Removing old paint

[SCIGS30]

I have an old nose one from the Estes Odessy, it is long with grooves. It looks to have been painted with testors enamel by hand, so it is on thick. Is there anything that I can soak it in to remove the paint without damaging the plastic? Thanks

 

[mwiggins367]

I have an old nose one from the Estes Odessy, it is long with grooves. It looks to have been painted with testors enamel by hand, so it is on thick. Is there anything that I can soak it in to remove the paint without damaging the plastic? Thanks

Unlikely...
Most anything that will remove the paint, will also damage the plastic.


Your best bet is to sand, sand, sand, prime and repaint.

 

[rosko_racer]

Fill a containter with Windex and completely submerge the NC in it, seal the container and wait about a week. The paint will some off fairly easy. Scrub off the rest with a toothbrush or with one of those sponges to clean Teflon-coated pots. I have done this with plastic models and it works fine.

 

[mwiggins367]

Fill a containter with Windex and completely submerge the NC in it, seal the container and wait about a week. The paint will some off fairly easy. Scrub off the rest with a toothbrush or with one of those sponges to clean Teflon-coated pots. I have done this with plastic models and it works fine.

I stand corrected!

I would ot have thought of something like that.

 

[Bruce013]

Soak in Denatured Alcohol as above. Removes the paint & glue, and does not harm plastic. I use it on all K50 Interceptor parts when restoring them. Nose cones too.

Cheers, Bruce

 

[Micromeister]

Rosko has offered the best answer:
Windex does a great job softening paints on just about all plastics. I've used this method often over the years on all kinds of plastic model materials. Works a bit slower in tight corners but for styrene nose cones it should do the trick.
Hope this helps.

 

[Quasar]

A degreaser called "Super Clean", formerly "Castrol Super Clean", is talked about a lot for paint removal on the various plastic model forums. I tried it on some painted Estes Interceptor parts and it works great. I poured some in a small bucket and let the parts soak overnight. The next day, all the paint had dissolved off of the parts with no damage to the plastic. It comes in a purple bottle and can be found at auto parts stores.

 

[Daniel Runyon]

SCIGS... I came searching variations of "removing paint" and found this thread... I am trying to restore a 25 (or so) year old Odyssey nose that I was given!

What did you wind up doing? I'm digging the suggestion of the Castrol Super Clean. I tried nail polish remover tonight and it's just not going as well as I'd like.

 

[Bigander]

I would not use nail polish remover, it is normally acetone which trust me will eat right through plastics over time!

 

[SCIGS30]

I used Denatured Alcohol with a toothbrush and worked great. Since I posted this I purchased two un-assembled kits.