Paint Stripping

[DavieW]

I have a 1/12 scale Tamiya Mini I built many years ago. I now want to repaint it to match my wife's Mini Sprite. What would be recommended to strip the paint off bearing in mind the age of the model?

[irocfan]

stupid question from a non-modeller - could you just, lightly, rub it down and just respray?

[The Surveyor]

irocfan said:

stupid question from a non-modeller - could you just, lightly, rub it down and just respray?

my worry with that (again as a non-modeller) would be that you could rub-off any detail off the plastic shell, or risk losing any detail when you apply another layer of paint. I'd be tempted to strip it.....

[Eric Mc]

This stuff is designed specifically to do the job -



I've used it and it does work.

[dr_gn]

Depends what paint you used, and whether or not you used a primer.

I had one hell of a job stripping an old 1:12 McLaren MP4/6 shell that I'd used Tamiya Primer and Tamiya Spray cans on. Summary on the first pages here:

https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...

[Eric Mc]

It's always worked for me. I've stripped models which had been primed with Halfords grey primer and then oversprayed with either enamels (usually Humbrol) or acrylics (either Tamiya or Xtracrylics).

Can't speak for any other paint brands though.

I've read that Mr Muscle oven cleaner and brake fluid also work as strippers - although I've never tried either.

(PS - be careful if Googling "Model Stripper").

[louiechevy]

I've used brake fluid before now and it works fine, just make sure to clean everything properly!.
I've also heard mister muscle is a good cleaner as well,I believe you seal what you want to strip in a plastic bag using it.

[gruffgriff]

As a serial cocker-upper of paint jobs I've moved from a surgical spirit bath to one of brake fluid. Ss dealt with Halfords aerosol stuff fine but not the Tamiya sprays I'm moving to.
Got a previously stripped body back in paint right now as it happens. Brake fluid is not nice to work with - old clothes and glasses on for the toothbrush scrubbing after a good day's soak - but it rinses off well and leaves the plastic ready to go again.

[generationx]

Yes Mr Muscle oven cleaner is great for this (I've never tried Eric's suggestion but want to). If you use the oven cleaner do so in a well-ventilated area - it's nasty stuff.

[dr_gn]

I've found it's usually a combination of things to strip old model paints. If it's fresh paint (a few hours old) brake fluid usually does the trick in one-shot, but old stuff may need several attempts.

Fully cured Tamiya Surface primer can be a nightmare to get rid of.

[Zad]

Some people swear by Dettol for stripping paint. Not used it myself though.

[M4tt83]

I'm sure I've read that very strong isopropyl alcohol is safer than oven cleaner and brake fluid for both people and models although I can't guarantee it. The only personal experience I have is from using (I think around 97-99%) isopropyl alcohol to strip the pre-painted body of a Revell BMW M Coupé by pouring some into a Wilko plastic food storage box with the body and leaving it for a few hours with the lid on, as I believe it's the fumes rather than the liquid alcohol that do the job. I think I had to do it several times and used an old toothbrush to remove as much of the peeling paint as I could after each soak.

[dr_gn]

If I had to choose one option for stripping a model, I’d immerse it in brake fluid for a few days in a warm place. Might need a few sittings, but overall I’ve found it to work consistently well (but it’s not always 100% effective).

[Gary29]

I use oven cleaner for stripping kit chrome parts, it's very effective.

[irocfan]

again as a total novice I'm puzzled here so please show some patience - I know that brake fluid is very handy at stripping paint but I thought it also did nasty things to plastic as well?

[dr_gn]

irocfan said:

again as a total novice I'm puzzled here so please show some patience - I know that brake fluid is very handy at stripping paint but I thought it also did nasty things to plastic as well?

Nope. Short-term it doesn't touch any of the plastics commonly used for models.

[Stussy]

I had to recently strip my Tamiya shell, I tried oven cleaner, brake fluid, even an industrial oven cleaner and nothing touched it at all.
I then got some Carson Paint Killer and had the whole thing stripped in 10 minutes!
Awesome stuff and not particularly smelly or toxic to work with.
Very impressive stuff

[Craikeybaby]

I’ll have to try that. I have realised that I painted my Tamiya body shell with the wrong type of Tamiya paint (painted the PC body on the inside, with non-PC paint - it is now flaking off).

[Timmos1974]

Dont bother it will save time and money to just get a new shell....

Do you know the procedure to paint them?

[Stussy]

Paint killer is only £10 and takes an hour, no need to buy a new body