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Stripping Paint

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  • Member since
    January 2015
Stripping Paint
Posted by Moff on Saturday, January 2, 2016 8:39 PM

Hello everyone! Well, two days into the 1946 GB, I have a problem. Here's what happened in a nutshell.

I was trying to fill some areas of my model (which may or may not even have to have been filled) and I decided to spray some primer to see if it looked ok. I decided to use some Vallejo Light Gray Primer, which was a bad idea for several reasons. Out of the five or so Vallejo primers I have, the Light Gray has given me the most problems in the past. I don't know if it's because the bottle is two-thirds empty, or because the formula is weird, but it tends to not dry as evenly. I now have a bad coat of Vallejo primer on parts of the model, and I've had trouble removing it. I've tried using my ultrasonic cleaner and a scrubber, which helped somewhat, but there's still a lot of paint on the model. 

How do you strip unwanted paint off of a model?

 

"Gaiety is the most outstanding feature of the Soviet Union." - Josef Stalin 

  • Member since
    March 2012
  • From: Corpus Christi, Tx
Posted by mustang1989 on Saturday, January 2, 2016 8:43 PM

Brake fluid. It'll work like a charm and leave the plastic intact. Some folks think it's a little extreme but it aint. I build primarily automotive subjects now and I've left my plastic bodies submerged for over a week (because I forgot about it!) and it didn't hurt em. Just be sure to wash it good with soap and water afterwards.

                   

 Forum | Modelers Social Club Forum (proboards.com) 

  • Member since
    January 2015
Posted by Moff on Sunday, January 3, 2016 8:38 AM

Interesting! Thanks for the advice. I'll maybe test it out on a bit of spare sprue just to be on the safe side though.

"Gaiety is the most outstanding feature of the Soviet Union." - Josef Stalin 

  • Member since
    January 2007
Posted by the doog on Sunday, January 3, 2016 9:19 AM

"Mean Green" also called "Simple Green" is available at Walmart, Lowes, and perhaps Home Depot as well as other places, and is biodegradable and safe for the environment and is an absolute BEAR at removing acrylic paint. It strips paint in minutes. MUCH better than brake fluid, and more environmentallly responsible.

If it's lacquer based, you're out of luck Nothing strips lacquer but lacquer, and that will eat your plastic in no time.

I think that you're worrying too much about your primer coat. Unless you're going for a flawless, mirror-smooth, super-shiny coat of paint on a car model, you can have "uneveness" in your primer coat. All it's really there for is to give the paint someything to grab onto, especially if you have PE parts or resin in the build. Your paint base coat is going to cover all that up opaquely anyway, so don't over-react to a few odd primer variations.

The best thing you can do for primer is to buy a big can of Duplicolor gray or white primer at an auto store and decant it using a big straw into a tall paint bottle whenever you need it. You can paint around two dozen full-size models on one big can if you're not wasteful, and for pennies on the dollar of what other modeling primers cost, and it fills very nicely and is not adversely thick. It's not hard to decant it; just wear breathing protection like a triple-step respirator, which, honestly, you should have anyway if you have an airbrush, and understand that you have to let the primer "gas out" for a few hours by loosely capping the bottle and letting it sit. I usually let it sit in the garage overnight, and it's ready to use the next day.

  • Member since
    March 2013
Posted by patrick206 on Sunday, January 3, 2016 10:16 AM

Here's just a thought, was the Vallejo primer well stirred before loading the airbrush? That, and any other paint requires a thorough stirring and mixing, in order to be the end product you bought.

By stirring, I mean mechanically stirred with a stick or other means, that completely removes the solids from the bottom of the bottle. From newly purchased to bottles left alone for a brief time, the solids do settle into a thick blob at the bottom of the bottle.

Simply shaking the bottle to agitate the contents is not sufficient, it must be stirred until all of the settled solids are off the bottom, and then mixed until a uniform blend is achieved. I use the stirring method, then a battery powered mixer to complete the blending.

