need help salvaging a BAD paint job

I forgot to mention I use Tamiya acrylics almost exclusively, without priming.

Windex / Windolene or some other similar ammonia containing cleaner, Oxi-Clean, brake fluid or alcohol. leave the model soaking in either of the above for a few hours, checking occasionally & use a toothbrush to get the paid out of ridges & the like.

I haven't used Oxi-Clean, but hear that it is pretty fast & efficient?

Thanks for the reply.

The boat is around 16 inches in length so I would need a substantial amount of ammonia solution, immerse the model upright in the bucket. I guess its obvious that I would have to dilute with water, can you recommend the approximately correct ratio of windex/ammonia cleaner to water?

Straight out of the bottle. Windex is basically water, isopropyl alcohol and ammonia. Diluting it further will only weaken the solution.

I buy ZEP brand from Home Depot (and other stores, HD is just the most convenient). It's much cheaper, available by the gallon, works every bit as well, and I save the liquid for the next "less than stellar" paint job.

edit

Oooops, just noticed you're in Karachi, it might be quite a way to the closest Home Depot!

Windex is approximately 70% Water, 5% Ammonia, and the rest is Isopropyl Alcohol. You could try spraying on the solution and give it a bit of a scrub with a soft brush, rather than soak.

/edit

Yeah, acquiring consumable material is not very easy for me. Even Windex is not available, I had to look for it on one of my trips abroad.

So, based on what you said, diluting with water is not a good idea. This means I would require gallons to fully immerse the model. I tried soaking a cloth in thinner and wiping it on the boat, but I just ended up smudging the paint. And its black paint on white styrene.....oh god its so messed up!

In the absence of Windex, denatured alcohol will take tamiya acrylics off faster than you can blink.

Brake fluid is not that expensive & should be easily available to you from an autoparts store, garage or fuel station forecourt. If you know anyone that works in a garage, ask them if they can get some used fluid for you, as brake fluid is often changed at point of service due to its absorption of water & resulting effect on braking performance - most manufacturers recommend a fluid change every year & the average care used about 0.5 > 0.75 L.

Brake fluid is overkill for Tamiya acrylics - all you need is denatured alcohol (methylated spirits). No soaking required, just a rag moistened with it will rip it right off. It's pretty cheap too.

Can you get 500ml or so of rubbing alcohol or what we call in australia methylated spirits (basically 95%ethanol/5%methanol) cleaning solution. Also oven cleaner (mr muscle in australia) works great on both acyrlic or enamel paint (spray on, put in airtight container 12 hrs, rinse off, all clean)

Andrew

I've stripped paint off of ship models before.  Here's a little trick.  Instead of using a bucket, use a waterproof bag.  Using the bag will require a lot less stripping fluid than a bucket.  Windex will strip tamiya paint very quickly.  I usually place the model in the bag, pour in about a half liter of windex then seal up the bag.  Shake the bag around to mix the fluid all over the model for a few minutes.  Take out the model and rinse.  Works everytime for me.

-Jesse

These are some excellent suggestions! Thank you all so much.

I think the denatured alcohol idea may be the most economical, and Mr Muscle is also available but since it is imported its not very cheap. But if all I need to do is spray it on the model and not SOAK the model in it, I think I can manage that. Where may I find denatured alcohol most typically? Chemist? Hardware supply store? How much should be enough? 500 ml, as Konigwolf13 mentioned?

Most typically Denatured alcohol can be found at a hardware store, paint store or automotive/autobody locations.  Also, try boat building or repair shops.  We use Denatured Alcohol all the time for cleaning epoxy, paint and to prepare wood for glue-ups.

Hope this helps!

Thanks a lot, I will get back to you guys if I need any more help.