven Cleaner…
Put parts in sealable plastic bag & soak parts in goop of your choice, Observing health advice! Scrub gently with old disposable toothbrush & toothpicks, resoaking if necessary. Some cleaners will also loosen detatch glue bonds.
With Enamel paints, I use Fairey power spray, or Mr Muscle Oven Cleaner… don’t know the US names, sorry.
I have had a lot of luck with Castrol Super Clean. Look for it at any auto parts store, Wal-mart also carries it. Soak the kit over night to remove the majority of the paint. An old toothbrush will help with any suborn areas. Super Clean is pretty hard on the hands so make sure you wear rubber gloves.
Gunze Sangyo Mr. Color Thinner. This stuff takes off everything; acrylic, enamel, lacquer - if it can be painted on, this stuff will remove it. It works quick, doesn’t affect the plastic (or resin), but can be pricey. But, for the amount of time it saves (and the number of times it saved me from scrapping a kit), it’s worth it.
I’m sure there’s a commercial version of it, probably for much cheaper, but I just don’t know what it is.
-Fred
I use DOT-3 brake fluid to strip enamel paint. Never damages the plastic. Let the part sit in some overnight. Should come right off.
Cant help you on the acrylic paint…I never use the stuff.
I second the Castrol Super Clean. Awesome stuff…and yes, very rough on the hands! I were rubber/latex gloves when I use it. Overall it is the best paint stripper I have found yet.
I use Polly S "ELO - Easy-Lift-Off.) It comes in a 8 oz. can that lasts quite a while - a little goes a long way. You can get it from Micro Mark, stock # 60875. and costs $ 9.95. A bit on the pricey side for 8 oz, but it’s well worth it.
Super Clean will make that enamel go away without hurting the plastic. You can use it over and over. You can buy it by the gallon or a smaller spray bottle. I’ve used it for a long time. I keep it in a 2 quart Rubbermaid container with an airtight lid and just drop in whatever I need to strip. Drop my airbrush bottles and caps in it too. If you go that route be sure and pick up a cheap pair of dishwashing gloves or something similar to keep it off your skin.
Brake fluid works too and it’s relatively inexpensive. Again, just soak what you want to strip. For some acrylic lacquers soaking in 90% alcohol works great. Easy Off oven cleaner in the yellow can works, just spray it on and let set. Tamiya acrylics can be fully cured and hard as a rock but spray on a little Windex and in a couple minutes you can wash it away. ELO works great too, comes under the Testors label now. It’s a little thicker than enamel thinner and you just brush it on what you want to strip and let sit for a while. You may have to apply it several times but it will take the paint off and I’ve used it on some paints that nothing else would touch. You can save the runoff and reuse if you want. I’d keep it seperate from the new though. Purple Power is almost the same as Super Clean but I don’t think it works quite as well. Same for Simple Green, it works, but not as well as Super Clean. Another one is Dawn Power Dissolver. Don’t really understand why but it will. I’ve used all of them.
Some of those paints will stain the plastic and you won’t be able to get rid of the stain unless you sand it off but the paint will come off and you can paint over the stain. Whatever you use to strip just make sure you wash it all off with soapy water and rinse. If there’s any paint remaining in cracks or crevices use a toothpick or something to scrape it all out and maybe let it soak in the stripper again. Any paint that you leave on there that’s been contaminated with something that strips paint will leech into the paint you put over it and just generally screw it up.
Tony
Forgot to add…
I’d wear some inexpensive rubber gloves when using any stripper I mentioned. Except Windex. Brake fluid won’t bother you much but will dry your skin. ELO is pretty gentle too but I still wear gloves.