Paint stripping with evidence.

[cctransuk]

1 minute ago, 25kV said:

For IPA stripping I bought some tall 2 litre glass kitchen jars (for storing spaghetti etc) with an airtight lid.  Filled one of these with IPA and it's the perfect length for dunking a couple of loco/coach bodies.

(from Amazon)

 

They'd be perfect for the Mr. Muscle oven cleaner method, too.

 

CJI.

[Phil Mc]

All stripped with Phoenix Superstrip.....

 

Hornby 60.

 

Bachmann 20.

 

Vitrains 47.

 

Hornby coaches.

 

 

Not cheap, but pretty effective !!

 

The company I work for, sells IPA in 1 tonne tanks (!) so I have access to as much as I could ever want, but never use it.....😂

 

Cheers,

Phil.

[F-UnitMad]

10 hours ago, Barclay said:

Is IPA available off the shelf in the UK in the same way as it seems to be in the US and Canada?

In a word, no. 

Certainly not in any chemists ('drug store') or supermarkets, unlike what I saw in Florida - so far, my one & only trip to the USA, back in 2017. Yes I did bring a couple of bottles back with me!! 😉😁

Usual way to get it in the UK is off the Internet.

[57xx]

7 hours ago, Barclay said:

Is IPA available off the shelf in the UK in the same way as it seems to be in the US and Canada?

 

Yes, lots of places trading on eBay have it, in varying dilutions.

[pylonman]

Hi.

 

I mentioned in a previous post on this subject, that I have just bought a gallon of 99% IPA through Amazon.

 

It is, much to my surprise, very easily obtainable, and quite cheap, bought in bulk.

 

It is heralded as a cleaning agent....... just given my laptop a well earned clean using it.

 

I've never used it for paint stripping, and my first attempt with it is going to be an O gauge model, so I need to avoid any disasters. (I've used Dettol before now......... very expensive and an extremely sticky mess to clean afterwards)

 

Regards

 

 

[Enterprisingwestern]

 

Avert your gaze those of you of a nervous disposition, I use 90% proof IPA in my ultrasonic cleaner, when warmed up it shifts most things that the soak in cold IPA in a spaghetti Kilner jar (as above) doesn't, also very good for cleaning up etched kits as you go along soldering.

 

Mike.

[MattR]

On 20/02/2024 at 06:04, Barclay said:

Is IPA available off the shelf in the UK in the same way as it seems to be in the US and Canada?

 

As strange thing here though is that it is impossible to find the 99% IPA in stores. Most stores tend to just sell 75% or 50% IPA. I used to have a bottle of 91% from Walmart, but they seem to only sell the 75% stuff now. Gotta go to the Internet for the good stuff.

[Torper]

1 hour ago, Enterprisingwestern said:

 

Avert your gaze those of you of a nervous disposition, I use 90% proof IPA in my ultrasonic cleaner, when warmed up it shifts most things that the soak in cold IPA in a spaghetti Kilner jar (as above) doesn't, also very good for cleaning up etched kits as you go along soldering.

 

Did you use the IPA neat?  And if so, were you able to "reclaim" any of it afterwards?  I use Allendale Untrasonic cleaning fluid in an ultrasonic bath (10% solution) and it gets rid of most paint.  I have tried Dettol once and apart from being expensive it made a sticky and smelly mess of things although possibly I didn't leave it long enough.

[Enterprisingwestern]

11 minutes ago, Torper said:

 

Did you use the IPA neat?  And if so, were you able to "reclaim" any of it afterwards?

 

90% proof and decanted through a coffee filter into a Kilner jar afterwards.

 

Mike.

[john new]

Many of the above suggest IPA in an ultrasonic bath works. Can anyone recommend a sonic bath that doesn't cost the earth but is big enough for a loco or coach in 00? My next stripping project isn't that big (3 badly painted Dublo Dinky buses) but the stuff I last used to strip an EFE bus was slow and not that effective. Oh for the past days of useable off-the shelf Nitromores for stripping anything metal not the modern domestic sale watered down stuff.

 

 

[Torper]

They all seem to cost the earth these days - now there's a surprise.  In 2020 I bought a 6L ultrasonic bath through ebay from a firm called Industry Press. It cost me £83.  The same thing now costs £137. Ebay has quite a selection of 6L ultrasonic baths, most of which look remarkably similar and cost around £137 upwards.  The 6L bath is 30cm long (Interior measurement) and therefore big enough for most 4mm coaches.  In conjunction with the appropriate fluid it has worked very well as a paint stripper and is also useful for cleaning up etch brass kits, etc before painting.  However, useful though it has been, I'd have to think quite hard about splashing out £137 on one today although if I was to be doing a lot of paint stripping I probably would.

