Paint stripping

[Brassman]

Can you advise on the best way to strip paint from an old Airfix panzer 4 tank 132 scale, l just want to return it to it's original condition , ie unpainted , without damaging the plastic surface. Many thanks Eddy.

[Ratch]

Mr Muscle oven cleaner works well.

[Brassman]

Thanks for your reply Ratch , how long would you suggest leaving it on .Eddy

[Ratch]

Put the plastic in a polybag and spray on the oven cleaner and leave overnight. Use gloves to get the plastic out, and a toothbrush (or similar) to clean any sludge off.

[Brassman]

Thanks Ratch , l am looking forward to putting your advice in practice. Eddy.

[Darrin Bransgrove]

There are several bespoke hobby paint removers.

The one I use, and have very good results, is Revell Paint Remover (it does what it says on the bottle, lol). The only disadvantage is that it is relatively more expensive around £6 for a bottle, and you might need 2 to cover a 1/32 tank (although you don't really need to completely cover it). It has the advantage of being much quicker (paint starts to come off after a few minutes) and less toxic than oven cleaner (that is also non-reusable). My general mode of use is to place the kit in an old plastic food container (like a takeaway box), poor the solution over and gently scrub with a toothbrush or old paint brush for delicate areas to remove the paint. Works really well. Reuse it but filtering off removed paint with an old tea strainer and returning it to the bottle.

[Kenneth ONeill]

Does the Revell product actually work on natural enamels (eg Humbrol, Testors) or only on Revell's own artificial enamel?

[Frederick Kullas]

Does the Revell product actually work on natural enamels (eg Humbrol, Testors) or only on Revell's own artificial enamel?

 

 

I've found it does work on Humbrol enamels and acrylics

I have no experience of Testors paints so I cannot comment about its effectiveness on Testors paints

Another useful paint remover is B&Q Diall Paint and Varnish remover. But use this as only a last resort as it turns the paint to a slush which is then itself hard to clean off.

I had some 2nd-hand 54mm figure parts which needed the paint removed.

MrMuscle, caustic soda solution and Revell paint remover never touched the old paint. I used the B&Q and then used MrMuscle a few times to remove the mess the B&Q had made

[Darrin Bransgrove]

Does the Revell product actually work on natural enamels (eg Humbrol, Testors) or only on Revell's own artificial enamel?

 

 

I have found no problems using it on enamels..

[Kenneth ONeill]

Cheers guys.

[Harald-1226232]

Revell Paint Remover is as well available in a big can (metal) as "Revell Airbrush Clean" for more reasonable price, 500ml around 12€. I used it to remove color from an old 1:600 Airfix Channel Ferry Boat (green one). It might even been Humbrol, but I don't know. It worked quite fine, as it works with airbrush guns.

If flooded some hygienic paper, covered the surface with the sheet and put it over night into a freeze-bag (closed). There's not so much cleaner required. But You may do this with a scrap part for testing first. The white plastic looked quite well, but very slightly went to yellow.