Hi from england, I want to strip the paint on a Kato C44-9W in BNSF H1 to respray in BNSF warbonnet. The shell has some easily fixed scratches on it but I want a paintstripper recommened as I have been told that the shells dont like certain brands. Any help please.
Ever tried brake fluid? That’ll strip most model paints I know of without ruining the plastic.
Andre
Not tried that one but I might give it a go with some older painted plastic
I always thought that 98% Isopropyl alcohol would take the paint off without razing the plastic shell.
You may wi***o consider Scalecoat, a stripper for plastic models and 91% Isopropyl Alcohol
Do NOT use brake fluid on any shell plastic shell from the Orient (Japan, China, Korea, etc). You will end up with a glob of plastic, which most likely will have a good paint job left on it. Why do you think there are so many RPP SD45 shells on older Kato SD40 chassis?
For Kato, full strength Pine-Sol, Original only, works okay. 91% or 99% Isopropyl Alcohol may work, but some have seen damage on Kato, though it seems to be excellent on the Chinese made models.
Also see: http://www.hosam.com/
HERE, HERE! Warning! Kato, and as noted, some other producers’ plastic, will not tolerate some fluid baths! However, there is a solution. acj.
So what’s so special about Japanese styrene that it won’t tolerate strippers that other styrenes will? If alcohol won’t take the paint off safely, what will?
While I agree that some plastics may not tolerate brake fluid I have used it recenty to strip an Atlas RS-3. It worked fine. I did not wind up with a glob of painted plastic or any distortion of the shell. I did not leave it in for very long, just long enough to loosen the paint. A quick pass with a toothbrush and a good washing and I was down to the plastic. After it was dry, I painted it using ModelFlex and appplied the decals. Came out fine.
I use Chameleon stripper on my Kato units. The paint kato uses ‘seeps’ into the plastic so it will never be perfectly gray (or black). But is it good enough that you won’t see the old paint as soon as you apply the first coat of new paint. One word of caution: don’t leave your shells in the stripper for 13 months like I did as it will distort the plastic. A week or two has the same effect as a year (without the distortion). Scrub with a toothbrush and rinse.