I Need Help! Cleaning paint off clear plastic.

I am working on the Merc CLK Amg DTM, it is coming along great. Today I was painting the windshield. I masked it as best as I could but some paint still bled through. Can someone please tell me how to remove paint from clear plastic, without melting/destroying the piece. Thanks for the help.

Strip the entire window as you would ordinary model styrene and repaint.I cant speak for CCastrol Super Clean or acetone basesd products but the other popular paint strippers wont harm the plastic.check the FAQ,s.

you need to tell what paint it is.. there are different methods for stripping/touching up different kinds of paints.

I used Tamiya semi gloss black spray. Thanks for the help so far.

I used Tamiya semi gloss black spray. Thanks for the help so far.

you can try stripping it with 91% isopropyl alcohol.. $.99 from your local drug store.

when you mask the window.. make sure the tape sticks all the way and there is no gap.

also.. when you spray.. spray a LIGHT MISTY coat first to seal the tape.. after that light coat has dries a little then continue spraying and finish up.

if the first coat is too wet paint would leak underneath the tape.

[QUOTE=pflau]

also.. when you spray.. spray a LIGHT MISTY coat first to seal the tape.. after that light coat has dries a little then continue spraying and finish up.

QUOTE]
Also, try a clear spray first as this will help seal the tape edges.

Thanks for the help. Since this is clear plastic will the alchohol leave any residue that can't be cleaned off or fog the glass? Thanks again for the help.

just tried some isopropyl on clear plastic at work and it hasnt fogged it. dont know how well it remove paint thou

hmm.... i made similar error.... althought i painted too much black.... what will remove acrylic paints (tamiya acrylic)...

would water? or water dispersant? or do i have to go buy a product?

hmm.... i made similar error.... althought i painted too much black.... what will remove acrylic paints (tamiya acrylic)...

would water? or water dispersant? or do i have to go buy a product?

try fantastik first.. if that does work 91% isopropyl alcohol would take it right off..

and the good thing about alcohol is that its totally non-toxic.

Alright, I was playing around with it today, because I want to get this fixed before I finish the model. I already have everything painted, just needs to be assembled. I found out that brake fluid works wonders! No fogging and with a little elbox grease comes right off. Now my question, the problem I am having is that I am using a rag with a little fluid on it and rubbing it off, but this is getting some of the surronding paint as well. I thought about masking, but figured that if paint bled through the brake fluid probably would too. So my most recent Idea is to take a small paint brush paint it on leave it sit, then wipe off with the rag. Are there any other suggestions as to how I may get this done and looking nice.

I really got to thank you guys for all the help. I don't have too many posts here, but I am looking at the board every day and your skill never ceases to amaze me. It has given me a lot of great ideas and I thank you for it. I plan to post pics as soon as I get it finished. For my third model I think that this is turning out great.

Thanks.

anyone have any suggestions?

why not just remove the extra paint without worrying about removing the surrounding paint and just remask and repaint?? you would never get a nice enough looking edge just by carefully removing the extra paint anyway..

Didn't have school this morning and that is what I figured out I would have to do. I will remask it after class. Thanks for the help.

If solvents don't work, you can resort to drastic measures with clear plastic... Sometimes I'll scrape away unwanted paint with the tip of my x-acto blade, then dip the whole piece in a jar of Future Floor Polish. It is an acrylic you can buy in any Wal-Mart or K-Mart or whatever, and it dries incredibly thin and glossy. It also takes out small sanding scratches or fogging (from my experience).

Thanks for the advice, might have to get some of that stuff. I ended up stripping it and repainting it looks a thousand times better. All I have to do now is put on the rear bumper, the windshield, and the decals. Thanks for all the help.

I've used one product many times to totally remove paint from any plastic with out any damage to the plastic. The product is most likely in your kitchen closet. Take some Mr. Muscle Oven Cleaner, in the green spray can, simply spray it on the plastic, let it sit there for ten minutes and then simply hose off the paint. You'll see the plastic as it was before you painted it, no matter how thick you applied the paint. I know it will remove enamel, and I think I remember using it on other paint types. You may find one or two small spots when your done, simply apply the Mr. Muscle to those small spots again. The paint will simply float and peel off. There's no other way to remove it from clear plasitc without damaging or dulling or clouding the part. Just to be sure try it on a small sample part of your plastic first.

