Paint Stripper: Insights on Lacquer Removal

[Lunajammer]

In the discussion about removing chrome plating, general paint removal is touched on in places. I followed some of the suggestions when attempting to remove paint from the '59 El Camino.

The body, painted by a friend around 1990, had test shots of automotive primer on part of it, dark green lacquer on the left side, light green engine enamel on the right and white on the roof and fins, which I think is lacquer.

This photo shows how it looks after it had already sat in Purple Power (the purple pond) for two days. Most of the engine enamel was lifted but barely any lacquer. Admittedly, my Purple Power is a couple years old and I know it weakens over time.

Also mentioned on the plating thread was the product Totally Awesome, which I picked up at the dollar store. The body was immersed at 9:30pm

At 4pm the following day I took it out and scrubbed with a firm toothbrush. A little more enamel was removed but otherwise disappointing results. I put it back in the bath.

24-hours later I removed and gave it another good scrub, including with fingernails. There was no substantial difference so I didn't take pics. Then I tried Toner283's recommendation of spraying with Easy Off and inserted into a plastic bag (and another squirt into the bag). It sat for 20-minutes, then scrubbed. More paint came off, but as you can see, what appears to be remaining is the lacquer that is mostly etched into the plastic itself. 

My last effort was to use STP DOT3 brake fluid. It sat immersed for about 36 hours. At one point, a hint of green paint was bleeding off the model. I don't know what the white paint is but it's bulletproof and nothing phases it much. I would say I had the most success with brake fluid but it comes at a small price... The surface of the plastic gets dried out and fine parts can get brittle.

At this point I don't care to subject the model to any more abuse as the surface is getting rough and dry. I think the only the white areas remain stubborn and I'll sand those.

Overall: I was disappointed with the efforts to remove lacquer and automotive primer, and you'll need more than a stiff toothbrush to scrape and scrub. But the enamel was gone early in the process so I have no doubts that the many testimonies endorsing various products on enamel are truthful.

Edited April 11, 2016 by Lunajammer

[935k3]

simple

Lacquer-  91% Alcohol

Enamel and primer - Purple Power. LA Awesome, Easy Off (yellow can)

[StevenGuthmiller]

A mixture of paints like this can be very confusing.

You never know what was used & some of these old paints can be God knows what!

You have to be really patient sometimes depending on the paint techniques & paint used.

Get some fresh purple stuff & try some "Super Clean" this time if you can find it.

My local auto parts store carries all of these cleaning products.

Put it back in the soup & leave it alone for a few weeks.

I have a '64 Pontiac Grand Prix that's been soaking for well over a month & it's coming clean, but slowly.

The previous painter used lacquer paint without adequate primer & the paint etched the plastic making it very difficult to strip clean.

I suspect you may be having the same issue with some of yours.

Luckily, you're dealing with an easy to find kit.

You may be better off not wasting your time & just get a new one.

I've got a brand new '59 Elky body that I could send your way if you need it.

 

Steve

[Miatatom]

simple

Lacquer-  91% Alcohol

Enamel and primer - Purple Power. LA Awesome, Easy Off (yellow can)

+1

I paint with lacquers and they're tough to remove. You might also need to use a stiff bristle brush with the alcohol on some places.

[peteski]

Many automotive paints are "hot" enough to partially fuse with the plastic and nothing will completely remove them.

 

Speaking of hot, warm stripping solution (whatever you are using) will be more aggressive than room temperature (or even cold) solution. I try to strip with the solution at about 90 deg. F (I have a laboratory hotplate and a contact-less IR thermometer.   As others said, there is no good universal (plastic-compatible) stripping solution which will strip all types of paint. There are 2 more which you haven't tried.  Floquil ELO (Easy Lift Off) which I think is not marketed by Testors, and Scalecoat Wash Away Paint Remover.

[Lunajammer]

You may be better off not wasting your time & just get a new one.

I've got a brand new '59 Elky body that I could send your way if you need it.

 

Steve

Actually, I do have an unbuilt kit. This was going to be for a project where I only needed the body and I had this spare. Once I started using strippers I just decided to share my experiences with pics.

There are a lot of threads and even more opinions about what works better than what, but very few pictures to help visualize, or even validate those opinions. This is just a glimpse at what I did and what the results were. I'd love to see before and after photos and documentation of more stripping products. Especially as they apply to specific paints and under what conditions. 

