# Removing old model paint from a plastic slot car body???



## TX Street Racer

Good morning guys, I'm beginning to work on my next project car......a Tyco 80's Monte Carlo body that my dad got in a lot of slot bodies last week. Dad doesn't know that I've got this body and am working on it for him.......but I plan on stripping this old caked on model paint,doing a few things to the body (cowl hood, and etc.)priming, and painting it ASAP for him.

What's the best way and safest way to strip old model paint from these plastic slot car bodies??? I don't want to soften the plastic at all........so your advice and expertise is welcome here guys. THANKS, Brian :wave:


----------



## vaBcHRog

I use to remove the glass put the car in a plastic zip lock baggy and spray with oven cleaner check in 1 - 2 hours take and lold tooth brush and remove the paint. This always worked good wityh TYCO's

Roger Corrie


----------



## boss9

Hey there Tex,

I've heard of using Simple Green, Pine-Sol and brake fluid works well, but I use Easy-Off oven cleaner--just don't expect it to take of those old "baked on" tampos off the old AFXers.  

cheers...


----------



## TX Street Racer

THANKS for the info guys........I'm going to get to work on this body right away :thumbsup:


----------



## Shadowracer

Hey TX, listen, not to be dissing Boss9 at all, but I've heard that brake fluid is a bad idea. With all due respect to you Boss, I read a post by a guy who tried that and it made the body really brittle.

Take that for what its worth. 
Trev


----------



## TX Street Racer

Shadowracer said:


> Hey TX, listen, not to be dissing Boss9 at all, but I've heard that brake fluid is a bad idea. With all due respect to you Boss, I read a post by a guy who tried that and it made the body really brittle.
> 
> Take that for what its worth.
> Trev



Trev, thanks for the advice. I've used brake fluid to clean some thicker plastics before and I had no problems at all with the outcome.....but I wasn't sure about it on this thinner plastic body.

I began soaking the body in Oven cleaner (inside of a ziplock bag) right after Roger and Phil posted. I just got done with brushing and washing the body off....98% of all of the paint and original chrome (this Monte was a Chrome version) came off with the first application. I just started my second application of oven cleaner to remove the remaining minute traces of old paint and chrome.

So far everything looks cherry......so I'd definately recomend this method. :thumbsup:


----------



## ParkRNDL

TX Street Racer said:


> What's the best way and safest way to strip old model paint from these plastic slot car bodies??? I don't want to soften the plastic at all........so your advice and expertise is welcome here guys. THANKS, Brian :wave:


I posted this here before a while ago... but I'm not sure it applies to Tyco. The Road Race Replicas web site has a painting and finishing FAQ page that has a lot of tips for restoring old Tjets... it seems that **** N Span will take off model paint from original Tjets, but will leave the original Aurora detail paint. I did this myself with an El Camino and a Cheetah. Observe the magic:










I got similar results using **** N Span to remove paint from an Eldon Camaro. I don't know, however, if the plastic used in Tyco bodies is the same and would hold up okay... anyone?

--rick


----------



## TX Street Racer

Rick, I am flat out amazed at the results on those Tjets.......

The crap I'm using is an off brand......but it totally stripped everything from this Tyco body.

What is with the hole on the back of that Camino?? Is that where the surboards were secured??


----------



## boss9

Shadowracer said:


> Hey TX, listen, not to be dissing Boss9 at all, but I've heard that brake fluid is a bad idea. With all due respect to you Boss, I read a post by a guy who tried that and it made the body really brittle.
> 
> Take that for what its worth.
> Trev


No worries there Shadow. :wave: 
I know very little about a lot of stuff discussed here and I'm always learning. I basically just keep em' runnin' and do some custom body and paint work. That's it. I haven't tried brake fluid myself and used Easy-Off as a staple stripper for some time now. I think it's pretty safe. Here's a couple of bodies I've had soaking for over three months with no ill effects:










cheers..


----------



## ParkRNDL

TX Street Racer said:


> What is with the hole on the back of that Camino?? Is that where the surboards were secured??


 I assume so. This is the only original El Camino I have ever had, and this is the way I got it, no boards...

--rick


----------



## WesJY

So **** n Span and Easy OFF are good with tyco and lifelike bodies? 

Wes


----------



## TX Street Racer

WesJY said:


> So **** n Span and Easy OFF are good with tyco and lifelike bodies?
> 
> Wes



Wes, you are correct man. Oven cleaner sprayed into a bag as suggested earlier DOES work like a charm! :wave:


----------



## ParkRNDL

Ummm... can't say for sure about the SnS on Tycos. never tried it.