[john new]

13 minutes ago, Torper said:

They all seem to cost the earth these days - now there's a surprise.  In 2020 I bought a 6L ultrasonic bath through ebay from a firm called Industry Press. It cost me £83.  The same thing now costs £137. Ebay has quite a selection of 6L ultrasonic baths, most of which look remarkably similar and cost around £137 upwards.  The 6L bath is 30cm long (Interior measurement) and therefore big enough for most 4mm coaches.  In conjunction with the appropriate fluid it has worked very well as a paint stripper and is also useful for cleaning up etch brass kits, etc before painting.  However, useful though it has been, I'd have to think quite hard about splashing out £137 on one today although if I was to be doing a lot of paint stripping I probably would.

I guess that is this one. - https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/304988694066

[Torper]

24 minutes ago, john new said:

I guess that is this one. - https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/304988694066

 

Indeed it is, except that mine doesn't have any makers name - I suspect a factory in China is churning them out and various suppliers are adding their own badges.  Although made in China it's Interesting to see that this particular model is dispatched from the Czech Republic by a German logistics company - several others also appear to be shipped from outwith the UK.   I wasn't aware of that until I'd ordered mine and I remember that it came to the UK via several European countries but it arrived here safe and sound.  One thing to look out for is that if the machine goes wrong the buyer is responsible for the return shipping costs which is does not, I think, accord with UK Consumer legislation although ebay and PayPal should give protection in that event.  Having said that Industry Press has been on ebay since 2018 and has sold some 15000 items and achieved a positive feedback rating of 98.6%.

Edited March 21 by Torper

[ISW]

On 20/02/2024 at 11:04, Barclay said:

Is IPA available off the shelf in the UK in the same way as it seems to be in the US and Canada?

In my area, well, yes.

 

If you have a Boyes department store nearby you may be in luck. The Chesterfield shop has been selling 250ml bottles of 99.9% pure IPA (Bird Brand) for the past 5-years or so. However, I've noted that some of their other branches don't seem to stock it.

 

Ian

[25kV]

To remove paint from a couple of die cast loco bodies I tried out Bartoline "Paint Predator" recently.  This was off the shelf from Homebase, and doesn't appear to be too toxic from the package labelling.

Before, during, and after.

 

 

 

 

(See this comment for what was going on here.)

 

The bodies were submerged in the gloop for about half an hour, which lifted the majority of the paint, before being scrubbed with a toothbrush to loosen more.  Another half an hour shifted all but a couple of stubborn corners, which were easily poked out.

 

Rinsed down with plenty of water afterwards and left to dry. 

 

[ISW]

9 hours ago, 25kV said:

The bodies were submerged in the gloop for about half an hour,

Does that mean that 'full contact' is necessary, or will the 'fumes' also be enough to life the paint? I ask because the former means you can't reuse the paint stripper (I'm guessing 'filtering' is not possible), whereas the later means that, maybe, you can.

 

Ian

[25kV]

9 minutes ago, ISW said:

Does that mean that 'full contact' is necessary, or will the 'fumes' also be enough to life the paint? I ask because the former means you can't reuse the paint stripper (I'm guessing 'filtering' is not possible), whereas the later means that, maybe, you can.

 

Ian

 

I poured the gloop into a plastic tub deep enough to submerge both bodies, and have been able to reuse it after leaving with a lid on it - fumes weren't very potent from this particular brand, so I assumed they'd be ineffective.  The dissolved paint obviously stays in the stripper, but it still seemed effective second time around.  I don't know how many uses one might get, though there are a couple of YouTube videos that suggest multiple times for similar products, if kept sealed.

 

As it's been a few weeks since I last used it, maybe I'll drop a couple more bodies in and report back!

[Carnforth]

On 20/02/2024 at 11:21, cctransuk said:

 

Having said which - I invariably use Mr. Muscle oven cleaner, in the orange aerosol can.

 

Foul smell - gets me in the back of the throat - but sprayed into a polythene food bag containing the model; sealed; and left for 24 hours, it has yet to fail.

 

CJI.

Seconded!

 

[The Fatadder]

Latest Bachmann 37 body left in 99% IPA for about 3 hours soak

 

glazing was left in place while it was soaked, the removed (without damage) as part of the clean up.

[41516]

1 hour ago, Carnforth said:

Seconded!

 

 

The only paints I've found Mr Muscle didn't shift completely have been some old enamels - black and silver. I don't know what was different about them, but I've had a few second hand wagons from different sources painted with either colour and it really was tough stuff to remove.