What to use to strip acrylic paint?

[CANicoll]

I would think that the wax covering his car would protect the finish. However I would recommend that he take his car to a good car wash immediately because some may have ended up in corners where it may do damage before evaporating. Also the odor would be a bit disconcerting.  

Could it be possible that the leak(?) was deliberate, knowing how red-blooded Red White and True Blue Patriotic Texans feel about them foreign cars. 

 

My favorite Texas bumper sticker said this:  'HOWDY!  Welcome to Texas.  Now leave."

[CANicoll]

Ok, so here is what happens when you soak a part in Tamiya X-20A for 5-10 min, then rub with a cotton bud:

 

You can see two things immediately:  One - it didn't really do much damage to the decal and Two - it ate right through the primer too (you can see the white primer under the blue...).

 

 

Rubbing the decal didn't do too much, but the clear coat I had applied came right off immediately from over the decal.  When I then scraped with a #11 blade, the decal started coming up.  I scratched it randomly and then soaked again for 5 minutes.  This time used a toothbrush and everything came off a bit easier.  Finally used my fingernail on the stubborn bits.

 

 

I do think I've hit on a new way to 'weather' a finish too.  A LIGHT rub with the toothbrush, dipped in X-20 imparts a nicely worn finish.  Too much and of course it takes the finish OFF.  But I'll definitely be trying that out in the future...

 

Thanks for everyone's input and suggestions.  Nice having folks jump in and contribute - I do appreciate it (and looking forward to your tests Iain!).

 

Chris

[LSP_Kevin]

Chris, for your particular problem, I would have scrubbed the problem area with a series of cotton buds soaked in Mr. Color Thinner. It's aggressive enough to eat through most paints and decals, but not so much that it will harm the plastic.

 

Kev

[Guest Airfixer]

You can speed up the process and reduce the amount of solvent needed by carefully wet-sanding the respective parts/areas using 1800-/2400-/3500-grit Micro-mesh prior to applying solvent/thinner. In most cases, both paint and decals will come off in one go.

[Big Texan]

I would think that the wax covering his car would protect the finish. However I would recommend that he take his car to a good car wash immediately because some may have ended up in corners where it may do damage before evaporating. Also the odor would be a bit disconcerting.  

Could it be possible that the leak(?) was deliberate, knowing how red-blooded Red White and True Blue Patriotic Texans feel about them foreign cars. 

Well, it was a Texas Cow!

[ssculptor]

Has anyone tested these various chemicals on painted resin?

Oh how I miss the olden days when we painted dope onto sealed balsa models.

[wunwinglow]

Can you not get dope and balsa nowadays, then?

[Iain]

The other day I mentioned...

 

Great to hear Chris - I do normally rub the surface with the kitchen roll/cotton buds - it doesn't generally just dissolve if soaked in it.

 

Meanwhile, here at Muppet Labs, young Beaker has some Vallejo paint drying off in the airing cupboard - will leave a day, or so in the warm and attack with some IPA.

 

Recon it'll shift it no probs...

 

After a few days in a nice warm airing cupboard to dry, I can confirm that the Isopropyl Alchohol used neat will remove dried Vallejo beautifully.

 

Iain
 

[CANicoll]

Good stuff Iain, thanks!!  Will definitely keep that handy!

 

Chris