Paint Removal
Posted: Thu Jul 15, 2021 11:37 am
I don't contribute much to this excellent forum (but learn loads from it) but I do hope this "discovery" might be of interest:
Current advice re removing paint from both commercial models and from plastic kit built stuff seems to vary between brake fluid (which works but very slowly and does seem to slightly affect some plastics) and Dettol (never tried).
Anyway, Nitromors old formula would happily dissolve the toughest of finishes "while you wait" but at the same time was guaranteed to melt plastic and is quite painful on skin! Useful on Hornby Dublo metal bodies and abandoned white metal projects - will also melt some glues.
I recently tried the modern formula Wilko own brand paint stripper on a test piece of plasticard for a few hours when it did no harm at all to the plastic. It was also 100% successful removing the paint from a Lima class 33 bodyshell and had no effect at all on the plastic beneath. The stuff comes in a white screw top plastic container (500ml) and although there is no mention of using it on plastic I can confirm it works perfectly on the plastic that Lima used on the class 33! It's been stripped for over a fortnight now and there's nothing untoward happened over time - they're moulded in bright yellow if anybody is interested.
Might be of interest if some of the other forum members could pass on their experiences.
Current advice re removing paint from both commercial models and from plastic kit built stuff seems to vary between brake fluid (which works but very slowly and does seem to slightly affect some plastics) and Dettol (never tried).
Anyway, Nitromors old formula would happily dissolve the toughest of finishes "while you wait" but at the same time was guaranteed to melt plastic and is quite painful on skin! Useful on Hornby Dublo metal bodies and abandoned white metal projects - will also melt some glues.
I recently tried the modern formula Wilko own brand paint stripper on a test piece of plasticard for a few hours when it did no harm at all to the plastic. It was also 100% successful removing the paint from a Lima class 33 bodyshell and had no effect at all on the plastic beneath. The stuff comes in a white screw top plastic container (500ml) and although there is no mention of using it on plastic I can confirm it works perfectly on the plastic that Lima used on the class 33! It's been stripped for over a fortnight now and there's nothing untoward happened over time - they're moulded in bright yellow if anybody is interested.
Might be of interest if some of the other forum members could pass on their experiences.