[StevenGuthmiller]

Actually, I do have an unbuilt kit. This was going to be for a project where I only needed the body and I had this spare. Once I started using strippers I just decided to share my experiences with pics.

There are a lot of threads and even more opinions about what works better than what, but very few pictures to help visualize, or even validate those opinions. This is just a glimpse at what I did and what the results were. I'd love to see before and after photos and documentation of more stripping products. Especially as they apply to specific paints and under what conditions. 

I hear you Mike.

I could post a couple of pictures on how Super Clean works on enamels.

I'm very careful when I buy built kits to try to do my best to only get ones that are painted with enamel paint.

The photos you will see are all kits painted with enamel & soaked for a couple of hours in Super Clean.

Lacquers are a different subject altogether.

Super Clean is a "degreaser" and has little effect on the lacquer paint itself.

It gets under the paint & degrades it's ability to adhere causing it to come off in sheets.

I've had the paint on an entire hood or top come off in one sheet!

A good thing to try when you're ready to strip a lacquer paint job is to scratch the paint up, all the way down to the primer before submerging.

This will give the Super Clean places to get under the paint to begin the lifting process.

Just as with anything else, this product is not fool proof.

It was never designed to be a paint stripper & will not work on everything.

I've had the most issues with some flat black paints & some primers.

One of the nice things about it is that it's safe for pretty much all plastics & resins.

You need to be careful with alcohol & brake fluid depending on what you're stripping.

Another member just posted a thread about a destroyed resin body after attempting to strip it in alcohol.

Any way, all of these were stripped in Super Clean in less than 4 hours.

As a matter of fact, I just received a heavily painted body in the mail this afternoon @ 3:00.

I dropped it in the purple stuff immediately, & by 5:30 this evening, when I returned home from work, it was 99% crystal clean.

Dropped it back in & will let it finish getting out the few small bits left in some tight areas over night.

By tomorrow it will look like a brand new kit.

 

Steve

 

 

 

 

 

 

As you can see on this '58 Ford, The Super Clean would not remove the gold paint in the side spear.

I have no idea why.

 

 

[Lunajammer]

That's amazing! Clearly, Super Clean on enamel is a confident way to go and the plastic underneath actually looks pristine. Thanks for the pics.

[Jhedir6]

I myself like super clean and ipa for stripping. BUT don't use ipa on resin, softens it up too much. Super Clean on resin, no issues so far and I've used it on HRM resin, Studio 27, LMM, MFH and various others and never had an issue with softening the resin or even drying it out.

David

[GMCMAN52]

I've been using Scalecoat wash away paint remover for several years now and I love it. Now my problem is finding it as the local Hobby Town has closed its door . I'll have to check the web.

[Mike Kucaba]

I've been beating the drum for warming Super clean for years, and I do believe that it is stronger.

If super clean fails for me I'll hit it with Dawn Power Dissolver oven cleaner. Spray it on and paint will lift. 

It's hard to find so I found a place that sells it for commercial use. You do need to buy it by a six bottle case to make it

cost effective. After that if anything remains a wash with 91% alcohol and some 0000 steel wool and it looks great.

[martinfan5]

simple

Lacquer-  91% Alcohol

Enamel and primer - Purple Power. LA Awesome, Easy Off (yellow can)

Purple Power,  the brand name stuff, not the knock off stuff that comes in the white bottle with strip lacquer based paint.

But yes, 91% Alcohol is the best way to go about it.

[stevez]

old thread but question, if you are using 91% alcohol to remove lacquer paint, do you soak the body in alcohol and if so for how long?

[Snake45]

5 hours ago, stevez said:

old thread but question, if you are using 91% alcohol to remove lacquer paint, do you soak the body in alcohol and if so for how long?

Yes, let it soak. Could take anywhere from just a few hours to 24 or 48. Rubbing alcohol will remove many/most of the old AMT and Pactra lacquers, as well as the modern Testor lacquers and SOME kinds of Krylon and other cheap rattlecan paints. Can't say how it works on real-car-grade lacquers. 

[Miatatom]

It'll take color coats off with ease but I've always had difficulty getting it to remove Tamiya primer.

[stevez]

8 hours ago, Miatatom said:

It'll take color coats off with ease but I've always had difficulty getting it to remove Tamiya primer.

thanks, I want to use the alcohol to remove Tamiya lacquer.  I've used scalecoat with no problems, but it's running out. 

