A Possible Paint Remover For 1/48s?

[ghostryder]

I mentioned in an earlier thread that 90% isopropyl alcohol removes the stock Yamato paint when rubbed with a cotton swab. I haven't had the guts to soak a part overnight, for fear of damaging the ABS. According to chemical compatibility charts, isopropyl alcohol gets a "B" for compatibility w/ ABS ("A" being "no effect" and "F" being "your valk is toast").

One of the things on the chemical chart that got an "A" for compatibility was ethanol (booze). For kicks, I got myself a bottle of 190 proof (95%) Everclear and tried the swab test - works just as well as isopropyl! I may try soaking a 1/48 part for my next project.

Anyone try ethanol for removing valk paint?

[kensei]

I mentioned in an earlier thread that 90% isopropyl alcohol removes the stock Yamato paint when rubbed with a cotton swab. I haven't had the guts to soak a part overnight, for fear of damaging the ABS. According to chemical compatibility charts, isopropyl alcohol gets a "B" for compatibility w/ ABS ("A" being "no effect" and "F" being "your valk is toast").

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Sorry, but I couldn't help but laugh at the grades.

[ghostryder]

I took some liberties interpreting "F"

See second page of attachment for a full list of crap you should/should not dunk your precious in.

solvent_compatibility_2_1_.pdf

[Fly4victory]

Drinking and working on a Valk is not a good idea....at least for me. I am nervous enough taking it apart. Besides I get light headed enough from the airbrush.

The quick and easy way for me was 400 grit wet/dry sand paper, 90% isopropyl alcohol, and for the clear heat shield brasso, q tip and a cordless drill.

[ghostryder]

Drinking and working on a Valk is not a good idea....at least for me. I am nervous enough taking it apart. Besides I get light headed enough from the airbrush.

The quick and easy way for me was 400 grit wet/dry sand paper, 90% isopropyl alcohol, and for the clear heat shield brasso, q tip and a cordless drill.

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Heh, I don't touch the hard stuff (anymore). Does the 400 grit sandpaper leave scratches on the plastic, or are you just using it to rough up the paint for the alcohol to penetrate? Have you soaked a part in isopropyl before with any affects?

[do not disturb]

have you tried the stuff that bryan(gunsandcasca) got? made by chameleon products? he was raving about it not too long ago.

i orded the gel(supposedly better than liquid) but i haven't had a chance to test it out yet...yeah yeah yeah.

he posted some pics and it looked like it did a fairly nice job but then again, he tried to strip the paint off a DYRL valk which simply has too much paint on it. if you're going to do customs, i suggest getting the 1J hikaru's as they have less paint to remove overall.

[ghostryder]

have you tried the stuff that bryan(gunsandcasca) got?  made by chameleon products?  he was raving about it not too long ago.

i orded the gel(supposedly better than liquid) but i haven't had a chance to test it out yet...yeah yeah yeah. 

he posted some pics and it looked like it did a fairly nice job but then again, he tried to strip the paint off a DYRL valk which simply has too much paint on it.  if you're going to do customs, i suggest getting the 1J hikaru's as they have less paint to remove overall.

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I tried to find an MSDS on that stuff but couldn't. Model styrene plastic is similar to ABS in terms of what toasts it and what doesn't, but there are still some things that will eat ABS more than model styrene.

I might soak a valk piece in ethanol tonight just to try. The worse that could happen is absolutely nothing. Will report later with pics.

[MechTech]

I've heard of everclear being used for lot's of stuff, but this takes the cake! At least your liver will thank you ! Good thinkin'!- MT

[Fly4victory]

The sandpaper is used to rough up the paint so that the alcohol will work faster. I tried using a hobby knife but that is too dangerous. Not just to hands which heal but to the Valk which does not. The sandpaper will scratch the plastic but will remove knife nicks. The knife worked great on the head and vertical fins but damaged the chest plate. Any imperfections in the surface will be visible when you spray.

I used 3m green masking tape that I picked up Autozone to mask the black that I did not want removed on the chest plate. An alcohol q-tip was them used to remove the paint.

The yellow on the VF-1S seems to survive better that the black. I wanted to “surgically†remove the yellow and then spray Max Blue but had to touch up with some black spray and Gundum Marker when I was finished and remove some blue over spray on the legs.

I have not tried any of the new stuff. This was my first Valk custom on a used E-bay 1S.

I also masked the front of the heat shield so the skull would not be damaged if I slipped with the electric drill q-tip brasso combo. I kept the speed low so that the friction would not cause heat buildup and possibly damage or deform the shield.

Total time to prep for painting after disassembly was about two hours.

[ghostryder]

IT WORKS!

These pics show the results of just 15 minutes of soaking with occasional scrubbing with a toothbrush. The CF color looks intact and I see no signs of "permafrost" on the colored ABS.

BEFORE

AFTER

[ghostryder]

... it also works for the Stealth, with no permafrost on the black ABS (this paint was much tougher to brush off because of the rough surface texture)

Edited August 3, 2006 by ghostryder