Paint stripper safe for use on resin props?

ReelClones

ReelClones

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I've just picked up a cheap prop which is covered in really thick poorly applied paint which is obscuring the details. I'd like to strip it back and re-paint it but i'm worried that regular paint strippers might "melt" the resin. I dont really want to sand it off as I would risk losing the finer details of the prop. Anyone got any experience of removing old paint?
 
I only have experience with fiberglass resin...

I went to my local hardware store to find something useful to strip down the paintjob. The guy at the store said, that I NEVER should use thinner on fiberglass.

Well, I bought the mildest thinner I could find there (thinner for cleaning paint brushes) and I've tried. It worked.

Only thing I had to take care of:

Never let the prop 'soak' or sit in the thinner (I've put the prop into a box and dipped a paintbrush in the thinner from time to time and brushed the old paintjob off).

I removed the most heavy parts of the paintjob. Then I washed the prop with ordinary liquid soap u have in your kitchen. I washed it twice.

Then I dipped a cloth with a little bit of thinner and removed the last bits of paint. After that I washed it immediately again two times.

It worked for me.

Hope that helps but...as I said before that was with fiberglass and not with normal casting resin.
 
Thanks I suppose there's only one way to find out! I'll have to try it on an inconspicuous area first. :)
 
I've used acetone (with a bucket and brush) without damaging the resin. Puttied areas might need to be re-filled but using the acetone-brush technique allows you to control the stripping process. I've also used this on vinyl models. Get some rubber gloves and goggles. I don't think I've ever just placed a non-metallic part into any solvent and just walked away. That would scare the crap out of me. Anyway, my 2 cents.:)
 
I've used oven cleaner with reasonable success. Only, as mentioned, don't let it sit for too long or the resin will pit. I don't remember how long. I want to say 10 minutes or so. It might be best to check on it every 5 minutes and rinse it off as soon as the paint starts to break down.

If nothing else, break fluid. Seriously. Just keep a close eye on the piece.
A long soak in Simple Green has been known to work and will not have any affect on the resin.

... I am also trying to remember what the mysterious purple stuff was I saw someone else use.

Hope this was helpful.

JM
 
Castrol Superclean...

It's in the automotive section of Walmart...

super_clean_group.jpg


Soak the part in this stuff for a few hours or overnight and the paint should fall off pretty easy... Then it's a good idea to soak the part in fresh clean water afterwords to make sure all the stuff is gone... You might notice some slight softening of the surface resins, so keep an eye on how long you soak it, but from my experience the softening disappears after soaking it in the clean water and letting air out for a little bit returning it back to it's normal hardness...
 
Thanks for all the suggestions guys. I live in the UK so no Wal-Mart unfortunately. I had a look through my cupboards and found some Acetone which worked wonders! Thanks again :)
 
So, any of these techniques will work on either fiberglass or resin pieces? So long as you don't soak them in it, correct?

I need to remove some paint from some pieces of fiberglass and resin and really don't want to destroy the prop.
 
steveo said:
So, any of these techniques will work on either fiberglass or resin pieces? So long as you don't soak them in it, correct?
Click to expand...

Well I wouldn't soak in acetone, at least for no extended periods of time...

As for the Castrol stuff I suggested overnight is fine, it 'might' soften up the surface of the resin slightly but soaking it in fresh water afterwards fixes that problem...

As for others I don't have any experience on the long term effects, I would suggest with any of the them though you best bet is to simply monitor the progress every 15 minutes or half hour...
 
Yeah, I was wondering if maybe I just shouldn't paint over the paint that's already there so as not to destroy the actual piece. But I might give some of these tips a try. I know Acetone is pretty toxic, so I think I'll stay away from that stuff. Might try picking up some brake fluid or bleche white from WallyMart.
 
Acetone isn't that toxic. I mean, most women use it all the time to remove nail polish. Just don't stand over the contain taking deep breaths for extended periods of time and you should be fine.
 
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