Hey guys, I want to tell you about an amazing product that I found that does what Simple Green does–but better, and at about a quarter of the price!
While working on a tank model, I went out to buy some “Simple Green”, which I’ve learned about in Auto Modeling–it works wonders in stripping paint. It works for both Tamiya acrylics and spray paints. The only downside is that the stuff ain’t cheap–like, $8.00 for 20 oz! And you need about 30 ounces to really make a good sized “bath”. I found some in a hardware store for $7.49/bottle, but since I was on my way to Walmart, I decided to see what they had.
They didn’t have any “Simple Green”, but they did have “Mean Green”. It looked like a similar product to me. On the back it had that warning “Do not use on painted surfaces”. HMMM? Could it work the same? Geez. for $1.79 a bottle for 40 ounces, how could I go wrong?!
I got home and put the model in the bin, and started pouring–holy cow!–as soon as I started to pour the stuff on the model (which had been airbrushed with Tamiya acrylics) the paint literally started to wash right off! In the photo, I had Jenn grab the camera and shoot as I was still pouring out the liquid–the hull there has already been taken down to the gray Duplicote primer, and the Coelian turret has already lost most of its green topcoat, exposing the Dark Yellow underneath! The Dark Yellow came off a few minutes later–I easily just brushed it off with a soft brush, no problem! This stuff is AMAZING!–and CHEAP!
I haven’t tried it yet on enamels or other paints, but if you use Simple Green, I’m betting this will do what you need it to do–at a quarter of the price!! AND it’s biodegradable, just like Simple Green! Take it away, spokesdoog! [:D]
I’m new here and have just started modeling againn after a 25 year break. My Hasegawa !:48 spitfire came out great except that i would like to strip the paint off one wing as it sprayed on too thick and detail was lost. What can I use for Enamel paint And layers of gloss and dull caot?
Two of the best products to remove enamels is Super Clean degreaser and Easy Off oven cleaner in the yellow can. With the Super Clean the part needs to be submerged to work best and Easy-Off works best when sprayed and left in an airtight bag or container so that the fumes can work on the paint. Both contain Lye which is caustic but safe if used according to instructions.
I have had good results with **Simple Green, (**soaking the part or model in the product as long a necessary (over night in many cases , brush with an old tooth brush and rinse) it has a lower toxicity rating compaired to the oven cleaner, brake fluid,etc, types. However as the topic of this post suggests- Mean Green may do the job as well. The good part is you get to experiment and we get the results [A] [whstl]
Thanks for the tip Karl. I’ll give it a try. I use the Simple Green in with the Future to help level and shine. I will give the Mean Green a go here also. The pic’s are impressive. Thanks again Buddy B.
Well Karl I’m going to get to try mean green sooner than I had hoped to. I used Testors flat enamel for the bottom of the p-51 and then (to much pain killer) after some filler touch-ups sprayed the bottom with auto primer! Aaaa! I’ll let you and the rest know how it did with the enamel. GB Buddy B.
Ok Karl. I tried the Mean Green on the auto primer over Testors flat enamel, and it didn’t do a thing. So back to the rough stuff for this project. I did use paint thinner which removed the auto primer, but not the flat enamel. See ya latter mate. Buddy B.
