Lacquer thinner dissolved my model

Try anything with lye in it like draino or easy-off oven cleaner.

Bill

When you tried the 91% alcohol, did you soak the part in it and use a cheap electric toothbrush?  I haven't found a paint yet that can resist that method.

Bill was right.

I use 'Easy Off' oven cleaner. Works nearly every time with just a single application...but you can repeat as necessary. Usually a 10-15 minute 'soak' is all it takes. (Scrubbing with an old soft- or medium-bristle toothbrush will help, especially in recessed areas.)

Next time I'll try the alcohol and electric toothbrush.

I didn't try the oven cleaner bcause I thought that the lacquer thinner would be less "aggressive" than oven cleaner.

I soaked the part in lacquer thinner for about an hour. I looked into the container and wondered where the part went? It wasn't there! Did I previously take the part out and put it somewhere (was I losing my mind)? I poured out the thinner and there was a puddle of red goop on the bottom of the contaner. I am still amazed how quickly the thinner dissolved the plastic.

Just curious,just painting over it wasn't an option,it was still on the sprue.

Can't say I'd do this, but I think I read in an older modeling mag that brake fluid will remove paint without harming the underlying plastic.  The days are loooong since past that I kept a bottle of brake fluid in the garage!

daniel

If you use oven cleaner, just be aware that its going to make the plastic more brittle than it was before.

Lacquer thinner is very hot/agressive.  Always be very careful in using it.  It is even hard on your skin.  If you get much on your skin use a moisturizer afterward, especially in winter.  It really draws oil out of the skin.

Lacquer Thinner??

      What in heavens name were you thinking? Lacquer Thinner is akin to another type of Styrene Glue. To remove paint like that if you MUST use lacquer thinner then Use a wooden handled brush. I/E a Brush that is used for testuring oil paint. I forget the name of it. Short, Stubby hard bristles. NOT metal ones now! I believe it's called a stipling brush!

     Anyway, take it and dip it in the lacquer thinner and SCRUB the paint off. When You get to the Plastic, Stop! Now at this time break out the dawn Dish detergent and some Mineral spirits. Wash the part with the mineral spirits to get any Lacquer residue off the piece. Then Wash In very HOT water, with the Dawn. Rinse well and set aside to Air-Dry. Now re-paint! 

For tough paints use automotive brake fluid. It will not harm the plastic and will pull all types of paints. Any thinners used can and will usually cause some sort of harm.

BK

JohnnyK

Next time I'll try the alcohol and electric toothbrush.

Yup.  Just get one of those Crest electric toothbrushes (I think they're about 5 bucks) and soak the part in the alcohol for about 30 minutes.  After about 30 minutes, you should see the alcohol starting to cloud up with the paint color all around the surface of the part.  At that point, take the electric toothbrush and start scrubbing the part...you'll want to do that over your alcohol container so you can keep dipping the part and brush in it to keep everything nice and wet (since the alcohol quickly evaporates and loses its effectivity).  The goal is to keep everything soaked in the alcohol while you work.  I have stripped paint from glue bombs that were painted 30+ years ago using this method, and it strips them down to the bare plastic without making them brittle.

After you strip the paint, just a quick rinse under hot water is all that is needed.  What I like to do is keep a container of clean alcohol for final rinses, which dramatically decreases the amount of time you have to wait for the part to dry.  I have used this method tons of times after trying new painting techniques that didn't go as planned.  It has always given me a clean slate to work with, without doing damage to the plastic.

I avoid things like mineral spirits as anything other than thinner for enamel paint as well, ever since the day I saw what happens when you spill mineral spirits near a sheet of plexiglass and it gets drawn underneath.  If you ever want to get a "shattered glass" effect on a piece of plexiglass, that's the way to do it.

Isopropyl alcohol won't do that...ever.  Just make sure you always use isopropyl, because denatured alcohol is not the same thing, and can damage the plastic.

I would like to thank everyone for their great suggestions. I really appreciate them.

I emailed Tamyia to order replacement parts. They emailed me back and told me that I should receive the parts in a couple of weeks.

That's one of many great things about Tamiya models.  If things go wrong, its really easy to get replacement parts.

I needed to remove the lacquer paint from the part signified by the blue arrow. It was painted with Tamyia rattle can lacquer.

First I tried 91% isopropyl alcohol. The paint didn't budge. Next I tried Purple Power. Nothing happened. Next I tried SuperClean Tough degreaser. Again nothing.

Then I soaked the part in store bought lacquer thinner. In a short time the part dissolved into a puddle of goo. Bad idea. I'll need to order replacement parts from Tamyia.

Solvent cements contain many of the same ingredients as lacquer thinner, as you have accidentally learned.

I guess that we learn from our mistakes.

I had this glossy gray paint on the bottom sauser section of a star trek enterprise model, I tried brake fluid, the purple power stuff and I can't get it to soften up at all, so EZ-off is my next step?

John

This may sound Screwy;

   Sometimes on Glue Bombs or Old Builds,I loosen the paint by taking a bottle of Contaminated liquid glue and a paint brush( Round 000) And lightly painting the colored sections with the glue. It will soften the paint enough that you can start scraping it off with the side of a Bogus Credit card like they send you to get you to borrow or spend money you ain't got!

    Using the card assures you won't dig into the plastic.

falconmod

I had this glossy gray paint on the bottom sauser section of a star trek enterprise model, I tried brake fluid, the purple power stuff and I can't get it to soften up at all, so EZ-off is my next step?

The method I posted earlier in this thread works, and it won't hurt the plastic like oven cleaner will.  The electric toothbrush even makes it so you can scrub around delicate details without breaking them off.