As I noted in a previous post, I was getting nowhere with 91 alcohol in trying to remove Badger Model Flex paint airbrushed on (light coat) on a diesel shell. I am happy to report that a 12 hr soak in Super Clean ( large purple 1 gallon container at WalMart) did the job! The paint just dissolved with a toothbrushing of the shell surface area which was soaked. Use full strength, do not dilute, and keep in a closed tray or container ( those Swifter refill rectangular ones have a plastic top and plenty of space for a passenger car or long diesel shell). My previous experience with this product is that you can re-use the same solution several times before you need to refresh it. Pour the original batch out, rinse the container well, then pour fresh Super Clean. Although it is not necessarily caustic, use disposable gloves for safety (a container of hospital ones is ideal). The flip side of this is that some other paint jobs on older stock were not responsive to Super Clean, so perhaps there is a paint-based chemical explanation for what works best. Please note that I refer to styrene materials only, not brass or other metals. Cedarwoodron
I have not used Super Clean, but I us Chamelon paint remover on my Kato engines. It is the only products that seems to works on their paint.
SuperClean in those large purple containers is a ‘de-greaser’ and sucks the oils out of plastic models(a major part of plastic is petroleum). I suspect your engine shell is rather ‘brittle’ after that soaking. Folks have tried ATF(automatic transmission fluid) as well and have found rather disastrous results at times. SuperClean will work OK on outdoor lawn furniture(Polyethylene is used here rather than Polystyrene like in most model trains).
I will stick to Scalecoat II ‘Wash Away’ and Chameleon paint strippers for plastic. Most paints seem to strip with 71% alcohol, it is Kato paint jobs that need the ‘big guns’ to strip. I have never had to strip Badger acrylic, so I will now know not to just soak it in alcohol as you mentioned.
Wearing nitrile gloves is a good idea, even when using alcohol. Alcohol really sucks the body oils out of your fingers and in winter weather you can develop some nasty cracks in you fingers that take a long time to heal. When I was much younger, I used to wash my hands with lacquer thinner after painting models, and my father even used to wash out carburetor parts with carbon tetrachloride! Be safe with solvents!
Jim
Hello Cedarwoodron,
Glad to know that your results were successful. Superclean works well in many scenarios but be careful when soaking locomotive or rolling stock with thin shells.
Just curious, what were you paint stripping?
have also used Pine Sol with good results. and, since it is oil-based, it won’t dry the plastic to a brittle consistency. Just a thought. I have to also say that I have not had much luck with either the 91% or the 71% isopropyl alcohol.
Chameleon was the best, but you can’t get it anymore. I bought a bottle of the gel that the LHS had left about a year ago, but it’s not nearly as effective as the old liquid solution. I had an old bottle of that stuff that I kept for many years – all I had to do was strain it and put it back in the bottle until next time. Maybe it was too effective.
I’d test Super Clean on a cheap shell with tough paint to see how well it works. It would be a great low cost alternative to Wash Away if it does the job without compromising the plastic.
I also tried to strip a Kato shell with the 90% alcohol to no avail so I bought what they call a mini air blaster that uses baking soda to remove the paint in about 15 minutes or so. For 1.20 I can blast alot of shells and it dosen’t bother the fine details either. Just use it outside or in the garage it tends to make a powdery mess, I used a large cardboard box to do small stuff in the basement. I makes brass a little less smooth to the touch so its better to go with the alcohol for those, Jim.