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Stripping Tamiya Surface Primer?


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I'm trying to get some airbrush practice in, and my chosen practice subject is the body of a car kit I bought a ways back and tried - several times - to paint with Tamiya rattle cans, washing the paint off with 96% denatured ethanol in between attempts. For my last go, I tried using Tamiya's white "Extra Fine Surface Primer", and ended up getting it a little too thick in a couple of places, and then my first attempt at airbrushing after that didn't go as planned and the kit ended up being put away for a couple of years.

 

I pulled out the car body and a fresh bottle of alcohol, and the paint on top of the primer cleaned off just fine, but the primer itself has proven way more resistant to alcohol, and doesn't want to come off. And I really want to get back down to bare plastic so I can start fresh, because the primer itself is uneven. 

 

What do I use to strip this gunk off of my kit, even from crevices like the grilles in the front, that won't eat my plastic even if I let it sit for some time, and which won't eat my wallet? (if the solution ends up costing more than a new kit, chances are I'll be getting a new kit instead...)

 

 

Edited by SebastianP
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Perhaps give this a try https://www.walthers.com/paint-stripper-remover-for-plastics-16oz-473ml-bottle We model railroaders have been stripping factory paint from plastic bodies for decades. I've used this since the 1980s. And a now out of production brand of same. 

The question is how much will be required to strip a model car body. HO and N scale model train bodies will fit wholly or halfway in a tall olive jar: a 1/24 auto body not so much. Will require a plastic food container. If it has to be done halfway deep the turned over to get other half that's okay. 

Do not use it on resin! 

It tends to dissolve resin when I have tested it on resin leftovers.

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Testor's Easy Lift-Off works great - I actually did it just last night on a Revell Laser hull with great success.  I had layers of gray and white surface primer and it took it all off with no damage to the plastic.  I had tried Castrol Super-Clean awhile back and it didn't touch the stuff.  Good luck!

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17 hours ago, Nate said:

Testor's Easy Lift-Off works great - I actually did it just last night on a Revell Laser hull with great success.  I had layers of gray and white surface primer and it took it all off with no damage to the plastic.  I had tried Castrol Super-Clean awhile back and it didn't touch the stuff.  Good luck!

 

 

ELO is just automotive brake fluid. Works great, no doubt about that.  It is reusable to it’s saturation point, so kept it in a reusable container.  If you are after a bit more value for your money then just buy automotive brake fluid.  You get way more for less. 

 

 

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Thanks for all the tips!

 

I can't get most of the specific hobby-branded products mentioned locally - the hobby shop in town only stocks Tamiya Acrylics and TS sprays, and Humbrol Enamels and Acrylics, with related thinners in small jars only. And the piranha crew knows what dates Tamiya goods are delivered to the store, so good luck getting the good stuff before it runs out. (they were flat out of all kinds of white paints except tamiya rattlecans when I was there on Monday. Bit of a bummer since other than my paint-practice corvette, every single model I have needs white paint...)

 

Brake fluid I should be able to get - does that wash off with water, btw, or do I need to wash it off with something else? Since it's reusable, and I'm likely to need it for different form factors of things, would pouring it back into the bottle between uses be a good idea, or should I just get one sealable container for aircraft and another for car bodies, and fill both of them? 

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  • 2 weeks later...
On 2018-03-15 at 2:12 PM, SebastianP said:

Thanks for all the tips!

 

Brake fluid I should be able to get - does that wash off with water, btw, or do I need to wash it off with something else? Since it's reusable, and I'm likely to need it for different form factors of things, would pouring it back into the bottle between uses be a good idea, or should I just get one sealable container for aircraft and another for car bodies, and fill both of them? 

 

I use soap and water to clean up after using brake fluid.  A commercial degreaser like simple green would also work, but then you would need wash off the simple green when done. I use a plastic bin with a lid, about 10L or so in size.  I dump in 4L of new brake fluid.  I use a dollar store mesh pasta strainer.  The type with two handles, and deep pocket. I put large objects directly into the fluid, small parts go in the strainer. Let them soak, sometimes only a few minutes is needed( depends on paint type), otherwise overnight is fine. I scrub the parts with an old toothbrush if needed right in the storage bin.  When done I close the lid and leave it all in there until next time.  I let my parts drip off as much brake fluid as I can into fluid pool, this means less goes back into the water supply. I then take my parts to a sink, and rise with soap and water.  Brake fluid has not crazed any plastic that I’ve ever tried, and it works on clear parts.  Although I’ve never soaked clear parts for more than 15minutes. Depending on use, the  brake fluid will last years, even if it turns black with paint. When it doesn’t strip paint anymore, change it up.  I always reclaim the used fluid and take it for proper environmental disposal. 

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