I had a similar balls up recently. I found cheap tesco nail polish remover did the job with no fogging or destruction.

In terms of what i used - good old fashioned cotton bud.

Seemed to do the trick ok.

I have the same problem bud, but i used spray paint i got in da motor factors, im trying brake fluid right now,
i turned to windows upside down (so its like a bowl) then i poured the brake fluid in, and left it for 1 day so far & im gonna give it one more day, hope fully it will work....

will the paint just rub off with a cloth ya?? or will it even work coz it regular spray paint?

Guys,

For Tamiya acrylics and Future, there is a method that removes the paint without any damage to clear parts:
Dip the part in water with soap for washing machine. Leave there for a few minutes and the paint or future will start to dissolve.

Francisco

Guys,

For Tamiya acrylics and Future, there is a method that removes the paint without any damage to clear parts:
Dip the part in water with soap for washing machine. Leave there for a few minutes and the paint or future will start to dissolve.

Francisco

what bout regular spray paint?

I´m bringing this thread up with same problem, but I´m not really sure if solution works.
I´ve painted a full pair of tail lights in clear red (x27 enamel from Tamiya). Then I realized I just had to paint a little part of it. I want to clean that clear part and have to remove enamel x27.
Should I use Oven Cleaner? Or Brake Fluid? Should I rag over it or just dip and enjoy the magic happening by itself?
Thx

personally i'd recommend 99% isopropyl alcohol. even if the clear plastic is soaked for months, the clear plastic won't be harmed but the paint will come off.

brake fluid is ok, but soak it for a short time only, lest it eat into the plastic.

Personally I would never recommend brake fluid for anything. In my opinion it's total rubbish and makes the plastic brittle. For enamels use over cleaner. Seal the parts in an airtight container or a plastic bag with the oven cleaner and leave for a few hours. You can then scrub the softened paint off with an old toothbrush and some detergent under running water. You may need to soak it a second time if it all doesn't come off the first time.
For other paints use 99% Iso alcohol. It will strip Tamiya TS, Zero basecoats, Zero clears including 2K. Again soak the parts in it and scrub the softened paint off under running water.

Following your tips I dipped the clear tails in alcohol (pharma-use cause it´s similar and I dont have iso). It´s been there for 2 days, adding some alcohol twice a day. Fluid got a little red, but I had to rub parst with a toothbrush. Only 30% of the cleaning happened. Any other suggestion before jumping to oven cleaner? BTW, clear is starting to fog where I rubbed :/

Following your tips I dipped the clear tails in alcohol (pharma-use cause it´s similar and I dont have iso). It´s been there for 2 days, adding some alcohol twice a day. Fluid got a little red, but I had to rub parst with a toothbrush. Only 30% of the cleaning happened. Any other suggestion before jumping to oven cleaner? BTW, clear is starting to fog where I rubbed :/

Oven cleaner for enamels, only use the alcohol for Tamiya TS sprays or Zero basecoats etc.. If the plastic fogs slightly, simply polish it back with some fine rubbing compound and a cotton bud.

Hey Steve, I got myself a bottle of Mr Muscle oven cleaner/degreaser to try out with the clear tails. They were painted with Tamiya´s X27 enamel. I dipped the part for a week, toothbrushing it everyday. Not a single fade of the paint happened. I got it out of the oven cleaner, dipped in alcohol and it just cleaned a bit of it.
Finally, when I got fed up of waiting several weeks for the paint to come off, y took a paintbrush, some laquer thinner, and "painted with thinner" over the X27. It was just like using an eraser over pencil. No fogging, no drammas. It just got 90% perfect (well, there was just a little bit of fogging :P)
Then I kept some thinner handy to work together with the X27 again, and I finally learnt how to use this damn paint.

Just wanted to share my progress on this topic, and also mention that, even kinda weird, oven cleaner did not work. I still don´t know why...

lacquer thinner is ok for some period. just don't soak a part in it for a long time as it'll make the plastic brittle (happened to my 1/24 tamiya new man porsche 962 where cracks developed all over the body and the rear part of the tail broke off by the wheelwells under its own weight).

what percentage of isopropyl alcohol did you use?