The Ship Model Forum

Hi Young bob,

I use the 'Fairy' cleaner that come in the spray bottle. Squirt it on, want a few minutes and remove the paint with a toothbrush.

Best Wishes,

Guest

very useful, many thanks for the advice

regards Bob

That was my post, I made about 4-5 posts yesterday before realising I wasn't logged in. Anyway, hope the info is useful.

Thank you guest for your kind advice.

A lot of people highly recommend floquils paint & decal remover, i have found their UK dealer and i am waiting for a price, in the mean time i will price the paint stripper you have used at £5.00 a shot!!

regards bob

I would definitely not recommend acetone for stripping paint from styrene.
(Other plastic types like ABS -may- be OK, but I'm not sure). Even brief exposure to acetone will cause the surface of styrene plastic to become soft and sticky, and if left in the acetone long enough it will become a sticky, gooey mess.
(I know from bitter experience :( )

I've done a lot of paint-stripping on plastic models over the last year or so as I bought a large number of second-hand
1/35 military vehicles on eBay. Most were badly and heavily painted and needed to be stripped before repainting.

Phoenix Paints (they have a stand at many model and model engineering shows) make a product called "Superstrip" (I think) which works amazingly - removes any paint quickly and cleanly, with no affect on the base plastic. However, the snag is that it is -horrendously- expensive, around £5 for a small bottle.

Also available at most model shops is a product called Modelstrip. This is a paste which you have to paint onto the model,
seal it in a plastic bag and leave overnight. I haven't tried this one myself.

Some other "plastic-friendly" paint strippers:

Acetone-free nail varnish remover - can work well if used with care. It does soften styrene if left in too long
(more than a couple of minutes). Works on both acrylic and enamel.

Car brake fluid - works very slowly (soak for several days), not sure how well it works on enamel.

Bleach or caustic soda - works very well on acrylic, but has little effect on enamel - avoid getting any either on your
clothes or in your eyes at all costs! Also tends to bleach the colour out of the plastic.

Dettol disinfectant - works brilliantly on acrylic, not sure about enamel; however, the items stripped tend to smell
strongly of disinfectant unless washed very thoroughly.

I have been using acetone to remove unwanted filler & it works a treat. At present it does appear to be harming the plastic. Does anyone else use acetone either as a paint stripper or to remove filler and if so what effect has it had on the kit???

Doesn't acetone melt polystyrene?

Best try it on something unwanted first!!

David

Acetone disolves acrylic paint in seconds, I've used it on small plastic and brass parts with great success, have yet to need to strip a large area (knock on wood) but I should think it would work very well. It's the same stuff they put in fingernail polish remover and you can get quarts at most hardware stores here in the states.

Bob -

I have used this stuff and it is great.

Try going to a model railroad shop. They usually carry a wide range of Floquil and Polly Scale products. At least they do in Canada.

HTH

- Grant

Dear Bob,

Try Mr Muscle spray-on oven cleaner.

Spray it all over the model in a plastic bag or sealable container. Leave it overnight and then scrub off the paint under running water using an old toothbrush.

Wear gloves (highly alkaline) and don't use the toothbrush for its intended purpose afterwards!!!!!

Also don't use it if you've got photoetch attached with CA glue as it will all come off.

Regards,

David Griffith

This a question for all you chaps in the good old UK, where can i get my hands on a good quality plastic paint stripper. M Ashey uses Floquil polly s decal & paint remover but they will not post from the USA and i have seached the net and can not find a shop in the UK who sells it, does anybody know a shop who sells it in the UK???

I have used silver paint to highlight seams and now need to completly remove it prior to painting. Can anybody pass on any advice or the names of shops where i can buy such a product which will not harm the plastic.

I have just returned to ship modelling and need all the help i can get!!!!