Stripping alcohol

KTem · #1 08-13-2006, 10:21 AM

Hey,

I'm doing a Koenig 600SL right now, but I messed the body paint up so I wanted to strip it. I got myself some 98% alcohol, which comes in quite small bottles, which are expensive as hell. The amount of alcohol wasn't enough to submerge the body in, so I figured I could mix it with Spiritus (75% alcohol) to make the amount of alcohol big enough to cover the entire bodywork. So I did just that, poured the alcohol in a plastic container and put the body in.

Aproximately three decades... cough, three weeks later, the only result is that I can scratch the paintwork off with my fingernail. The paint has become rougher and more translucent, but it can't be smeared off. Sooo, my question is, am I being impatient or is this not going to work anyway?

Thanks in advance.

freakray · #2 08-13-2006, 10:46 AM

You need 91% Isopropyl Alcohol.

KTem · #3 08-13-2006, 10:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by freakray

You need 91% Isopropyl Alcohol.

Yeah, that's what I bought, but it's quite expensive and it wasn't enough to cover the entire bodyshell. Do you think 75% can do the job as well?

AMV · #4 08-13-2006, 10:54 AM

Just use Dot 3 brake fluid its cheap and enough to cover the body. Takes paint right off in seconds used it when i screwed my paint job on the doors of the Enzo. It wont harm the plastic, but i wouldn't recomend leaving it over night. Hope this helps.

freakray · #5 08-13-2006, 11:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KTem

Yeah, that's what I bought, but it's quite expensive and it wasn't enough to cover the entire bodyshell. Do you think 75% can do the job as well?

75% isn't sufficiently strong to remove the paint well.

If the paint is lacquer, you may need to leave the part a few days to allow the alcohol to work. Also try using an old toothbrush to give a little mechanical assistance.

As for brake fluid, it works well except it will effect the plastic in the sense that it weakens it.

MPWR · #6 08-13-2006, 11:13 AM

Like Freakray sed, give it a good scrubbing with a toothbrush and some dishsoap. If it doesn't come clean, soak it some more. It sounds like your alcohol percentage is too low to get an optimal effect, but it doesn't mean that the paint won't come clean with some scrubbing.

klutz_100 · #7 08-13-2006, 12:16 PM

What kind of paint are you trying to strip? I don't think you actually saud in your post.

Try electronic stores for your alcohol - I bought 1litre for the equivalent of approx. 5USD here in Poland from an on-line store and the alcohol was packaged in German so it was probably imported!!

The alcohol stripped some TS (fresh) in less time that it took me to say "supercalifragilisticexpialidocious"

HTH

urjustamemory · #8 08-15-2006, 03:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AMV

Just use Dot 3 brake fluid its cheap and enough to cover the body. Takes paint right off in seconds used it when i screwed my paint job on the doors of the Enzo. It wont harm the plastic, but i wouldn't recomend leaving it over night. Hope this helps.

I had a model in a brake fluid bath for 2 weeks, and the paint is still on it. Wouldn't even scrub off with a brush. 2 weeks didn't even harm the plastic in anyway.

SteveK2003 · #9 08-15-2006, 08:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KTem

Yeah, that's what I bought, but it's quite expensive and it wasn't enough to cover the entire bodyshell. Do you think 75% can do the job as well?

How much does it cost there in the Nether Regions? It's about a dollar for a pint or so here.

KTem · #10 08-16-2006, 03:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SteveK2003

How much does it cost there in the Nether Regions? It's about a dollar for a pint or so here.

I don't exactly remember, I think 0.5 liter is about 8 euros, thanks to the taxes that are put on it. Same goes for Tamiya paint, by the way.

Klutz: good idea, since this Spiritus isn't going to work. The paint is too hard to scrub it off with a toothbrush.

I went to search an online store, but Dutch online stores seem to ask the same bloody amount of money for a bit of alcohol as regular stores do

. Sooo, I tried an US-based store, but the ones I found don't ship outside the USA! Any ideas?

ZoomZoomMX-5 · #11 08-16-2006, 03:52 PM

That's some expensive alcohol; at Wal Mart here you can get a pint of 91%for about 80 cents. A friend ordered several gallons of 99% isopropyl from the pharmacy at a Publix grocery store, it was about $10-$12 per gallon. 8 euros for a pint is rather taxing

aton304 · #12 08-16-2006, 04:38 PM

find something called chameleon. it is a paint stripper that i found at the hobby store. it will eat the paint in about 10 min and won't hurt the model at all. i just stripped a civic that i painted about 2 years ago. put it in the solution, and took a toothbrush to it and in about an hour -- no more paint. then you strain the stuff in some cheese cloth and put it back in the bottle for the next time. the stuff works great. it costs about 20 bucks for 16 oz.

SteveK2003 · #13 08-16-2006, 06:10 PM

Wow, that is expensive. You were looking in drug/grocery stores?

Svendsen · #14 08-16-2006, 07:40 PM

I had to do the same now, but i used Break Fuide, DOT4. The paint has been on for a while and it have been painted twice so it was a thick layer. I also added some thinner, just to try it out.

I looks like it took it, gone check it closer tomorrow.

cyberkid · #15 08-17-2006, 08:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Svendsen

I had to do the same now, but i used Break Fuide, DOT4. The paint has been on for a while and it have been painted twice so it was a thick layer. I also added some thinner, just to try it out.

Hrm... thinner and brake fluid at the same time?
You should be careful when doing combo's like this.
Not sure if the two will mix tho.
Give some results 'cause I'm curious about your mix

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