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Ok, i know i've seen it done but------How can I safely remove old paint from a cherry vintage
lid with a sorry paint job?

DON'T do this until you get confirmation from others, but I have successfully used nitro fuel to remove paint on 2 bodies now and they seem to be fine. I had tried oven cleaner per other posts, but it seemed to make the body very brittle and I was not satisfied with the results (not all the paint was completely removed). Good luck!

Is it a recent paint job?

Can't say I have used nitro to remove paint before but I do know that if you use oven cleaner that if it doesn't melt it down it will make it so brittle that it might as well have melted away.

I have a couple cans of this but have only used it to remove overspray so I can't say it will remove all the old paint since I haven't had time to try it yet but have one in the project lineup...hence the couple cans.http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/WTI0095P?FVSEARCH=body+blast
Works good on overspray...even unknown age overspray...
Todd

from what i remember from old posts, nitro fuel is the way to go. or maybe it was brake fluid?

i haven't personally tried either one.

I have seen some brake fluid posts too... but it was a matter of finding a specific kind according to those who had used it. I had nitro and oven cleaner available.... and the nitro garnered top honors!!

civilguy wrote:I have seen some brake fluid posts too... but it was a matter of finding a specific kind according to those who had used it. I had nitro and oven cleaner available.... and the nitro garnered top honors!!

not trying to be questionative of your post civilguy but was wondering...are the redone bodies runners or are they shelfies? Just curious about the after affects if there are any. I've heard of others using the brakefluid myself and have seen that they were using a specific kind but most were for shelfies so no telling if they became brittle without running them again...
Todd

klavy- no offense taken! I run all my stuff- some more lightly than others, but they all see the light of day!

I'm saying I have NOT used brake fluid, so I can't say either way.

I have tried oven cleaner and got a brittle body. Luckily it was my first attempt at removing paint so I did it on a rough runner body and it's still in use today (as a runner).

I used nitro on 2 bodies (one is an original 1985 RC10 body) and those are still relatively flexible-- for 23+ year old material!

Nitro fuel is the best I've found for lexan bodies. I use a paint brush dipped in it to gently scrub off the paint.

Brake fluid will cloud the plastic and oven cleaner will break it up into a zillion pieces.

shodog wrote:Nitro fuel is the best I've found for lexan bodies. I use a paint brush dipped in it to gently scrub off the paint.

Brake fluid will cloud the plastic and oven cleaner will break it up into a zillion pieces.

Ahh, that process was what i was hoping to hear, Nice N gentle--


Any special nitro %, or afterrun oil???? LOL

reg, I've used brake fluid before for both shelfers and runners, I just by chance figured out that it has to be a certain type of fluid while I was trying to remove the paint from the shell that was on the RPM conversion car I got from JK. so with that being said I think it has to be dot5 brake fluid because dot3 wasn't doing much. As for any ill effects of the brake fluid, there are none that I have found, the brake fluid is water soluble so it cleans up totally with soap and water and leaves no residue and the shell takes the paint as well as any when finished. Hope that helps.

ford.

Interesting that there are people that have had success with brake fluid. I am with Jim, don't use brake fluid. I ruined a YZ10 body with the stuff. I won't touch it with a ten foot pole.

I don't know if it is length of exposure, grade of brake fluid, or polycarbonate grade issue, but the 2 times I tried brake fluid I ended up with brittle , hazy, spider cracked, essentially useless shells.
I would avoid brake fluid.

That's the same thing that happened to me.

I used 3 dot brake fluid twice with perfect results but wouldn't use it again if your lid is in any way precious. both times were before i knew any better and the second time i left the shell soaking in there for 24 hours without any damage or compromise to the shell. most people have advised nitro fluid so I'm going to try that on an original protech when i get back off my holiday.

best result for me are:

brake fluid & easy off for getting paint off hard bodies, nitro fuel for lexan. i cant say i've stripped alot of lexan bodies, but i did manage to get paint off of a relatively fresh paint job with nitro fuel.

on all the methods it helps to get a relatively airtight container large enough to hold what you want to strip to keep the stuff from evaporating away.