Stripping a plastic car

[Sixx]

I mixed my dupont clear too thick and it left bubbles that burst and left divets in the final coat that'll teach me for messin' with my formula

I'm soakin' it in purple power, it took the clear off, I scrubbed the s*** outta it, dried it off, sanded it again.

I'm down the the primer on some parts but there's still a bunch of paint still on.

I read in scale auto about simple green working but my head is sayin' "grab the nail polish remover and try that" hmmmmm Acetone??????

I checked the threads and not impressed with the results. I'm gonna try Zoom zoom advice in another thread about checkin it out with a plastic spoon first........and new clues with help me out. My ol lady is tired of hearin' me cuz the s*** aint comin' off.

[freakray]

As for stripping the paint, 91% Isopropyl Alcohol is common solution as is the Simple Green you mentioned yourself.

Acetone nail polish remover will damage the plastic.

[Sixx]

I went and got some simple green! I'm gonna try it out! i appreciate the help, im gonna need it.

[Didymus]

I tried using CSC, the real purple power, to remove Dupont urethane from a resin body. It had no effect whatsoever.

But some say that DOT brake fluid is the surefire stripper for just about everything. So I tried soaking the body in that. It soaked and soaked, and finally, after more than a MONTH, most of the Dupont had softened and the rest seemed to be removable. Only problem, the BF had also softened the resin in places. R.I.P.

Also: If you make a mistake with urethane, you can't just paint a section of the car. It doesn't "melt in" like lacquer, so you have to repaint the whole body. (The good news is that urethane base provides excellent coverage even if you put it on very thin. So an extra coat won't usually hurt.)

As to alcohol removing Dupont urethane, well, let us know how that works out for you! That would be very bad news for the car makers, automotive paint manufacturers and the clumsy drinkers of the world.

I've been back to lacquer for some time now, especially for clear coat. Not only is lacquer repairable, it's safer to use and it looks a lot more realistic.

Diddy

[freakray]

Originally Posted by Didymus

As to alcohol removing Dupont urethane, well, let us know how that works out for you! That would be very bad news for the car makers, automotive paint manufacturers and clumsy drinkers of the world.

What's the alcohol content of the average drink and what's the alcohol content of the Isopropyl alcohol we often recommend to strip paint?

Small amounts of highly diluted alcohol obviously don't damage paint, the alcohol is in too low a volume to have any impact before it evaporates - it's all about the concentration.

[Sixx]

I needed alot of alcohol to get this damn thing stripped Didy!!!! i'm so impatient, i went ahead and used nail polish remover and alot of scrubbing and stripping ofthe paint. I washed the s*** outta it when I was done! After some careful sanding and priming, it is now in paint

I'll post some pics when I'm done getting it ready!!! it's in the dehydrator right now!

I should have taken pictures during the process, it's been pretty wild!
this is my first time stripping a car! What a Pain in the ass

[Didymus]

Originally Posted by freakray

Small amounts of highly diluted alcohol obviously don't damage paint, the alcohol is in too low a volume to have any impact before it evaporates - it's all about the concentration.

Of course you're right; a 100 proof drink is less than 1/2 as strong as isopropyl alcohol. I was using an extreme example to make a point; nonetheless, no 1:1 car would leave the factory with paint that could be removed by alcohol, even 99% pure isopropyl alcohol. Soak a painted part from your uncle's new Gallardo in alcohol and see what happens. I don't think there's much to worry about.

Traditional methods often don't apply to urethanes, an entirely new and different breed of paint.

A strong alcohol solution will probably remove waterborne acrylic paint fairly quickly, especially if it isn't fully cured. (Water and alcohol do mix!) And it might eventually loosen recently applied enamels. I prefer CSC in both cases, but other methods work too. For example, brake fluid does the job on enamels. I just don't like using the stuff.

But alcohol definitely won't touch "new technology" automotive paints like the Dupont urethane Sixx is trying to remove.

Diddy

[Sixx]

Well, the nail polish remover worked pretty well for stripping, but it has to be washed off right away. The orginal paint was an Italian red and it took several hours of sanding and prepping for new paint. I'm lovin' my dehydrator for speeding up the process. I also use it to dry my cars off in those tight spots that aren't always visible.

[Didymus]

Well, you're pretty brave using acetone on such a beautiful car. I'm glad it turned out so nice, and now we know that what removes urethane. That's valuable information for those who use it.

Is that really urethane clear coat? Did you reduce it? If so, what did you use? It looks too realistic!

Oh, and about that dehydrator: We live in one. It's called "Southern California."

Diddy