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Paint Strippers - What to Use?


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I've been using Purple Power and Castrol Super Clean (just Super Clean now) for years and love it. I did find that sometimes it doesn't work to well on removing automotive paints (after Castrol removed their name from the brand), but after scuffing the paint and several dunks in the pond it seems to work. I used to use Easy-Off oven cleaner and still do for some paints, but usually spray it outside. I've never used DOT3 Brake Fluid, but know people who swear by it.

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The Dollar Store (Dollar Tree) sells their own water-based cleaner that I've found to be every bit as good as Purple Power, Simple Green, etc.

It's yellow in color, called, "La's Totally Awesome".

For the unbelievable low price of a buck, you get the best spray bottle I've ever found, with little grippy ridges at the top that keep the bottle from sliding out of your hand when wet, filled with 20 fl. oz. of cleaner. The refill bottles are even larger, but don't include the sprayer.

I've been using one of the sprayers for about six years now and it still sprays as good as it did when new.

I've used the cleaner to de-grease automotive parts, as well as household items.

I've wondered how well that stuff would work as a paint stripper.

Looks like I'll be grabbing some this week; I have a couple of things that need to be "undressed."

Get it...stripped...undressed....c'mon, laugh a little, will ya!? It's 3:00 AM and I'm surprised I'm even this lucid at such an hour..

Charlie Larkin

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  • 2 weeks later...

The best stuff I've found so far is called Dawn Power Disolver. it comes ina spray bottle, but is like a liquid gel when poured out. You need about 3 bottles and a plastic tray to cover a 1/24 scale body. 3 days and the paint and primer rinse off. I saw it used on the workbench forum on a Supra build currently going on. Won't burn the plastic and removes paint from the clear plastic as well. Also I use straight Fantastik to remove chrome plating. This doesn't damage the plastic as well.

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The best stuff I've found so far is called Dawn Power Disolver. it comes ina spray bottle, but is like a liquid gel when poured out. You need about 3 bottles and a plastic tray to cover a 1/24 scale body. 3 days and the paint and primer rinse off. I saw it used on the workbench forum on a Supra build currently going on. Won't burn the plastic and removes paint from the clear plastic as well. Also I use straight Fantastik to remove chrome plating. This doesn't damage the plastic as well.

x2. While Purple Power has worked beautifully for me when stripping chrome, it didn't work well on a painted body after 3 days of soaking. I followed Dave Zinn's suggestion of Dawn Power Dissolver and it worked just fine.

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  • 2 weeks later...

I am going to have to try Pine Sol & Dawn.

I started with brake Fluid as my first paint striper, til it went from 50-75 Cents/bottle to over $2.oo!!

(Plus, I have a Monogra, 1/32 scale 65 GTO I painted with Testor's 03 red and a Keaton Batmobile

in flat black primer that Still have not stripped after soaking for 15+ YEARS!!!!)

Next I found a Generic version of Fantastik called Fabulous.

I did good on most, then I lost that when the 'Roses' I bought it at closed.

I Have seen Fabulous at Dollar Tree but it has Bleach or other additives in it that I do not know

what effect they will have on the stripping power or the plastic

Currently, I am using Wesley's Bleche White.

So far, I have One bad reaction to it, and a few Weak//No effect.

The Bad reaction was a 61 Pontiac Bonnevile Promo convertible that had been brush painted red & blue.

The Wesley's Softened the plastic terribly!

The right side of the body rubberized, and will NOT straighten no matter what I do, and the Boot cover shrunk so mutch,

it MIGHT fir a 1/43 scale car!!

as for Weak to No effect, I have a 61/2 Buick Special wagon painted brown that it will not touch,

a similar age Chevy Pickup also in a brown, and it would not touch the black of the rocker panels,

the clear red of the tail lights & Light bars, or the Clear blue of the light bars of Lindberg's 97 Ford Crown Vic's.

Friends at the Scale Firehouse told me to try 90-91% Isopropol Alcohol, and that works in only 3-4 Hours!!

I like that I don't need glove to work with the Alcohol, I am thinking the same is true for both the Dawn & Pine Sol.

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  • 2 months later...

Final tests for the LA's Totally Awesome:

An unpainted resin part in that I will leave in for a few days to see if there are any adverse effects

A hood from a pre painted AMT '66 Nova that has what I think is acrylic enamel paint. Whatever it is,I've never had any luck stripping it with other strippers like Westleys Bleche White or Castrol Super Clean.

I'll know something in a couple of days or so and report back. Since it's only $3 for a half gallon,I'm going to buy up a few jugs to save back just in case they stop making it in the future. I've been really impressed with it's performance so far especially concerning chrome stripping and it's ability to strip Tamiya laquer.

Asa side note- 91% isopropyl alcohol (from the drug store) works great for stripping the pre-painted AMTs where other strippers don't seem to do much

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Final tests for the LA's Totally Awesome:

An unpainted resin part in that I will leave in for a few days to see if there are any adverse effects

A hood from a pre painted AMT '66 Nova that has what I think is acrylic enamel paint. Whatever it is,I've never had any luck stripping it with other strippers like Westleys Bleche White or Castrol Super Clean.

I'll know something in a couple of days or so and report back. Since it's only $3 for a half gallon,I'm going to buy up a few jugs to save back just in case they stop making it in the future. I've been really impressed with it's performance so far especially concerning chrome stripping and it's ability to strip Tamiya laquer.

Did it do fine on the resin ? I have a Chrome bumper that's resin I want to strip.
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I stumbled onto some of this at a Dollar store yesterday. Did`nt think I`d ever see it in Canada but The Great Canadian Dollar Store carries it. It`s not Purple but smells exactly like SuperClean or Purple Power and works about the same.  

At $1.25 for a 1 litre spray bottle you cant go wrong.

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