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Paint Stripping a plastic body


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I have recently purchased a Hornby 09 which I propose to respray into BR blue.

 

How can I remove the grey bodywork paint whilst retaining the wasp stripes and not ruin the plastic?

 

Cheers!

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Try Superstrip, available from Phoenix Precision paints. Apply it with an old toothbrush to the paint you wish to remove, wait a few minutes for it to react and scrub. Have an ample supply of kitchen roll handy to wipe the model and your hands!

 

Good luck

 

Chris

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I can understand you wanting to keep the wasp stripes, as they can be a bit fiddly, but not impossible to repaint.

 

For many years, I have used the following method for effectively taking paint off, without causing any problems to the plastic. I always used this on my Lima locos, but modern variants inc Hornby, Vitrains, Heljan and Bachmann, all respond to it very, very well.

 

Get yourself a couple of plastic/tupperware containers ( the longest you can find) and fill one with ordinary brake fluid and one with Isopropyl alcohol (IPA) - which is available from any drysalter or industrial chemist.

 

Take all your glazing out first, then drop the body into the brake fluid for 24 hours, drain and immerse into the IPA for another 24 hours.

 

After this, you will find that the paint just falls off with the aid of a toothbrush, leaving a completely virgin plastic bodyshell.

 

Obviously, this will do away with the wasp striping as well, however, FOX transfers produce striping as part of their range, so if I were you, I'd think about stripping the whole loco.

However if the above dosn't appeal, then as ChrisF has said above, try to carefully apply Superstrip.

 

Good luck

 

Andy

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Guest stuartp

Do you need to remove the grey ? Gently rub down the insignia with a fibreglass pen or very fine wet & dry to get rid of the slight relief, and respray with acrylic. You might get away with respraying with enamel (I've not tried it on newer Hornby paint so can't say whether it reacts or not), you won't get away with respraying with cellulose.

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Caustic soda works fine, plastic tupperware box, add 1 heaped tablespoon full to 1 pint of water. Leave it in for a couple of hours and most of the paint should wash off, if some is left leave it in for another hour ans scrub it with a nail brush/tooth brush. Its also very good for cleaning sink pipework etc.

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Daren

 

I stripped a plastic loco body on Friday night used Halfords primer on saturday afternoon,and airbrushed it last night. Do try caustic soda, its cheaper and can be found at most DIY shops and I used a Carte Dor ice cream container to leave it to soak in for a few hours.

 

Just remember to give it a good scrub and rinse, and dry it fully.

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Daren

 

I stripped a plastic loco body on Friday night used Halfords primer on saturday afternoon,and airbrushed it last night. Do try caustic soda, its cheaper and can be found at most DIY shops and I used a Carte Dor ice cream container to leave it to soak in for a few hours.

 

Just remember to give it a good scrub and rinse, and dry it fully.

 

Sorry to hijackk this thread but I am also having problems stripping paint of a RTR model. Someone in my locall model shop recomended Modelstrip, but despite leaving it on for over 24 hours it did nothing at all. I see a few people have suggested caustic soda. I know a lot of oven cleaners contain this, should I try one of them or buy a bag of caustic soda powder?

 

Matt

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I use Mr Muscle Oven Cleaner to strip RTR models (and old repaints), mainly coaches in readiness for vinyls (I model N Gauge) but have also successfully stripped loco bodies with the oven cleaner for repaints. Put the body in a plastic bag (or sandwich bag if N gauge), fully coat with the oven cleaner and leave to work for a few hours (or overnight), then thoroughly wash & allow to dry fully before preparing for painting.

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Modelstrip doesn't appear to work on RTR finishes, but does work on Humbrol, Phoenix, Railmatch etc so it tends to be used for stripping off your own paint jobs.

 

Don't try it on anything aluminium though - I had a fun time filling in some holes on a Phoenix coach kit where the Modelstrip had attacked it.:blink:

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This is a supplementary to my earlier post about Superstrip. It may also be applied, and rubbed, with cotton buds or cotton wool balls. The latter are handy for wiping off the gunk that toothbrush plus chemical creates. These methods are particularly helpful where small areas are involved. Scrubbing with a toothbrush is great for shifting factory finish quickly, at least it was on the Lima cattle truck body, Lima Siphon G body and Mainline coach body that got the treatment a few days ago. I've never got on with Model Strip and I've not tried caustic soda yet.

 

I am not, nor ever have been, a shareholder in the makers of Superstrip ...

 

Chris

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Sorry to hijackk this thread but I am also having problems stripping paint of a RTR model. Someone in my locall model shop recomended Modelstrip, but despite leaving it on for over 24 hours it did nothing at all. I see a few people have suggested caustic soda. I know a lot of oven cleaners contain this, should I try one of them or buy a bag of caustic soda powder?

