Stripping, Detailing, & Repainting Project - GP38-2 (Updated 4/18/17)

Please do NOT use 3M blue painters tape on top of Tamiya Rattle cans lacquer paint. I too thought that would be a safe combination, but when masking/painting a hull water line stripe on a plastic ship model the glue on the 3M tape reacted with dried Tamiya lacquer on the hull and I had a real mess on my hands.  

HTH 

Jon

Scotch Magic tape and Tamiya is a disaster too........make that mistake one time!!!

I use tamiya paints exclusively and blue painters tape and Tamiya tape. I have never had a problem or even heard of it. You DO need to let Tamiya paints dry 24 hours before you do anything else. If you are having issues with taping on new paint you likely did not let it cure long enough.

Rob

And so it begins!  Dropped all of the plastic in 91% alcohol about an hour ago.  I'll pull it out and scrub with a toothbrush here in another hour. Fingers crossed.

Also, I will have to get all new replacement windows, they did NOT come out very nicely.

Earlier in the thread someone said the alcohol does not take the paint off of the metal, what should I use for that?

*Update*

This isnt working so well.  It seems like the paint is pretty thick.  Its been completely submerged in the alcohol since 1:30pm and I've tried scrubbing with a toothbrush twice.  No luck.  There are some bare spots (very few) so I have to continue with the strip.  

I hope someone with experience with stripping shells will chime in here.  Will continuing to soak in the alcohol be okay?  Any advice?  Should I just pull it out and try the Scalecoat Wash Away?

Thank you,

Mike

This product is expensive, but it absolutely works.

OK, so light scrubbing might be in order, but: light is the operative word here as you don't want to destroy any of the details. I'd begin with a 3M green ScotchBrite pad (or sponge with a green ScotchBrite pad attached) wetted (either in the alcohol or just warm water). If that doesn't yield results then it's time for the wet/dry sandpaper (use it wet) starting with 3000 grit, then 2400 grit, then 1200 grit, before using anything as coarse as 600 grit. The idea is to use as fine an abrasive as possible that will remove the paint while preserving the details. This could be a long tedious process - have patience!

If all of these fail, then i would try soaking in brake fluid. But, first try a small piece in the brake fluid to make sure it doesn't harm the plastic. I have never had a problem with brake fluid (Castrol GTLMA is the only brand i've ever used), but others have claimed brake fluid can harm plastic.

After any contact with any of the above mentioned fluids, it is important you wash everything in warm water and dish detergent, rinse thoroughly and dry before priming.

Take your time.

jackson

Thank you Pingman, are you sure it wont harm the plastic?

Dave,

Yeah, I'm afraid of the sanding process (loosing details.)  The one part of it is like a gray plastic (all of the walking areas with the diamond plate) and that came real clean.  The shell and everything else is a black plastic, thats where the layers of paint are.  The LV in white on the front and back peeled right off, nothing else is.  About that ventilation suggestion... I think I skipped that part, was breathing that stuff for a couple hours.  I will throw the metal in tonight.  Thanks!

Jackson,

I picked up CcotchBrite pads last night.  That is working, but its still a pain in the... That shouldn't scratch the shell I dont think, do you? Two years ago I repainted a frame but had to clean it up first.  I used brake fluid and unfortunately I didnt know any better and left the plastic fuel tank on.  It turned it gray and made it extremely soft, to the point where a bump of a finger nail would peel plastic off. 

Mike, the Permatex product works great on metal.  For plastic, I used this to strip 4 plastic LIONEL F3 shells about a month ago per recommendation of gunrunnerjohn--it worked great:

Before I took a hiatus from the hobby, I used tri-sodium phosphate dissolved in warm water in a 10 gallon bucket and it worked very well, also. 

Pingman,

I stopped at Home Depot on my way home from work and had the Easy-Off in my hand, but walked through the paint isle and found this:

Even though this one says it can be used on plastic, both this and the Easy-Off kind of scare me.  I definitely do not want to ruin the plastic.

Has anyone ever tried this stuff I bought?

Mike, send gunrunnerjohn an email, it's in his profile, and ask him about the Easy Off--he used it and recommended it to me. 

I have used the Easy off for years, works well. Easy lift off does not work. 91% alcohol will work but can be slow, days maybe depending on paint. DO NOT use commercial strippers on plastics, it will EAT them!

Rob

So Pingman and Rob, we are 100% sure that the Easy-Off will not ruin the plastic?  I'll go that route if so.  

I did use the Lift Off on the inside of the cab along with a soft toothpick to agitate the paint.  I didnt let it sit for longer than 5 seconds, agitated, scrubbed, and immediately washed it off once the paint was gone.  It didn't seem to mess with the plastic at all, but I dont want to take a chance.

The alcohol is not making even the smallest dent.  It took the clear coat off immediately, but isnt even touching the paint.

The oven cleaner should not bother plastic. I did some williams F3 shells and alcohol would not remove their paint at all. Just wash the oven cleaner off really good after the paint is off. The shell Will smell like the easy off after though.

Rob

Thanks guys, the Easy Off took off the paint really well.  I had to go over 2 or three times to get it where it is, but it worked.  If you look closely, you can see there are some places (around rivets and in some grooves) that still need another scrub.

Now the next thing…thanks to a fellow forum member, I received two plastic Weaver GP38-2 frames with the steps already attached.  I have the metal frame that came with mine.  What I need to know, or get some suggestions on, are:

1 – Which set of trucks should I use (obviously that will partially determine which frame I use)?

          a. The silver trucks have a copper contact that scrapes against the inside of each wheel

          b. the black trucks seem to be more heavy duty, include traction tires (wont need), but will need some work

2 – One end of each of the plastic frames has issues.  Should I cut one off, glue it to the other  and use the plastic frame instead of the metal?

3 – Or Should I cut off the two good ends of the plastic frames and somehow attach them to the plastic walkway I already have?  The walkway plastic I have is seen in the thumbnail picture before the paint was stripped)

Hopefully you guys can give me some pointers.

Thanks,
Mike

Can't help with any pointers, but I'm glad the Easy-Off worked well for you.

Yeah, I should've listened when you told me in the first place