Removing paint from a completed model

I sometimes use a drop of brake fluid brushhed on.

Tanker-Builder

This is a Sticky thing!

     I use Easy Off! Always have. Simple Green was a waste for removing paint and chrome in my opinion .The Alcohol is alright IF the model has been painted with acrylics, but, how can you know?

Again, that is not true about alcohol only removing acrylics.  That's why I went into the detail that I did in my previous post.    My Mustang hood with Tamiya Surface Primer, MCW enamel, MCW lacquer, and Testors square bottle enamel...all fully cured...is now a nice, bare, clean piece of white plastic again...just isopropyl alcohol and a cheap electric toothbrush.  No toxic fumes and no caustic chemicals that make styrene brittle.  Tried the Purple Power I have just to see what it would do, since I'm always happy to try new things.  It didn't even touch the stuff.  In fact, I think it made all of the paint harder.  Its great for de-chroming chrome parts though...whereas my isopropyl doesn't do a thing to it.  Different methods for different things I guess.  

This is a Sticky thing!

     I use Easy Off! Always have. Simple Green was a waste for removing paint and chrome in my opinion .The Alcohol is alright IF the model has been painted with acrylics, but, how can you know?

   Do a test patch on an area you can cover later. The thing is, some of what's been recommended left me with sticky surfaces that ONLY Dawn-FULL STRENGTH and Alcohol washes afterward would cure. So be careful!

 Wear safety glasses and gloves. ALWAYS !!!

Thanks everyone for the good advice.  I remember soaking parts in Simple Green one time.  It worked also.

Purple Power detergent works well for removing paint.  I used to buy it in the small spray bottles, but now find I can buy it in gallon bottles for not much more than the spray bottles (which are reusable).

I bought a bottle of StripSafe, made by StripWell at a model show.  StripWell is used in the furniture refinishing  business.  StripSafe says it will remove acrylic, enamel, and lacquers.  It is not  a strong caustic like oven cleaner or an alcohol/solvent type material - safe to handle & have flames around.

I have found it to be an effective remover for hobby paints.  A brief soak in StripSafe removes paints from plastic.  CA was not affected.  I did have a problem with an overnight soak on a 3D resin ship hull - it warped.  I think that was operator error

Top2MP

I have a completed Mazda RX — 7RI that I dislike the color to. How do I strip all of that paint off the model ?

 

It's great for deep-cleaning airbrushes too.  If you have an untrasonic cleaner, use that too with the alcohol.

I have used isopropyl alcohol in concentrations from 70% up to 99%, and they all work, even on Model Master enamels.  The lower concentrations just take a little longer.  I'm right in the middle of stripping a combination of Testors enamel, MCW enamel, MCW lacquer, and Tamiya Surface Primer.  Had to do that after finally figuring out the right color of silver to use for the stripes on a Boss 351 Mustang build I'm doing.  Tried to fix it, but just decided to strip it and start over again.  Its been in the bath for a little over 2 hours now and I have given it an occasional 2 or 3 minute scrubbing with a cheap electric toothbrush, and there's only a little bit of paint/primer left on it.  I'll come back to it tomorrow and scrub just a little more, and it'll be like the part was never painted.  I have been using it for years as my go-to for removing paint when a new painting idea doesn't go as planned.  Even took off 25 year old Model Master white enamel and the real, old-fashioned, aircraft grade zinc chromate primer I used underneath it.  It is quick, effective, and safe.  Tried Easy Off once, and it was also effective, but it turned the plastic of the 1/32 Hasegawa F-16 intake tube I was trying to strip into a really brittle piece of plastic.  As soon as I started flexing that part to work the seams on it a little better, it broke into 5 or 6 pieces.  That plastic wasn't brittle before that.  Also wasn't crazy about the fumes or what could possibly happen if a little bit of it splattered and got in my eyes...so I went looking for a better way.  

I don't know what kind of alcohol you have, but what I have used doesn't do anything to Teasors Model Master enamals.

Not true.  It works on enamels, lacquers...pretty much any model paint.  I only post the methods I have used myself.

Isopropyl alcohol only works on acrylic paints.  If it is enamels, go with what I described above.  None of the above methods will harm the plastic.

Use Isopropyl Alcohol and a cheap electric toothbrush.  Much safer for you and the plastic in your model.

Work safely! Wear gloves. 

Stay safe.

Jim 

First, you will need to disassemble it and just strip the body.  To do so, spray it liberally with Easy-Off oven cleaner and seal it up in a zip-loc baggie.  Let is sit a day or two, then take it out of the bag and the paint should be gone or really soft.  You should be able to wash off the rest, but may need to scrub it with a toothbrush to get it out of tight spots.  Alternatley, you can soak it in ammonia (esp. if acrylic paint) or brake fluid (enamel paint).  Don't use any type of solvent though (i.e.: lacquer thinner, paint thinner, etc.) or you will end up with a melted blob of plastic.