Paint Strippers - What to Use?

[lazlow]

So I have looked all over this topic for this answer, no luck. Has any one tried "Supper Clean" to remove paint from windshields or clear parts. I saw two older post that said you could use Dawn Power Dissolver or Easy Off oven cleaner, but being a budget builder (cheep) I rather not buy another product when I just bought a gallon  of "Supper Clean".

 

[peteski]

9 hours ago, lazlow said:

So I have looked all over this topic for this answer, no luck. Has any one tried "Supper Clean" to remove paint from windshields or clear parts. I saw two older post that said you could use Dawn Power Dissolver or Easy Off oven cleaner, but being a budget builder (cheep) I rather not buy another product when I just bought a gallon  of "Supper Clean".

 

While I have not specifically tried to remove paint form clear polystyrene, lets use some logic.

The products you mentioned contain Lye (Sodium Hydroxide) which it the main chemical that softens paint.  So they all should work.  Super Clean does not attack polystyrene, so should be safe with clear polystyrene.  BTW, there is only one "p" in "Super"  "Supper" is a meal eaten in the evening.

But just because the paint stripper will not attack clear polystyrene, does not guarantee that the paint will come off cleanly.  There are many different paints out there (different brands of lacquers and enamels).  Lye does not work well on some types of paints.  91 or 99% Isopropyl alcohol might work better (and should not damage polystyrene).  Paint removal is not a exact science, or a guaranteed thing - usually some experimentation is needed.

Another thing is that some paints are "hot"  and can etch plastic.  In that case, even if you remove the paint, the plastic will remain crazed.  You might have to try polishing the spot out.

[lazlow]

oh no the spelling police got me!!!!!

[peteski]

4 minutes ago, lazlow said:

oh no the spelling police got me!!!!!

LOL!   You gave me a good chuckle.  Why not spell the words correctly anyway?  It is not like it takes longer to do that.   What makes me roll my eyes is people spelling "Testors" as "Testers", but that is probably that auto-correct features on their schmart-devices. 

[Mr. Metallic]

On 4/11/2022 at 10:40 AM, lazlow said:

So I have looked all over this topic for this answer, no luck. Has any one tried "Supper Clean" to remove paint from windshields or clear parts. I saw two older post that said you could use Dawn Power Dissolver or Easy Off oven cleaner, but being a budget builder (cheep) I rather not buy another product when I just bought a gallon  of "Supper Clean".

 

In my experience, Super Clean is safe on most clear parts included in styrene injection molded kits.

[Mr. Metallic]

On 4/1/2022 at 8:18 AM, Mike C. said:

I'll have to try the alcohol. After that I might just toss the thing.

Are you still having issues?

Not all Enamels are created the same. They all have different formulations and ingredients which make it hard to use a blanket statement of "this product strips this type of paint" Like Peteski said, sometimes experimentation is necessary.

My go to strippers are Super Clean and 91% alcohol. I keep a tote of each at my workbench. If one doesn't work, the other generally does. In the event that those don't work I move onto other means like Easy-Off (yellow can) oven cleaner, Citrus Stripper, and Easy Lift Off. 

[Mike C.]

Galaxie body and parts have been soaking in the purple Super Clean for...has to be a month now and a few weeks ago I put it on top of the heater. Checked on it the other day and it looks to have started to begin to work somewhat. I could scrape the paint off with my finger nail but doesn't look quite ready yet. I'm gonna let it soak for a few more weeks and check on it again. 

[Mr. Metallic]

22 hours ago, Mike C. said:

Galaxie body and parts have been soaking in the purple Super Clean for...has to be a month now and a few weeks ago I put it on top of the heater. Checked on it the other day and it looks to have started to begin to work somewhat. I could scrape the paint off with my finger nail but doesn't look quite ready yet. I'm gonna let it soak for a few more weeks and check on it again. 

Normally at room temp Super Clean works within a day or two. I'm thinking you may want to change the type of remover you're using.

[Mike C.]

This paint is enamel and is probably 2-3 years old.

[Mike C.]

