What to use to strip paint from my 1/25 scale model?

Guys, I sprayed a car with Testors Lacquer and it orange peeled on me so I went to Wally World and bought the purple power and soaked it for 3 days in it and it never touched the paint! I think maybe the purple power works good on other paints but on lacquer not too good!!

Auto Zone has a product, degreaser, called Super Clean.  Submurge the parts in it, let soak for a couple of days.  Then lightly scrub with an old tooth brush.  I have had luck with this on removing Rust-Oleum.  Good luck!

My personal favorite is Purple Power, although I have also used high percentage alcohol with success.  (dip body in it don't drink it)

https://youtu.be/NdXFBHKgGpg

smitherreen

PURPLE POWER

 

I mostly use enamels and purple power or Castrol Super Clean are my go to strippers, and my fall-back stripper is Easy Off oven cleaner. However when I needed to strip Tamiya lacquer paint and primer neither of these would touch it. Two weeks on the purple pond did nothing at all, and one week in oven cleaner softened any body filler on the body but had little effect on the paint itself. Three days in brake fluid and I was able to scrape the body clean.

PURPLE POWER

Randall1955

Was wondering.  Will this also strip off the Tamyia Primer as well?

I have had good luck stripping Tamiya primer with brake fluid , but it might have to soak for a few days to a week before it is soft enough to be scraped/scrubbed off. Brake fluid is the only thing that I have had luck with stripping Tamiya paint, though I have not tried 91% isopropyl Alcohol which some claim works very well, so it may work on primer too, but I don't know this for sure.

Was wondering.  Will this also strip off the Tamyia Primer as well?

70CudaTJ

I have used Dot III brake fluid on styrene bodies before with no issues

fyi, i've found DOT4 doesn't have very good stripping properties, so stick with the DOT3.

If you are using oven cleaner, please, please, please wear gloves... as well as when you are using brake fluid. Come to think of it, you should always wear gloves. You can buy them by the box in the pharmacy of your local store.

I work mostly in acrylics and NEVER in enamels but I think that Purple Power doesn't work as well on enamels. It does work very well on acrylics.

Good luck!

An added note: Castrol Super Clean, Purple Power, and Super Clean don't play well with metal. I'f you're contemplating cleaning dried paint brushes (with metal ferrules) DON'T! Those products can dissolve the metal.

In this case, acetone or lacquer thinner would be a better choice, unless the brush has a plastic handle.

Ok no acetone. Check.

Try Blue Magic Paint and chrome stripper. You can get it from Ebay. I've used it on several models and after soaking usually overnight, you use a soft brush and wash it off. It has worked on all the cars I've used it on so far. The bottle that I got also has a website on it. bluemagicpaintstripper.com

Hope this helps

Sam

I myself have an arsenal of strippers - I think 6. I paint die cast, resin and styrene bodies, and use quite a variety of paint, and brands of - lacquers, acrylic lacquers, and enamels. Many require different strippers,and different length of times in the "bath". You won't use them often hopefully, but their nice to have when you need them, and you know which one to use.

Contrary to many thoughts on this, there is no "One perfect stripper" that takes care of everything. You'll need several.

I.E. - Brake fluid works great on many paints that are sprayed on styrene, or die cast, but don't go near resin with brake fluid as it will permanently soften it.

Hope this helps - Good luck .

Castrol Super Clean can be found in most automotive stores.

70CudaTJ

I just wish we could get Purple Power down here in Australia, I've heard so much about it and it seems to tick all the boxes.

At one time, Castrol Super Clean (CSC) was the weapon of choice for paint removal, but it became difficult to find. Purple Power was also a favorite.

The last time I looked for Purple Power I couldn't find any (maybe the name has changed). I found another product called Super Clean which works as well as Purple Power did. I'm wondering if this is the old CSC with an abbreviated name (the name Castrol is nowhere on the label).

Super Clean is also biodegradable.

I've used Purple Power on about 30 cars that had been painted with enamel. Never once did I have a problem with any damage done to the plastic.

I second BTD, do not use acetone on styrene, resin maybe, but not styrene.

I have used Dot III brake fluid on styrene bodies before with no issues but don't use it on resin bodies/parts.

I generally use non-caustic oven cleaner as I mostly use enamel paints and oven cleaner will get that off easy, but it's no good for acrylics.

I just wish we could get Purple Power down here in Australia, I've heard so much about it and it seems to tick all the boxes.

DO NOT use acetone unless you want a molten blob of plastic. The same holds true for lacquer thinner, paint thinner, and mineral spirits. These fluids are solvents!

If you have any doubts, put a piece of sprue in some acetone and watch what happens.

jEEBS5150

Ive looked online with mixed results as to what i can use to strip the paint on my model that i would like to strip off.

The paint is a Rustoleum paint with a Rusto primer under as well.Ive tried sanding it but it looks horrible so i would like to just start over.

Any help is greatly appreciated.

 

Thanks, Brian

Hey Brian, I have tried a few stuff in the past. NEVER EVER use brake fluid for any plastic body kits. It will remove the paint very well but will slightly damage the plastic. It leaves behind a very rough textured plastic. I am sure it can be resolved with some primer coats but why risk it and lost details in the body. 

I have tried degreaser and it works well too but I do not recall the results. I would like to said it left a nice clean body afterwards but I cannot honestly give you a solid answer. So try at your own risk.

Oven cleaner seems to work for many model builders but I have not tried that before. I have heard of others using Acetone and plastic-safe paint strippers.

I know you are inquiring about plastic models but if you ever have to remove paint from a metal body you can use good old fashion paint stripper, just a FYI.

Very cool,thanks guys i also heard Pine -Sol works as well.

BRIAN,  Wal Mart is the place to go. I use "PURPLE POWER " I bought it in the automotive department, it a degreaser the does a great job. I used a plastic shoe box, also from Wal Mart, pour the purple in to cover what ever I'm stripping and let sit over night. Works great for me. The purple power is environment friendly.

Go to Wal-Mart and get yourself some Great Value heavy duty oven cleaner. Not that low fume garbage, you want the stuff that stinks to high heaven. Sand a few spots on the body down to the bare plastic, and spray the oven cleaner liberally over the body. The lye in the oven cleaner will help eat the paint away, but will not harm the styrene plastic. After you've soaked it a couple of times, start scrubbing away at the paint with an old toothbrush, or something similar. It usually helps if you hold the body under some warm running water, while you're scrubbing. The ' 69 Corvette body below was stripped of paint using this method.