firstly, for those who had to read my unedited post, im sorry if i sounded awful, things were getting a little overwhelming for me. apologies.
i feel stupid. here is my problem, help would be really appreciated.
i needed to strip the paint from my single piece chassis of my tamiya enzo, so i tried using oven cleaner. it wasnt easy off brand, it didnt work. i had earlier stripped the paint very effectively off a small part painted with laquer spray. thinner seemd to work where oven cleaner didnt. so i dipped the chassis into the thinner, adn tehn i went tot eh bathroom. when i cam back, i found that all the fine detail had been mushed up, and everyhting was getting gooey. i detected a problem. pulled thing chassis out, but it was too late.
basic shapes of the chassis remain, the alignment ought to be acceptable. now i need to see if i can salavage things. will the plastic be permanently softened ? if it isnt, i think i can attempt to recreate some detail, but i doubt myself, ive never even used an AM kit before, let alone scratchbuild.
if things are too bad ( i have a sinking feeling they are going to be beyond repair ) then how can i get a replacement chassis ? i live in singapore, so mail ordering parts from the tamiya catalogue system might be tricky, i dont know.
any help will be really appreciated, this model was supposed to be my magnum opus, but things are looking extremely bleak. any help would be really really really appreciated. thanks.
The plastic will harden again once it dries. You may still be able to salvage it. As you most likely deduced, never use lacquer thinner directly on the plastic, it will dissolve the plastic completely if left on long enough.
Gino pretty much has you covered. I would look into part replacement as the best option, especially if you are not comfortable with scratch building lost detail. I use Chameleon Paint Stripper to remove paints from plastic. This stuff works in about 20 minutes, will not damage the plastic and is even safe of clear parts. I pour it into a large glass bowl, soak the model in it, gently work tough areas with an old toohtbrush, wash the model in warm soapy water afterwards. The chemical is left to settle and then is poured back into the bottle leaving the paint chips/sheets behind. I have one gallon and have been using it off and on for three years now. The total fluid level has dropped about half to three quarters of a cup in that time from usage so I would have to say I’ve gotten my moneys worth out of it.
If you have any problems with your Singapore Tamiya agents then try the Japanese shops Rainbow 10 ( www.rainbowten.co.jp ) or Hobby Link Japan ( www.hlj.com ). I have had good repacement service (ie fast) from them.
Sorry to hear of your problem but I think cut your losses and a replacement part would be best
ive just ordered the part from stargek (the dealer) the guy says 2-3 weeks. i can live with the waiting, but until then im having scenes of me pouring the thinner out playing again and again in my head ! [:(] thanks for the help, nicholma,swanny,heavyarty, ben, it means alot to me
The Camelion stripper is the best I have seen, Have been using it on trains and cars since it 1st came out. For cars I use an old Meat loaf pan wife was throwing out. To put back in bottle for stowage I use a funnel that fits opening of bottle top lined with one of my wifes old footsies hose as a strainer. That way none of the junk gets back in the bottle Have been using this same bottle about a year now. Note the last bottle I got had a notice something about 1955 and newer plastics only[:)]
I’m not sure u can slavage the chasis anymore… it will be a though job… but if you really gonna strip some paint esp lacquer u can dip it in a break fluid dot 3 or 4. I d used dot 4 caltex on my tamiya R34 and it work! proven. it wont harm the plastic. anyway can u just post a picture of the chasis. perhaps we can help you to give some tips if you want to slavage the chasis.