Strippers?

[stillp]

No, not that sort!
I have some old models that are rather badly painted. What the best for removing the paint from them? I'd thought of trying caustic soda solution, but a) would it work, and b) would it damage the plastic?

Pete

[PaulTRose]

brake fluid

[Guest]

Or common house hold bleach but definitely nor caustic soda (depending on the plastic it could leave horrible scars)

[Guest]

+1 to Paul's reply, little bit additional details;
it should be Dot3 brake fluid, Dot4 may damage plastic. maximum 4-5 hours cure should be enough from my experiance.
it is also re-useable. put it in a bowl with top cover. mine is glass and i used same dot3 for almost 2 years. i also clean my mixing botteles with dot3, ~15 bottles at a time.
be careful it is highly toxic.

cheers!
Safak

[John]

I got some AK paint stripper but kept leaving it at work, so the wife suggested nail varnish remover, it worked really well, got the model back down to plastic, I've give it a good wash and re-primed it and it looks fine, but don't use it to clean your airbrush, it made a bit of a mess of mine and it took me ages to clean it probably

[stona]

What sort of paint has been used ?

Cheers

Steve

[Guest]

Peter instead of nail varnish remover I use lab grade acetone because it is 99.9% pure so does the job in a quarter of the time and can be mixed with water if you find it to aggressive, plus its a dam sight cheaper. http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/3315853174...%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

[takeslousyphotos]

Angle Grinder ????

[Guest]

Doesn't acetone melt plastic?

[Guest]

Some plastics yes Ken, Revell does not like it but Tamiya and Meng seem to be ok as long as you wipe them and not leave them in Acetone

[Guest]

I use Fairy power spray i sprayed it on then seal it up in a zip lock bag i think it even worked on enamels then i used a tooth brush after leaving it to soak overnight

[stona]

Peter instead of nail varnish remover I use lab grade acetone because it is 99.9% pure so does the job in a quarter of the time and can be mixed with water if you find it to aggressive, plus its a dam sight cheaper. http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/331585317454?_trksid=p2060353.m1438.l2649&var=5407 39056918&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT

Are you sure that you are using acetone at that concentration? In my experience that will certainly react with polystyrene. I would suggest that anyone thinking of using acetone, even in the relativley low concentrations found in some nail varnish removers, might want to do a little test before sloshing the solvent all over their model.
Cheers
Steve

[Guest]

Are you sure that you are using acetone at that concentration? In my experience that will certainly react with polystyrene. I would suggest that anyone thinking of using acetone, even in the relativley low concentrations found in some nail varnish removers, might want to do a little test before sloshing the solvent all over their model.
Cheers
Steve

Yes Steve its acetone at 99.9% but as I said you don't soak the plastic in it, rub over until the paint has gone and then wash off.

[stillp]

What sort of paint has been used ?

Cheers

Steve

Various Steve. Mostly Humbrol enamel, some cellulose, some acrylic.

Pete

[stillp]

brake fluid

Good idea, I'll try that.

Pete