Checked again yesterday. Should have taken a few pics but. Alot of the paint came off in sort of strips but I had to use my fingernails and then an old toothbrush while running body and parts under warm water. Still some paint left on some of the detailed areas. Put everything back to soak with new stripper a 2nd time (with the Purple Power) and will see what happens in lets say a few weeks. One thing I wasn't expecting, the body and parts are now white. It started out molded in green. I guess they paint them sometimes. You can still see some of the green left in some spots. This thing is starting to get more costly than it's worth.

[peteski]

10 hours ago, Mike C. said:

This thing is starting to get more costly than it's worth.

Well, is the cost more than just time waiting for the paint to soften?  You could do other things in the meantime.  Or are there other real costs involved?

[W Humble]

Okay; now I know -- do not use Testors ELO as a soak for paint removal!  I immersed a glue bomb from a 1/1 swap meet ('62 BelAir) and it affected the styrene; big disintegration issue on bubble top pillars, of course!  Live and learn; back to DOT 3, I suppose.  And I've been making kits since 1953, or thereabouts!  Wick

[peteski]

On 5/6/2022 at 1:05 PM, W Humble said:

Okay; now I know -- do not use Testors ELO as a soak for paint removal!  I immersed a glue bomb from a 1/1 swap meet ('62 BelAir) and it affected the styrene; big disintegration issue on bubble top pillars, of course!  Live and learn; back to DOT 3, I suppose.  And I've been making kits since 1953, or thereabouts!  Wick

As I recall, ELO directions specifically mention not to immerse the item, but simply coat it with the liquid.

DOT3 brake fluid (triethylene glycol monobutyl ether, diethylene glycol, diethylene glycol monomethyl ether, diethylene glycol monobutyl ether) is also not perfectly safe.  I had it make some plastics brittle.

The lesson here is that no stripping job is alike - always test and always be careful.

Actually ELO's main ingredient (Dipropylene Glycol Monobutyl Ether) is similar to what is in DOT3 brake fluid.

Edited July 21, 2022 by peteski

[BERT100]

On 4/4/2006 at 5:17 AM, pbj59 said:

Simple green removes paint? I never tried that.

Thanks for the replies everyone, I will try some of these ideas and let you know how they work for me. I have about 12 cars to strip. Got them at a garage sale for less then $1.00 each.

Thanks!

Yes it will, but do not expect " instantaneous" results, it works slowly. But the good side of that is, it will not destroy your plastic either.  I have had old enamel on a old Pyro kit take 3-4 days.             

[stitchdup]

On 4/1/2022 at 2:18 PM, Mike C. said:

I'll have to try the alcohol. After that I might just toss the thing.

for enamel you could just use oven cleaner. I use mr muscle for enamels but i think it has another brand name on your side of the pond

[Mike C.]

After a really long time in the purple power (probably like a month) I was able to get the enamel off using an old toothbrush and some elbow grease. The body came out looking a little chalky and now is white which is weird because the rest of the model was molded in green.

[W Humble]

Peter: yep, I began to suspect that the ingredients were similar if not the same -- and that Testor's was getting 10X the price for it!  I just hoped, when I spotted it on the shelf of the old Paradise Hobbies shop that maybe it was safer, being marketed by a known model supply source!  Live and hopefully learn!  Still, ELO was the first experience I've ever had with styrene degradation...     Wick

[TarheelRick]

I really do not want to read through all 26 pages of this topic.  But I seem to remember a warning that certain strippers will also remove body putty.  I just discovered a Motorworks (Revell) Mustang Turbo-coupe parts box and the body has had the door lines filled with putty.  Do not know what I had in mind when I did that. Back to main question, which of the strippers will remove putty?  It is the older version of white putty, not Tamiya.

[Pete J.]

1 hour ago, TarheelRick said:

I really do not want to read through all 26 pages of this topic.  But I seem to remember a warning that certain strippers will also remove body putty.  I just discovered a Motorworks (Revell) Mustang Turbo-coupe parts box and the body has had the door lines filled with putty.  Do not know what I had in mind when I did that. Back to main question, which of the strippers will remove putty?  It is the older version of white putty, not Tamiya.

