Plastic Safe paint stripper

Model Railroader General Discussion (Model Railroader)
1

Hi All,

Dose anybody know of any plastic safe paint stripper? I cant find any in our hardware stores in Aus, and the few hobby shops around have very limited stock in the way of paint products. I have searched a few online stores based in the which are always out of stock on this particular item. Any help will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Anthony.

2

I don’t know how available it is there but I use 91% rubbing alcohol. Immerse the model shell in it and leave it for a couple of hours. Lightly scrub with an old toothbrush. It may require repeated treatments. Proto 1000/2000 models get stripped quick. Bachmann models can take over 20 hours sometimes. You’ll want to use a container that can be sealed. I use a covered cake pan.

3

If you can get Chamelion pint stripper in your local hobby shop, it works great. Otherwise 90% isopropyl alcohol is lso good.

4

Anthony,

What is it that you’re stripping and from which manufacturer?

91% Isopropyl alcohol works well on a number of products but for some stubborn items Chameleon is very effective.

I’ve used the alcohol on IHC, AHM, Rivarossi, Bachmann, and Proto 2000 units and found it to be a “cake walk” with paint floating off within 5 minutes. Good toothbrush scrubbing netted good results. Yet, when I tried to strip a pair of Athearn Blue Box FP45 shells, those were a challenge and required soaking for an entire day.

5

Testors (formerly Floquil / Pollyscale) makes a product called “Easy Lift Off” or ELO.

Don’t know about international shipping, but you can find it on the Testors web sites:

http://www.testors.com/product/137350/F542143/_/ELO_Paint_%26_Decal_Remove_8oz.

They might be able to tell who carries it in your area.

6

I use 99% Isopropanol which is more or less a concentrated form of Isopropal Alcohol. It works well on most paint, some faster then others. However I recently tried to strip an Atlas Roco FP7 with mixed results. The Isopropanol removed the lettering very quickly but didn’t touch the paint even after a full day of soaking. I had the same results with a Riverossi caboose not too long ago. In both cases I resorted to automotive brake fluid. That worked on both shells but I discovered the hard way that the Atlas shell became very brittle in the brake fluid. Basically the nose fell apart in my hands. I don’t think I will use brake fluid again and in hind sight once the lettering was off I did not need to go any further anyhow.

Dave

7

Never use brake fluid on Atlas/Kato or Kato shells as they are made of ABS plastic, not styrene and will crack and if left long enough in brake fluid, can completely disintegrate.

However, brake fluid does work quite well on the old BB shells. Keep the brake fluid “fresh” by keeping it covered. Soak shell for 5 minutes at a time and scrub, repeat as needed. Once the paint is removed, immerse in water to neutralize the brake fluid, (I always let it soak in water for twice as long as it soaked in the brake fluid). Wash with a grease cutting detergent and let it air dry.

8

Re all who have commented. I will have a look around for the products you all mentioned. As for the brands of cars I am stripping, They include Bluford Shops, Roundhouse, Lifelike, Concor and Micro Trains. I am kit bashing a Harsco Track Technologies [And maybe a Loram train once I finish this first set] rail grinder train in N scale, and I have been gluing parts here and there to model this. Any chance that the alcohol’s will cause me grief with the glues?

Thanks,

Anthony.

9

The alcohol shouldn’t cause any problem unless it’s a water base glue.

10

I have had considerable success recently with a spray-on paint remover called “Citristrip”. Available at most hardware stores and home centers. In my experience it does not appear to harm most plastics. Though as the instructions say, you should always test it on an inconspicuious area first. As a rule I don’t let it set for the full 30 minutes that the instructions call for either. Spray it on, let it set for awhile, clean it off with a toothbrush. Any residue cleans up with alcohol.

11

Hello to a fellow Queenslander!

I have stripped quite a few loco and freight items in plastic using good old metho. I let things soak over night in an airtight container and scrub with a toothbrush. Have not damaged any plastic yet, and the only items that prove to need a LOT of scrubbing are Kato factory schemes. Athearn, Roundhouse, Atlas and Proto are no trouble whatsoever.

Matthew