Chameleon Paint Stripper


UP2CSX said:
I tried sandblasting once when I had access to a jeweler's sandblaster, It took off the paint with ease, along with every other detail, like doors, hinges, fans, exhaust stacks...you pretty much had a slighlty curved hunk of plastic when you were done. :) I was testing it on an old Tyco shell so I didn't shed too many tears when it was done. As long as you're good at desoldering and soldering, a jewlers sandblaster works great on brass, but you have to take all the soldered details off first or the sandblaster would remove it for you. I did this once and the brass engine looked better than new when you followed up with some blasted rouge.
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The media material was too hard for the plastic shell. When using a media blaster to take paint off of plastic I have always used baking soda. It won't hurt the plastic as long as you are not blasting directly into the plastic. Keep it at a 45-60 degree angle.
 
Success!!! Here is the shell from the second and third pictures from my last post after stripping, just before final clean-up. The next two pictures are after a coat of gloss and some Microscale decals. The third pic shows progress on filling in the numberboards. I still have to wash off the decalset residue, handpaint some details, mount the snowplow, horns, and handrails, then spray some dullcoat. I have already begun another similar to this one which will be the dummy in an A-A set. I am not really following a prototype. I am, however, using pics I took of a pair of NS locos linked together as a guide.
 
Here is some progress on the new couple! Gotta finish the numberboards on both of them, mount the snowplows, then on to the handrails!!!
 
I recently used Chameleon paint stripper to strip three different N scale 40-foot boxcars: one from Micro-Trains, one from Atlas, and one from Intermountain. The results were eye-opening.

The Chameleon worked perfectly on the Micro-Trains car, dissolving all the paint in 15 minutes. It worked fairly well on the Atlas car but took 30 minutes and some scrubbing with a toothbrush to get all the paint. It barely affected the paint on the Intermountain car, but it softened the factory glue used to attach details and distorted the ladders, steps and brake rigging, ruining the car.
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It would be great if one of the model train magazines would do a comprehensive test of paint strippers, including both commercial products and home-brews like isopropyl alcohol, Pine-Sol, and brake fluid, also using several different brands of rolling stock.
 
I agree 100%. The Chameleon worked wonders on Athearn factory paint, but barely touched one of the custom painted models I got on Ebay. I have no idea what the previous owner used... even after soaking for days in both brake fluid and the Chameleon then vigourous scrubbing!!!
 
I should have elaborated on my last post. Its just that I could have sworn I read that media blasting works well. It supprised me to hear that actually. But after reading up2csx's response. Thats what I was expecting, a warped or chewed up car from the media.
 
Actually, I think CJ's response is correct. I was using too hard a grit media and it damaged the car. I never even thought of something like baking soda but that would be just enough to take off paint and not do much other damage. I still don't think I'd use it on something like a locomotive shell with a lot of external detail like grabs and lift rings but a freight car with mostly molded in detail would probably be OK. It might take a few passes to get it all but, if you have access to a media blaster, it's worth a try.
 
The best part about media blasting is that Delrin parts, like horns, handrails etc will actually hold paint better after blasting. I've got a few old Kato units that were born SP, but now wear WM black and the gray handrails have not flaked yet!:D
 
I don't want to use brake fluid.... Will Pine-Sol work on an Atlas shell without damaging it? I tried soaking with 70% rubbing alcohol for 4 days but it didn't work very well. (I might have to go get some 90%)
 
Why don't you want to use brake fluid? As long as you get the DOT 3 or DOT 4 variety, it won't damage most plastic and is a very efficient paint remover. Just ask anyone who's accidentally spilled some on the car finish. :) Pine-Sol may also work but I've found brake fluid to be much quicker and does a better job.
 
Will brake fluid ruin my clear plastic container? How much does brake fluid cost? Any harmful fumes that I should beware of? Should the container be covered?
 
diburning said:
Will brake fluid ruin my clear plastic container? How much does brake fluid cost? Any harmful fumes that I should beware of? Should the container be covered?
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Well. Seeing as he said "it won't damage most plastic", I'd say you're safe :p

Fumes, I'm not sure. I would think there wouldn't be any fumes, as a bottle of brake fluid is generally not used in one pour as far as I know, and therefore would have to be stored, so you wouldn't want any fumes. But I can't be sure, as not all products are perfect.
 
DL, it comes in a plastic container. Just use a funnel and pour it back in the plastic bottle when you're done. There are no fumes at room temeratures. You should wear rubber or PVC gloves when handling brake fluid or washing off parts that have been submerged in brake fluid since it's a mild skin irritant. You should wear safety glasses in case you get a splash in your eyes. It's not harmful but it will sting. It's a pretty safe chemical overall.
 
diburning said:
Will brake fluid ruin my clear plastic container?
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I don't know about the clear container, but BF can damage styrene. Depending on what formula the styrene body is, BF can cause the styrene to become brittle and crack. I lost a couple of loco bodies to BF that were very, very hard to replace.:mad:

I personally will not use BF to strip anything. There are too many other options that will not hurt styrene.
 
Well, what are my options then?

I'm thinking Pine Sol or 99% rubbing alcohol (if I can find it). I don't want to destroy this shell. Chameleon is out of the question because it costs $15 a bottle here.

The shell was soaked in 70% rubbing alcohol for 4 days and the paint still didn't feel like coming off anything except for the fuel tank. The shell is an Atlas GP40, and the paint was 2 layers of Polly Scale that I painted on myself, but want to strip and start over with a different color and road.
 
The 70% soaked for 4 days and it still refused to come off. Do you think a stronger concentration would really work?
 
You can also try denatured alcohol, (shellac thinner) about $5 from the Home Depot/Lowe's which works well on some models but not others. Second to try is Scalecoat's Washaway. It costs about $9 here.
 
CJ, I wouldn't use brake fluid on an older plastic model but anything made in the last ten years shouldn't be damaged. I've done at least 10 locomotives in DOT 4 brake fluid now and the worst I've had is one plastic grab iron that got a little distorted. The thing I like about brake fluid is it usually takes about a half-hour and the old paint is off. I give it really good rinse in distilled water after it comes out of the bowl (plastic, BTW) and usually have about 95% of the paint off without scrubbing. For some of the newer, pad printed models, brake fluid is the only thing I've found that will remove all the lettering.

LOS, I don't know what problems you've had with brake fluid but it's still a reasonable paint remover for me.

Di, I wish you would have told us you're trying to get off Polly Scale to begin with. Pine-Sol (the original formula, not any of the scented varieties) is excellent for removing acrylic paint. It contains around 10% pine oil, along with alcohol and a petroleum based solvent. The combination seems to attack acrylics better than anything else I've tried. It's slow acting and it can cause some small detail parts to become unglued but it doesn't warp anything or make it brittle. With two coats of Polly Scale, it will probably take about eight hours soaking time. After the first four hours, take it out and scrub it with an old tooth brush. That should remove about half the paint. Rinse it under running water while you scrub. Let it soak for another four hours and repeat. Almost all the paint should be gone by then. Check the soaking container to make sure no small parts have become unglued and retrieve any that have. You can reattach them with some CA once the shell has dried. Let the shell air dry at least overnight before you attempt to do any painting and make sure no pine smell remains on the shell. Failure to do this will result in any residual Pine-Sol attacking your new paint.
 
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