As many have said in the preceding 26 pages, nothing is guaranteed. Because there is not just one "putty" and you probably don't know the brand, it is a matter of experimentation.  Since it is filling in panel lines , you might want to try a panel scriber first.  Often times that old putty gets brittle with age and will just pop out.   

Edited July 23, 2022 by Pete J.

[TarheelRick]

21 hours ago, Pete J. said:

you might want to try a panel scriber first.

That thought has crossed my mind, just not sure how much I trust my eyesight and unsteadiness of hand.

[Pete J.]

3 hours ago, TarheelRick said:

That thought has crossed my mind, just not sure how much I trust my eyesight and unsteadiness of hand.

At 72 I understand.  ?

[W Humble]

DOT 3 brake fluid is the old stand by, but not not not brake cleaner!  Solvents in brake cleaner are able to dissolve styrene and other plastics with easy; the  jugs they sell them in are a different formulation and don't melt.  Also, as unlikely as it is you might mistakenly buy DOT 5 brake fluid (commonly called silicone) it is valued because among other things, it will not affect paint, etc.  Very expensive, also!  I've also found that DOT 3 can be used for model stripping even when salvaged from the car; not as effective, but it still goes after paints, esp. the rattle-can variety.  As an experiment, I collected DOT 3 from a couple of restorations (1:1), strained it really well with a paint strainer, then coffee filter paper -- takes a while -- then put it in my Tupper-type tank.  Worked okay.  

Be aware that 2K finishes (catalyzed, hardened, whatever you call it) often resist strippers doggedly.  I often use polyester or epoxy primer/surfacers on older, salvage-type bodies for it's covering ability and toughness.  Not great for box-stock builds, tho, as it can also obliterate molded details before you know it!    BTW, I'm not investing in any more Testor's ELO -- which just smells like DOT 3 anyhoo.   Wick

[roadkill]

G'day good people, I haven't seen mention of my paint strip method and if it's already there sorry, so what I use is oven cleaner, the thing ya gotta watch, here in Australia at least is people (sooks) winged about the smell, (oh yeah extremely over powering), so they made a new version which has no punch at all, especially when trying to remove paint. The original stuff is caustic BUT, it removes paint and chrome plating completely with minimal assist from an old toothbrush, as mentioned in one of the earlier posts I just put the part(s) and/or bodies in a zip lock bag, spray a good dose in the bag (at arms length) seal it up good an tight, shake it a bit but being a clear bag you can move the parts or product around till it's all done, five mins max. Then using an old sive (don't tell the wife) and wash the parts etc (gently, the stuff is still caustic) out of the bag into the sive then just keep washing can reintroduce tooth brush about here, some times I like to do a finish wash using detergent, dry well with good quality cloth and paint, just as a side note I found dismantling really old models to be a tich problematic so one thing I tried was to put the car or what ev' in the freezer for a couple of days.

 

Kind Regards,

Michael Pederick, Perth, Western Australia.

Aka, roadkill.

[Kelly Burns]

I submerged a few parts (pro stock chassis and seats) in DOT3 brake fluid yesterday around noon.  I have never used brake fluid before and thought this was a good time to put it to the test, being I have no clue as to what kind of paint is on them.  I figure I'll pull them out tonight and see if the paint is soft and either scrub it or let the stuff soak longer.

I've used alcohol, the good stuff, on fresh Tamiya rattle can sprayed parts.  It cleaned the paint and primer, but I didn't have the great results others have had.  

Super Clean has worked wonderfully for me, to strip new and old chrome pieces.

Edited October 24, 2022 by Kelly Burns

[Kelly Burns]

Well, the DOT3, did a pretty decent job on the unknown paint.  I was able to scrub off about 95% of the paint with a fingernail brush.  The only reason I wasn't able to get the last bit of it, and ended up putting the parts back in the bath, was not being able to get into the little nooks and crannies.  I'm sure after another 24 hrs. and a stiffer brush, the parts will be ready for mock up.

The integrity of the plastic seems to be as it should be off the sprue.