It could be that what you applied was just not as intended for workable application. A friend used Vallejo and had similar results, the paint didn't end up to be workable as desired, it just didn't set up as needed. It turned out he was just shaking the bottles.

Just a suggestion.

Patrick

  • Member since
    November 2009
  • From: Twin Cities of Minnesota
Posted by Don Stauffer on Sunday, January 3, 2016 10:35 AM

I'd also ask in the airbrushing and painting forum.  This subject comes up frequently, with good discussions and you may get more help than here in the general discussion forum.

 

Don Stauffer in Minnesota

  • Member since
    January 2015
Posted by Moff on Sunday, January 3, 2016 8:53 PM

the doog

"Mean Green" also called "Simple Green" is available at Walmart, Lowes, and perhaps Home Depot as well as other places, and is biodegradable and safe for the environment and is an absolute BEAR at removing acrylic paint. It strips paint in minutes. MUCH better than brake fluid, and more environmentallly responsible.

If it's lacquer based, you're out of luck Nothing strips lacquer but lacquer, and that will eat your plastic in no time.

I think that you're worrying too much about your primer coat. Unless you're going for a flawless, mirror-smooth, super-shiny coat of paint on a car model, you can have "uneveness" in your primer coat. All it's really there for is to give the paint someything to grab onto, especially if you have PE parts or resin in the build. Your paint base coat is going to cover all that up opaquely anyway, so don't over-react to a few odd primer variations.

The best thing you can do for primer is to buy a big can of Duplicolor gray or white primer at an auto store and decant it using a big straw into a tall paint bottle whenever you need it. You can paint around two dozen full-size models on one big can if you're not wasteful, and for pennies on the dollar of what other modeling primers cost, and it fills very nicely and is not adversely thick. It's not hard to decant it; just wear breathing protection like a triple-step respirator, which, honestly, you should have anyway if you have an airbrush, and understand that you have to let the primer "gas out" for a few hours by loosely capping the bottle and letting it sit. I usually let it sit in the garage overnight, and it's ready to use the next day.

 

I guess I'll try Simple Green instead of brake fluid. My environmental conscience will feel better. Smile

About the primer, I may have just been overreacting. I think I was caught off guard, because the Light Gray primer was thinner than usual. However, the Vallejo primers are formulated using polyurethane, so they "shrink" and any pools generally disappear. I was still having some orange peel in areas though. As you can tell, I'm still an airbrush rookie. 

About the build, I'll start a thread at some point. I want to ask you a bunch of questions about your build of this kit. I've been trying to copy some of your modifications if you don't mind. 

"Gaiety is the most outstanding feature of the Soviet Union." - Josef Stalin 

  • Member since
    January 2015
Posted by Moff on Sunday, January 3, 2016 8:55 PM

patrick206

Here's just a thought, was the Vallejo primer well stirred before loading the airbrush? That, and any other paint requires a thorough stirring and mixing, in order to be the end product you bought.

By stirring, I mean mechanically stirred with a stick or other means, that completely removes the solids from the bottom of the bottle. From newly purchased to bottles left alone for a brief time, the solids do settle into a thick blob at the bottom of the bottle.

Simply shaking the bottle to agitate the contents is not sufficient, it must be stirred until all of the settled solids are off the bottom, and then mixed until a uniform blend is achieved. I use the stirring method, then a battery powered mixer to complete the blending.

It could be that what you applied was just not as intended for workable application. A friend used Vallejo and had similar results, the paint didn't end up to be workable as desired, it just didn't set up as needed. It turned out he was just shaking the bottles.

Just a suggestion.

Patrick

 

Could I get away with just putting a metal BB or nut into the bottle as a stirring aid? 

"Gaiety is the most outstanding feature of the Soviet Union." - Josef Stalin 

  • Member since
    January 2013
Posted by BlackSheepTwoOneFour on Sunday, January 3, 2016 9:17 PM

It may help some but it is better to stir thoroughly.

  • Member since
    January 2015
Posted by Moff on Monday, January 4, 2016 9:02 AM

BlackSheepTwoOneFour

It may help some but it is better to stir thoroughly.

