Paint removal off of a plastic nose cone

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redleder

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My MDRM nose cone took a beating last trip out and I need to repair the paint. Instead sanding it all off does anyone have any suggestions for paint removers that won't melt the plastic nose cone?

Thanks,

Jarod


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I remember reading about plastic modelers using lighter fluid. Never tried it myself. But as nasty as it smells, I think I'd try the enviro-friendly strippers first.
 
if your repairing the paint, why not sand it with 320 or so and add another coat or 2? is it necessary for all the paint to come off?
 
if your repairing the paint, why not sand it with 320 or so and add another coat or 2? is it necessary for all the paint to come off?

The nose cone got drug about 100 yrds or more down asphalt. It got scratched, dinged and pitted all the way around plus the paint on the tip chipped off. I would have to sand off 3 coats of clear plus 3 coats of paint to get to the primer. I figure it would spend more time, sanding, priming and building the paint back up only to make it really thick and smooth again. If I can spray something on it and wrap it in Saran Wrap for a day and it eats 90% of the paint off, it would save me a lot of hassle and time.
 
It seems to. It's not as aggressive as the old methy ethyl bad stuff that bubbled paint immediately.

They have it at Lowe's. I will go by and grab a jug today and let you know how it turns out. I have seen this stuff before and I think it will do a good job.
 
The nose cone got drug about 100 yrds or more down asphalt. It got scratched, dinged and pitted all the way around plus the paint on the tip chipped off. I would have to sand off 3 coats of clear plus 3 coats of paint to get to the primer. I figure it would spend more time, sanding, priming and building the paint back up only to make it really thick and smooth again. If I can spray something on it and wrap it in Saran Wrap for a day and it eats 90% of the paint off, it would save me a lot of hassle and time.

I had a friend of mine who launch his G-FORCE at Lucerne Valley awhile back and it got drug about 300 yards or more. He was able to fix it, but having a 45" chute and then it opens up again yeah that's a problem. I switched out all my chutes to ones that deflate on landing. Basically chutes with spill holes (Fruity Chutes) or the military flare chutes seem to perform well. Never had an issue with them.
 
Man, that Citrus stuff is stronger than it looks. It did the job, but I think I left it on too long as it really did a number on the plastic nose cone. Fixable, but hopefully I will never have to do this again. Next time it gets dinged up that bad I might just have to leave it alone.
 
I'll try and take some pictures, but it started to melt it and made it soft and gummy.


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Welcome!
What you do with the Scalecoat Wash Away is pour it in a jar of suitable shape then soak object for a while - I haven't looked at directions for years but they did say something like soak for 15 to 20 minutes, and rinse off while scrubbing with old soft toothbrush. I usually hit it with brush before removing from jar or while removing, so the sludge gets captured in jar.
Liquid is reusable and will last some time.
Photo is of styrene body of old 1970s HO scale locomotive which was given to our club to see what we could do with it, if anything. Factory paint of Sylvan Green had been painted over with grey and red of what looked like paint by number oils practically troweled on. I let the thing soak for about an hour, twice, and am at this point.
Note that factory stamped lettering and trim remains, that's a common quirk; there's no telling what's going to take off just the lettering, just the paint, or both, or nothing - is frequent conversation about that on model train forums.

Oh, I don''t remember if anybody said in thread but high percentage isopropyl alcohol, aka rubbing alcohol, will sometimes work as a paint remover and I've not observed it to damage plastic models.

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After the stripped nose cone firmed backup overnight, I washed it with mineral spirits then sanded it with 100, 220 dry and then 220 wet. Next 2 coats of filler primer with a 320 wet sand buff in between and she is starting to look normal again. 1 more filler coat and sealer then I will let it sit for a week before gloss black pearl goes on.

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Thanks AfterBurners. Didn't take as long as I thought it was after seeing the stripped result last night. Helps that I have been painting kid furniture in the garage all day. It was easy to pause and spray the cone every 10-30 minutes depending on the phase of work. I am in love with Dupli Color paints at the moment. They spray so nice and do what they say they will do on the back of the can.
 
Dang, that looks fresh off the showroom floor. Cool. Ya gotta love the feel of success.
 
That's just the primer too. Now, let's hope I don't screw up the paint. [emoji44]


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