Halcyon Nostromo

I remember the large garage kit you are talking about. That was by username 'Mark Sheppard' on Propsummit....I think the kit is long gone. He's moved his interests onto other things and hasn't been active on the site for a good few years now.
 
lucavigg said:
Hi Sithman66

It's worse than I thought. The black paint used for the engine inlets looks like some kind of lacquer that just smears when I try to use thinner on it. Also, there isn't a single surface made from the soft vinyl that isn't concave or convex, bowed, misshapen or with really bad seams. It's a shame cos it could've been a really good model. Most of the parts are glued with super glue that is so brittle that it just comes away, so I can take most of the thing apart. So now I'm thinking to take it all apart and try and correct some of the mis-shaped surfaces.

I'd heard of Easy Off before but I don't think it's available in the UK. I'll have a look for an equivalent. I wonder if any small model companies are doing low volume alternatives to this model, made from a decent material?

Luca
Click to expand...
Someone recently told me they used Badger airbrush cleaner . I've was recommended this to clean lacquer out of my airbrush , they mentioned that someone they knew stripped a model of paint.......worth testing . It's an aerosol.
 
I may try some, although I'm concerned that the Acetone content would be high and possibly eat through the vinyl.
 
Badger airbrush cleaner is pretty pokey stuff - and stinks. But probably won't attack the vinyl in the short term.

What you really need is "old style" Fairy Power Spray before they changed the formula. That stuff was brilliant. Was thick and would cling, would remove any paint in a couple of hours, would not attack any plastic, and was water wash-offable, leaving surfaces ultra degreased. The new stuff is as useless as washing up liquid :-(

A couple of other things I've tried - BioStrip 2000 - strips well but can end up with a gunky sticky mess that doesn't wash off well. Will dissolve styrene and soften resin if left overnight. Do not believe what they say on the web site about being safe on plastic (or "low odour"!) - Simple Green (got some through amazon uk) - will strip without damaging plastic, but takes a few days soaking. Does water clean up though.
 
I think simple green is the same as the Dettol I've tried, although probably a lot less pungent and a lot more expensive. I'm going to leave it on for a few days rather than just one to see if the lacquer starts shifting.
 
The Australian equivelant is Mr Muscle oven cleaner, but be careful,and use outdoors with gloves as the stuff is highly caustic!
 
I've used De-Solv-It graffiti remover on styrene. That isn't too toxic and worked well. I'm not sure how it works on vinyl. It does soften details a bit if you leave it on too long on styrene.
 
A few years ago I was having a hell of a time trying to get hardened auto paint (2-part) off a bumper. I tried all the usual chemicals... thinner, acetone, paint removers... even some real nasty (now illegal due to environmental regs) stuff that was dangerous to even get on your skin, but nothing helped.

I then soaked the bumper in a tub of warm water mixed with a high concentration of CITRIC ACID (get it powdered/crystallized in the "herbs and spices" section at the super market) and while the paint didn't completely dissolve, its bond to the bumper was lost completely so that I could just pull and brush it off. Note: citric acid dries out the skin and will burn if you have cuts, so use rubber gloves. Might be worth trying.
 
JOATRASH FX said:
A few years ago I was having a hell of a time trying to get hardened auto paint (2-part) off a bumper. I tried all the usual chemicals... thinner, acetone, paint removers... even some real nasty (now illegal due to environmental regs) stuff that was dangerous to even get on your skin, but nothing helped.

I then soaked the bumper in a tub of warm water mixed with a high concentration of CITRIC ACID (get it powdered/crystallized in the "herbs and spices" section at the super market) and while the paint didn't completely dissolve, its bond to the bumper was lost completely so that I could just pull and brush it off. Note: citric acid dries out the skin and will burn if you have cuts, so use rubber gloves. Might be worth trying.
Click to expand...

I think that's what's in the De-Solv-It stuff. Must give the home brew a try next time I need to strip something.

Oh yeah, a cheap electric toothbrush really helps the job along, too!
 
Try soaking the parts overnight in vinegar.
I don't know for sure if this will work with paint on plastic, but it took the anti-glare and anti-scratch coatings off my eye-glasses without harming them at all.
 
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