Paint removal


Here lately I have been using 91 percent alcohol from Walmart. Let the car soak for about 10 minutes and I use a toothbrush and it comes right off. You should try that.

Eric
 
I have never had any luck using 91% alcohol. I either sand blast my engines or use Scalecaot II paint stripper.
 
last night

Last night I used the alcohol and took the paint off of a BB athearn caboose down to the plastic black. I just let it sit then used the toothbrush and it came right off.

Eric
 
I've tried lots of things to take paint off: Pine-sol, easy-off oven cleaner, brake fluid. These all work but the fumes and scents can be irritating at the least, dangerous at the worst.
In my opinion 91% isopopyl alcohol works the best and is probably the safest to use. I use it on all my paint removal projects.
 
Thanks for all the response, I cannot believe how well 91 percent alcohol works, gets right down to original color of plastic mold. Thanks again everyone, this forum is great.
 
I recently used 91% alchohol tp strip a Tower 55 ES44 and figured it would have to sit all night. I tried it a half hour after I submerged it, used a medium bristle toothbrush, and most of it came off. Two hours later and it was completely clean.

I have also done this with a Kato AC4400, but it took a day or so.
 
I used 91% alcohol on 2 cars soaking for a bit in a Rubbermaid container just the right size to fit my ultrasonic cleaner and then 3 cycles of cleaning to strip paint. Put the Rubbermaid container in the tank and add water to the tank fill line. Minimal toothbrush scrubbing was needed. Most of the paint came off in sheets.

Simple Green cleaner diluted 1:6 cleans things well in my ultrasonic cleaner using the same Rubbermaid containers (I have 3.) It cleans dirty cars but removed printed on lettering on some and most of the paint from a 20' piggyback trailer and a toy truck. Another trailer and other toy trucks were cleaned without losing paint. Old Floquil paint sprayed on back in the 70s was not touched. Simple Green full strength might take factory numbers off if it is carefully applied with a cotton swab. I have not tested this!
 
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I don't have 91% alcohol, but I have 99% alcohol. Is it okay to use, but dilute it with water... Or will it kill my Rivarossi Passenger Car?
 
Not to hijack a thread, but I was wondering.

I'm doing a rebuild/detail project on an Athearn BB GP9, currently lettered for UP. I've removed the dynamic brake and some other details, and I've done quite a bit of filling with squadron white putty.

I probably should've stripped the paint from the shell before I started, but I didn't (not the sharpest tool in the shed). I will eventually need to repaint the whole shell (into MoPac colors, of course).

So, which paint removal compounds will not harm the squadron putty? Don't wanna undo my work (which is coming out better than expected so far).

Thanks

I now return you to your regularly scheduled thread.

Sorry for the hijack.

MPB
 
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IowaFarmBoy said:
... Old Floquil paint sprayed on back in the 70s was not touched...
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The "old" Floquil from those days was a lacquer based paint. Since the lacquer base would actually dissolve a thin layer of the styrene, you can only remove a part of the color. The rest is fused into the plastic and will not come off without the danger of permanent damage to the plastic. However, this generally wasn't a problem unless the paint was applied in globs.

For most of my stripping, I used to use Denatured Alcohol, AKA Shellac Thinner, on all plastics. It would remove everything but Kato's paint. Since I don't do anywhere near the amount of painting I used to do, I just use Scalecoat's Wash Away on plastic and have used only 3 bottles in a little over 5 years. I also use various types of media in my sand blaster for everything else.
 
Someone on (I think) another forum this week (but it could have been this one!? lol) said that antiseptic such as Dettol™ works well for removing factory paint (I haven't used it personally, but I fully intend too on my next project). But! You knew there would be one somewhere lol, apparently different manufacturers use different paints, so what works on one manufacturers models paint, may not work on another...
 
Scordicus said:
Someone on (I think) another forum this week (but it could have been this one!? lol) said that antiseptic such as Dettol™ works well for removing factory paint...
Click to expand...

I guess that was me - The details are buried deep within my "Painting a GE44 tonner" thread. A summary;

- The original factory paint came off after a few hours (maybe overnight) in 91% alcohol - I'd try that first.

- If that doesn't cut it, and it didn't touch Tamiya primer for example, up the ante to Pine-Sol - An hour or so in that + a toothbrush and I was back to bare plastic.

As always, YMMV etc,
Cheers,
Ian
 
How about removing epoxy that has dried especially on a flatcar?

I tried using Testors ELO on my CN Rivarossi passenger car, but it didn't even work. *cries.* Is it time to use brake fluid, because I tried everything from 99% Alcohol, Pine-Sol, Testors ELO?
 
Promagstyle said:
I... have 99% alcohol. Is it okay to use,... ?
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I'd like to know the same. Maybe a stupid question, but just what kind of alcohol are we talking about?

I used to use brake fluid, but it is such a slimey, sticky, messy substance to work with and sometimes damages cheaper plastics.

I need to strip factory Walthers paint off a Russel Plow and don't want to damage it.
 
Promagstyle said:
I don't have 91% alcohol, but I have 99% alcohol. Is it okay to use, but dilute it with water... Or will it kill my Rivarossi Passenger Car?
Click to expand...

I don't see any reason you couldn't dilute it a little with distilled water - My 91% says it has water as the inactive ingredient. Add ~10% water and give it a go.....

Promagstyle said:
How about removing epoxy that has dried especially on a flatcar?
Click to expand...

Ouch! I think you're outta luck there! - I suspect something that will dissolve epoxy will also do bad things to the plastic..... I'd sand the epoxy back and paint I think.

FWIW, I'm pretty sure 91% won't eat Squadron putty, but I'd certainly try it on some scrap or a hidden location first.

Cheers,
Ian
 
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