 

Ok.

"Gaiety is the most outstanding feature of the Soviet Union." - Josef Stalin 

  • Member since
    January 2015
Posted by Moff on Monday, January 4, 2016 9:23 AM

the doog

"Mean Green" also called "Simple Green" is available at Walmart, Lowes, and perhaps Home Depot as well as other places, and is biodegradable and safe for the environment and is an absolute BEAR at removing acrylic paint. It strips paint in minutes. MUCH better than brake fluid, and more environmentallly responsible.

 

I'm all out of Simple Green. How about this stufF? I've got some of it lying around. 

https://www.google.com/search?q=128+oz.+Heavy-Duty+Citrus+Degreaser&oq=128+oz.+Heavy-Duty+Citrus+Degreaser&aqs=chrome..69i57j69i60l2&sourceid=chrome&es_sm=93&ie=UTF-8

I can always grab some Simple Green next time I'm out, but what do you think of this? I'm feeling lazy.

"Gaiety is the most outstanding feature of the Soviet Union." - Josef Stalin 

  • Member since
    January 2007
Posted by the doog on Monday, January 4, 2016 6:03 PM

Moff

 

 
the doog

"Mean Green" also called "Simple Green" is available at Walmart, Lowes, and perhaps Home Depot as well as other places, and is biodegradable and safe for the environment and is an absolute BEAR at removing acrylic paint. It strips paint in minutes. MUCH better than brake fluid, and more environmentallly responsible.

 

 

 

I'm all out of Simple Green. How about this stufF? I've got some of it lying around. 

 

https://www.google.com/search?q=128+oz.+Heavy-Duty+Citrus+Degreaser&oq=128+oz.+Heavy-Duty+Citrus+Degreaser&aqs=chrome..69i57j69i60l2&sourceid=chrome&es_sm=93&ie=UTF-8

I can always grab some Simple Green next time I'm out, but what do you think of this? I'm feeling lazy.

 

I have no idea. You would have to try it and report. However, "lazy" is a sure shortcut to disaster, in my experience.

  • Member since
    September 2012
Posted by GMorrison on Monday, January 4, 2016 6:09 PM

Boy thats true. I had a big bottle of Chameleon, but I used it up.

 Modeling is an excuse to buy books.

 

  • Member since
    January 2015
Posted by Moff on Monday, January 4, 2016 6:09 PM

Well in the meantime, I ran out and grabbed some Simple Green. I'll let you know how it turns out. 

"Gaiety is the most outstanding feature of the Soviet Union." - Josef Stalin 

  • Member since
    May 2003
  • From: Central USA
Posted by qmiester on Tuesday, January 5, 2016 7:26 AM

I've never used Simple Green to strip paint (it's somewhat more expensive than brake fluid) but to my mind, I would still dispose of it the same way I dispose of my used brake fluid.  When I dispose of the bake fluid (and other such fluids i.e. used paint thinner) I put it into a gallon metal can and when that's full, I simply take the can to the county noxious waste site for disposal (and that's free). Just a thought

 

Quincy
  • Member since
    January 2015
Posted by Moff on Tuesday, January 5, 2016 4:45 PM

qmiester

I've never used Simple Green to strip paint (it's somewhat more expensive than brake fluid) but to my mind, I would still dispose of it the same way I dispose of my used brake fluid.  When I dispose of the bake fluid (and other such fluids i.e. used paint thinner) I put it into a gallon metal can and when that's full, I simply take the can to the county noxious waste site for disposal (and that's free). Just a thought

 

 

Good idea.

"Gaiety is the most outstanding feature of the Soviet Union." - Josef Stalin 

  • Member since
    January 2015
Posted by Moff on Tuesday, January 5, 2016 4:48 PM

I just tried out the Simple Green at about 50% dilution, and it worked like a charm! The paint came right off with the help of one of my airbrush cleaning brushes. 

"Gaiety is the most outstanding feature of the Soviet Union." - Josef Stalin 

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