 

Matt

 

There have been many threads about paint stripping, caustic soda etc will not remove acrilic paint. I also find that some paints (matt black etc)are difficult to remove and sometines leave a disscolourment on the surface.

 

I have just stripped silver paint off a whitemetal and wooden wagon, there is a red surface disscolourment left which comes off with a fiberglass stick (may be the primer colour). Providing the printing comes off if the base colour is stable just prime and respray.

 

Caustic soda comes in a plastic container, and as I said can be brought from any good ironmongers or DIY shop. Last night I put 3 wagons in soak, tonight I gave them a good scrub in soapy water. 2 of them came un-stuck without any forcing, the other one needed a quick dunk in boiling water. Doubt if it cost more that 20p to do and I have 3 wagons to rebuild.

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I think it's worth reiterating that caustic soda must not be used on aluminium, it will react with it quite vigorously giving off hydrogen which is obviously hazardous if a large piece of aluminium is used. It will also react with zinc and therefore Mazak alloys. It will also damage skin if in contact for very long, wash it off a.s.a.p., it feels slimy, add a bit of lemon juice to wash it off more easily.

 

Edward

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Automotive brake fluid will strip all known paints off everything.

 

Do not put any metal ( steel/iron) parts in the tub tho - Car brake fluid will eat into iron based steels.

 

Remember to rinse off after a 24 hour soak. After the rinse, a quick wash in warm soapy ( Fairy liquid) will neutralise everything.

 

You can re-use the brake fluid many many times if it is returned to its container and kept sealed.

 

Dispose of it at your local tip.

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I have had an old Lima body sitting in a Caustic Soda mix for a couple of hours after reading this thread......so far no paint removal :( Just how long do they need to soak for, and how strong should the mix be?

I never seem to have any luck in the painting/stripping department..

I did try the Phoenix Superstrip and it was brilliant, would strip anything, but after 1 body, its effectiveness was virtually non existent. At nearly 8 quid for a small bottle, I couldnt justify it. Anyone else much experience of Superstrip?

 

Regards

 

Lee

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If I could just reiterate what I said earlier in this thread, and also what M.I.B says above, Brake fluid will strip any paint from plastic in 24 hours.

 

You do have to leave it for that long though, for it to soak through the paintwork. My own personal favorite is then the IPA for another 24 hours, and (I'm not exagerating), the paint just comes away like scraping toothepaste off, it's that easy! and from all the little nooks and crannies as well.

 

give it a go.

 

cheers

 

Andy

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Hi Folks

 

Recipe for a universal model paint stripper - takes any kind of paint off plastic and can be reused many times - Given me by a longtime industrial paint chemist who was also a longtime railway modeller - will not hurt any kind of plastic, so glazing can be left in situ if you prefer, makes brass detail parts fizz a bit - although it won't hurt them. I've been using it successfully for years

 

Mix 3oz (roughly two tablespoons)of caustic soda flakes into 800ml of cold water, adding flakes gradually. When caustic soda is mixed into water bring up to 1 litre with 200 ml of Metho/Meths/Methylated Spirit (if metho not available Isopropyl Alchohol is a good substitute)

 

That's it ! Resultant liquid will be a yellowy colour - I keep mine in a large biscuit jar with a plastic screw cap lid and simply immerse loco bodies in the jar for about 10-15 minutes before removing and scrubbing the paint off with an old toothbrush under cold running water. The mix is effective at paint removal til it goes to an almost black colour, at which time its still great for pouring down the drain !

 

Best

Matthew

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If I could just reiterate what I said earlier in this thread, and also what M.I.B says above, Brake fluid will strip any paint from plastic in 24 hours.

 

Isn't there a problem in using various types of brake fluid - DOT4 and DOT5 for example?

 

I've read somewhere that one will strip paint, the other won't. Can anyone confirm?

 

I normally use Phoenix Precicision Superstrip. It takes a while on some Bachmann stuff, but patience is sometimes a virtue....

 

Cheers,

Mick

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I've just coated a Heljan rtr bodyshell in Mr. Muscle and left it for an hour and nothing came off despite lots of scrubbing with a toothbrush. Now I've reapplied the Mr. Muscle and will leave it overnight and let you know in the morning.

 

Matt

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Isn't there a problem in using various types of brake fluid - DOT4 and DOT5 for example?

 

I've read somewhere that one will strip paint, the other won't. Can anyone confirm?

 

I normally use Phoenix Precicision Superstrip. It takes a while on some Bachmann stuff, but patience is sometimes a virtue....

 

Cheers,

Mick

 

Dot 3, 4, or 5.1 will work.

 

Dot5 is silicone based, so will have no effect at all. Not much use as brake fluid either!

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Well I left it overnight and it didn't even remove the transfers. I'm not sure if you are supposed to cover it when you leave it. (I didn't). So as I've still got plenty of Mr. Muscle left I will apply it again and leave it in a sealed container and see how that goes.

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