Stripping paint from lexan: 15 products FAIL!

[RAGINGDEMON500]

TRY TESTORS '' ELO''

[UltimateRCnetwork]

@RAGINGDEMON500 I did in response to another viewer's suggestion. Unfortunately it had no effect on the paint after several days of soaking :(

[deIeteThisComment]

Hey.. great video.

Im searching for a product to remove the paint from the front of a trading card. Leaving the holo foil surface behind to apply your own art to the card. Ive bought 2 different brands of acetone that other people have recommended and they both sucked. Any suggestions for a acetone brand or different product that may work please? thanks a lot

[MidGAOutdoor]

cant believe u put MEK on lexan. this stuff eats PVC Pipe man.

[vmelkon]

From where can you buy methyl ethyl ketone in Canada?

[lal5555f]

ight so i have a van its not an rc car but it has really crappy paint an i want it off do you think the acetone or laqur thinner will take that off?

[AustinHRobb]

Use Carburetor and Jet Cleaner....It works..... I know this first hand.

[UltimateRCnetwork]

@AustinHRobb I tried that twice at others' recommendations as well. Works very fast but then badly clouds and begins to powder & crack the Lexan. Possibly varies by exact brand & formulation.

[mutantatoms]

I would love to see these products tried on autobody work....

[1971SuperLead]

Try Skydrol 500. It's the hydraulic fluid used in commercial jets to operate the landing gear and flight control actuators. The paint will bubble right off if you let it sit over night and skydrol is safe for many plastics.

[NeoNotCFX]

There are several factors that you need to consider before you try to stip paint, but there are two main factors.

1) What type of paint you are looking to remove.

2) What type of material the body is made from.

Acrylic based paints can be stripped with Isoproply Alcohol 92%, very easily.

Enamel and laquers can be stripped with Alcohol too but take much much longer and if they where applied with thick coats DOT3 is your only option as they chemically bond to the Lexan of PET/PEG body.

[NITROrcCARS1]

will gasoline work



[23theprodigy]

do you know if the Acetone would take of paint from metal surfaces??

[UltimateRCnetwork]

@23theprodigy It does!

[Evandiego]

Have you tried Polly S Easy Lift Off? I read on the net that it takes paint off effectively and leaves the lexan body untouched. Can you try this out and post on YouTube?

[UltimateRCnetwork]

@Evandiego I have been looking for it, but haven't found it in my area. The problem with too many quick videos I see about this subject is that they either "demonstrate" on paint that was never made to be used on Lexan to begin with, or they don't finish the job on camera, leaving me to wonder if the product actually worked, or if it left the paint embedded in corners & seams, or if the Lexan itself was distorted & left unusable. I'll keep looking, but for now, DOT-4 is my product of choice!

[batemanjo9]

You should of tried out some B-12. I use that to remove all kinds of things.

[trx1961]

what about taking paint off THE OUTSIDE of a body??

[UltimateRCnetwork]

@trx1961 What type of paint on what type of body? If it's a Lexan body with proper polycarbonate-specific paint, see my newer "removing paint the EASY way" video. If it's not polycarbonate-specific paint, or if it's paint on a hard ABS plastic body, then DOT3 brake fluid will work well, as should DOT4 and actually a number of cleaners & stripping products. Only lexan painted correctly with the correct type of paint is difficult to strip.

[romeo032982]

Hey buddy my name is Romeo I have been looking for a solution to take paint off a Rc body but u only did lexan I also build rock crawlers and scale trucks so I was wondering if any off that stuff would remove paint safely off of tamiya hard plastic bodies plz let me know if u have tried it email me at romeo32982@gmail.com tanks

[UltimateRCnetwork]

@romeo032982 People generally use DOT3 brake fluid for hard bodies and it works much better there than it does on Lexan.

[UltimateRCnetwork]

ATTENTION ALL!!

A successful, easy, no-hassle method has been found! Click the link in the video (turn annotations on) or just borwse to it in the RC How-To playlist on my channel.

[BJHracing85]

hey try grace lighting or if u can found LA totally awesome u can found it a the dollar store its just like grace lighting but grace lighting is water down and awesome is not i dont know if its going to work but it works to take paint off a car but if it does that i would put it on a rag and wip it on not sock it its only a dollar

[2stroke4Me]

Nitro fuel? Isn't it cheaper to just buy a new bodyshell?

Very useful info! Keep it up!!

[supergreg010]

@UltimateRCnetwork Hmm then it depends on the colour of the paint ;)

[dxd7122]

@UltimateRCnetwork My can of Polly S Easy-Lift-Off #552144, I bought years ago at a local hobby shop here in SF,Ca. I vaguely remimber the clerk say "it's discontinued, but good stuff". Your item no.#552143, I did not find online, but #542143 is an 8oz. can that bears the Testors name. It looks and reads the same as my 16oz. can. Testors may have bought out "Floquil" who made Polly S Easy-Lift-Off. Contact the Testors Co.

Hope that helps

[brainanator]

Thanks for the all the work Jang. Maybe you just paint your Lexan WAY better than everyone else, so yours is hard to get off.

[dxd7122]

Brake fluid is good for hard body Tamiya molds, but it has to be submerged in brake fluid to be affective in removing paints. For lexan, use Polly S Easy-Lift-Off item no.#552144. Blot it on with a terrycloth rag a section at a time, let it set for a couple of minutes, and wipe off... it's real easy, will not harm the lexan, try it!

Let me know if you like it.

[RCNEWStv]

great vid, informative

[endlessiphone239]

easy off work for me

[fathead431]

@UltimateRCnetwork i guarantee dot4 will work better if you use the soaking method. jsut make sure to suck out the air, as dot3/4 brake fluid absorbs water, and the water will dilute the solvent. shake the bag with the lexan body occasionally. then when youve let it soak (preferably overnight) simply go over the paint with the rough side of a sponge. i guarantee this will work way way better than your method of paper towels.

[fathead431]

@UltimateRCnetwork

dot3 and dot4 and dot5.1 are glycol based, and so will react strongly with lexan paint. dot4/3 contain polyethylene glycols, which are solvents for lexan paint. dot5 doesnt contain them at all. dot4 has more solvent. leave the painted strip to soak in a bag of fluid with the air sucked out.

[fathead431]

@UltimateRCnetwork ive never used dot5, i have a two litre bottle of dot4 in my workshop, which cost me around $40. it has saved me alot of money.

try the dot4, and im sure it will work alot better. theres a certain ratio to the different "dots"

true fact: i believe that dot5 works for tamiya ABS paint, as its silicone based.

(see next comment)

[esurfer26]

Excellent review!

[95666]

wow Jang, u tried alot of stuff! and none was good! only one u didnt try was dot 4, looks like uve put enough effort into it though, guess if i wanna know ill have to try it for myself! very helpful and informative video, thanks!

[SmallDragon76]

Nico Job too bust all the myths out there. Expected to see some of the results.

Hope you find at least some use for all the usless products ;-)

[supergreg010]

ok, I was close with my recommendation of nitro fuel. I think it strongly depends on which paint we are talking about. On tamiyaclubDOTcom forums nitro fuel is the way to go (I used it myself successfully), but maybe it just works well on old paint on vintage models. what paint (brand) exactly did you use?