Removing Tampo-printed markings?

[tetsujin]

Hi there - I'm actually looking to strip markings from pre-painted model kits like the Armored Core kits - but I think the process is the same as that used to print markings on the Yamato toys, so with the amount of customization work we see on MW I was hoping someone here might know... Is there a good way to strip this stuff off, apart from just sanding it off? If it were hobby paint, or chrome finish, I would be able to strip it myself using "Easy Lift Off", oven cleaner, automotive degreaser, etc... But so far my efforts to "strip" pre-painted parts chemically has failed, so I'm not sure if it can be done in a way that leaves the plastic intact...

[Excillon]

Hi there - I'm actually looking to strip markings from pre-painted model kits like the Armored Core kits - but I think the process is the same as that used to print markings on the Yamato toys, so with the amount of customization work we see on MW I was hoping someone here might know... Is there a good way to strip this stuff off, apart from just sanding it off? If it were hobby paint, or chrome finish, I would be able to strip it myself using "Easy Lift Off", oven cleaner, automotive degreaser, etc... But so far my efforts to "strip" pre-painted parts chemically has failed, so I'm not sure if it can be done in a way that leaves the plastic intact...

Rubbing alcohol worked when I stripped off the markings on my alternators Smokescreen.

[EXO]

yamato paints are incredibly strong... more than what it takes to strip a chunky monkey and I'm assuming an alt.

[SchizophrenicMC]

If I had a busted-up valk, I'd try the various things underneath my sink, but I don't...

Have you tried the age-old Naphtha method?

[honkhet]

hi, i used mr hobby's thinner on my 1/60 vf-1 ver2 and everything came off instantly without damaging the plastic

[Vifam7]

Hi there - I'm actually looking to strip markings from pre-painted model kits like the Armored Core kits - but I think the process is the same as that used to print markings on the Yamato toys, so with the amount of customization work we see on MW I was hoping someone here might know... Is there a good way to strip this stuff off, apart from just sanding it off? If it were hobby paint, or chrome finish, I would be able to strip it myself using "Easy Lift Off", oven cleaner, automotive degreaser, etc... But so far my efforts to "strip" pre-painted parts chemically has failed, so I'm not sure if it can be done in a way that leaves the plastic intact...

Dunno if this'll help but I recently found out that Gundam Marker Remover (thinner in a marker type pen) is pretty strong stuff. It stripped off the markings on one my Yamato VFC gashapons.

Edited September 30, 2009 by Vifam7

[mrclean08]

Try using Acetone. Acetone usually removes printed markings for me on plastics.

[SchizophrenicMC]

Paint thinner's usually made of a petroleum distillate, like Naphtha. It's especially good at breaking up weak polymers, but takes a lot of time or concentration to break apart most plastics. I like Naphtha most, because it comes in bottles that make it easy to apply and it has the best effect on the paint with the least effect on the plastic.

Look for Ronsonol Lighter Fluid.

[David Hingtgen]

Depends on how it was printed. First try rubbing alcohol, then acetone. Point:

A lot of times, if you can get it half/mostly off, but the rest just won't come---it's because the plastic surface is too rough, and the half you got off was the high points, and the half that won't come is in the "valleys" of the plastic--and it'll take a LOT of effort to get---you'll burnish the plastic before it'll come.

In short---the smoother the surface, the easier/better it'll come off. Tampo over paint is usually easier to get off than tampo over bare plastic.