[Paul Payne]

I have always used Easy off oven cleaner in the yellow can. Sometimes it needs to soak for a few days, and roughing the paint does help. Always had excellent results for stripping kit chrome- the aluminum of the chrome actually acts as a catalyst interacting with the oven cleaner. I have never tried alcohol- would Everclear 190 proof grain available in liquor stores work? Anyone tried it?

[Miatatom]

Everclear might work but the alcohol I use is isopropyl alcohol, sometimes called rubbing alcohol. I bet Everclear is more expensive.

[hedotwo]

I have two tubs of Super Clean next to each other.  The first is the "dirty" one that I start with when I have heavily painted stuff to strip.  I leave it in this one for whatever it takes to get the worst of the paint off then put it in the second tub that is much cleaner.  I've found that fresh Super Clean seems to strip better than older, more used fluid.  I strip a fair amount of stuff and as a rule am pretty happy with Super Clean.  I also use an ultrasonic machine with Super Clean for stubborn chassis, interior parts, etc.  Things with lots of nooks and crannies.  The machine seems to warm the fluid on it's own enough that I don't often use the heat settings.  I agree about lacquers and alcohol.  It's only when Super Clean fails that I use alcohol but have had luck with it.

[Zippi]

I have the lower hood section off my 1960 Chevy pickup soaking in 91% isopropyl alcohol and it's been in the drink for about 8 hours and nothing.  I used a stiff tooth brush on it and nothing so far.  I"ll leave it there to see if it may take longer.    

[peteski]

10 hours ago, Zippi said:

I have the lower hood section off my 1960 Chevy pickup soaking in 91% isopropyl alcohol and it's been in the drink for about 8 hours and nothing.  I used a stiff tooth brush on it and nothing so far.  I"ll leave it there to see if it may take longer.    

What brand/type of paint did you use?  Most 1-part lacquers can be removed with 91% IPA.  Also, warming up the stripper will increase its potency. 80-90 deg. F that is.  You being in Indiana, that is probably not a problem (hot summer). 

Also, 99% IPA is sold in hardware stores as a solvent in gallon cans (in the paint thinners section).  It is usually called IPA99 or Isopropanol 99.  If they don't have it, they should be able to order it for you. I get it at the local Ace Hardware. Not sure if large home improvement centers carry it.

[Zippi]

3 hours ago, peteski said:

What brand/type of paint did you use?  Most 1-part lacquers can be removed with 91% IPA.  Also, warming up the stripper will increase its potency. 80-90 deg. F that is.  You being in Indiana, that is probably not a problem (hot summer). 

Also, 99% IPA is sold in hardware stores as a solvent in gallon cans (in the paint thinners section).  It is usually called IPA99 or Isopropanol 99.  If they don't have it, they should be able to order it for you. I get it at the local Ace Hardware. Not sure if large home improvement centers carry it.

Thanks for the info Peter.  The spray paint is Tamiya lacquer. 

[peteski]

If for whatever reason IPA doesn't work, there are several other plastic safe strippers (there is an entire sticky thread about them). http://www.modelcarsmag.com/forums/topic/83153-paint-strippers-what-to-use/

I also use Floquil/Testors Easy Lift Off (ELO), Scalecoat Wash Away Paint Remover, "Purple Power" or Easy-Off oven cleaner, and LA Awesome concentrated cleaner (last 3 are Lye-based. Keep those away from your skin).

[Miatatom]

To extend the discussion a little further, I use Tamiya primer a lot and IPA doesn't even come close to removing it. Top coats come off easily, but that primer only becomes soft. Scraping it off works a little, but it's almost impossible to get it out of small details like edges of emblems, chrome and panel lines. I'd love to hear someone provide a real solution.

[hedotwo]

30 minutes ago, Miatatom said:

To extend the discussion a little further, I use Tamiya primer a lot and IPA doesn't even come close to removing it. Top coats come off easily, but that primer only becomes soft. Scraping it off works a little, but it's almost impossible to get it out of small details like edges of emblems, chrome and panel lines. I'd love to hear someone provide a real solution.

If/when I get to that point with Tamiya primer I just leave it.  Generally, I'm going to be primering again anyway and 95% of my primering is with either gray or white Tamiya.  It's so fine that  even with some leftover primer to cover (provided the old stuff has been feathered if needed) it covers great.  But I agree, it's a biotch to remove.  I have had luck with my ultrasonic cleaner to get stuff in the nooks and crannies if I position the part in the center of the fluid (where the cleaning action/bubbles are strongest), but even then it takes a number of cycles to do it.