Thank God for Simple Green… I’ve recently discovered how well it will remove acrylic paint from a model when I butchered the paint job (also works great for removing “chrome”).
But I wated to double check something else… will rubbing alcohol affect primer, either enamel or lacquer based? I guess I could use Simple Green, too, but don’t know if that affects enamel or lacquer???
I should clarify that my goal is to remove acrlyic paint and other residue and NOT remove the primer.
Neither isopropyl alcohol (rubbing alcohol) nor Simple Green should have any effect on enamel. However, if the lacquer is alcohol soluble the alcohol (don’t know about Simple Green, yet) may affect it. You can either try a small test spot, or read the can ingredients. If the ingredients don’t mention an alcohol, you are probably safe, although labeling requirements are not always what they should be.
It is unlikely that a modern lacquer will be affected by either, but it is possible. Difficult to know without more detailed information.
If you’re using plain old rubbing alcohol, it shouldn’t damage cured enamel or lacquer primer, but be careful and experiment on a small, inconspicuous section first.
I had a disaster last night, applied Future over Gunze Sangyo arcylics, and it attacked the paint. I scrubbed it off with a toothbrush dipped in alcohol and was able to get back down to the original primer (Mr. Surfacer 1200). I was able to repaint the wing and my only loss was time and a couple of decals.
Also, if your trying to remove acrylic paint over a enamel coat, acrylic brush cleaner (not thinner) will loosen it up and not damage the enamel. I did this just last night. Work it sparingly though just to be safe.