--rick


----------



## WesJY

ok i will give it a try. thanks 

wes


----------



## TX Street Racer

ParkRNDL said:


> Ummm... can't say for sure about the SnS on Tycos. never tried it.
> 
> --rick


I'd say probably all oven cleaner sprays are closely matched......I was using an off brand today....but like I mentioned earlier.....it totally stripped what looked to be at least two coats of old black model paint, a yellow coat of model paint, and the original Tyco chrome plating from this Tyco body.

Totally clean,fresh and ready for body work,primer, and paint. Hopefully I can get this project done by next week :thumbsup:


----------



## vaBcHRog

ParkRNDL said:


> I assume so. This is the only original El Camino I have ever had, and this is the way I got it, no boards...
> 
> --rick


 Hi Rick,

Check out the Hot Wheels Delorean II those Surf boards it has would look good on your El Camino

Roger Corrie


----------



## WesJY

Hey guys... I did tried easy off and it worked so well on tyco bodies!!! I had over 10 terrible painted job bodies that I was gonna toss them out (pine sol and another did not work at all) but I used easy off and let it soak in zip lock bag for 2 days . I took them all out and it came right off with toothbrush! even all the way to the bone!! I will use this from now on. thanks guys for the info!

Thanks!
Wes


----------



## DACSIGNS

I use easy off to remove lettering enamel from some signs and vehcles that have hardener in the base paint job but it never entered my mind to try the baggie idea on slots! I stripped an Impala afx cop car that Im gonna convert to a 2 door Caprice stock car last Saturday and it worked great! Thanks for the tricks and ideas guys.
Circle Track DAC


----------



## boss9

That must be the reason I haven't had as good results. I posted that pic of bodies I've had in a tub for a few months and I'm thinking that not having it sealed is the problem. I have a Tyco Porsche body in there that was originally green and silver--and it still is, mostly. I will have to try the baggie trick and see if that does it. I'll let you know.

Thank you for the tip!

cheers..


----------



## butchd

ParkRNDL said:


> I posted this here before a while ago... but I'm not sure it applies to Tyco. The Road Race Replicas web site has a painting and finishing FAQ page that has a lot of tips for restoring old Tjets... it seems that **** N Span will take off model paint from original Tjets, but will leave the original Aurora detail paint. I did this myself with an El Camino and a Cheetah. Observe the magic:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> I got similar results using **** N Span to remove paint from an Eldon Camaro. I don't know, however, if the plastic used in Tyco bodies is the same and would hold up okay... anyone?
> 
> --rick



what's the best way removing/reattaching glass and bumpers ? thanks


----------



## krazcustoms

I was the one who posted about brake fluid making the plastic brittle. I always used it to strip model car bodies with no problem but when I tried it on slots a few of them crumbled in my hands as I tried to clean the brake fluid off.

Easy-Off or Pine-Sol work great and those are the methods I presently use, depending on what I'm trying to strip. One thing I have learned with those is that the most basic forms of those products work the best - and I avoid off-brands just because it's not worth taking a chance when I know for a fact the brand name one will work - but also avoid the special-scent or low odor versions as they don't work anywhere near as well as the 'original formula' plain versions.


----------



## roadrner

TX Street Racer said:


> What's the best way and safest way to strip old model paint from these plastic slot car bodies??? I don't want to soften the plastic at all........so your advice and expertise is welcome here guys. THANKS, Brian :wave:


 
Well, how did you make out and what worked for you? rr


----------



## slotcarman12078

*I missed it too, but don't have a clue..*



butchd said:


> what's the best way removing/reattaching glass and bumpers ? thanks


I do believe we missed the real question on this thread... But I don't know how to do it best.. I dug back in previous posts from model murdering, I think Bill Hall partly answers this one...http://www.hobbytalk.com/bbs1/showthread.php?t=215904&page=11 Think it was post 316 or there abouts. Not sure on the glass part.


Nuther Joe


----------



## grungerockjeepe

If it was that one that was chromed originally, it'll be a piece of cake. Get some Super Green cleaner and soak it for near a week. Any goop'll come right off once it loosens the chrome.


----------



## Bill Hall

For glass removal you'll have to grind or scrape the melted index pin away. Often tjets are melted and glued. Carefully drill the remnants of the index pin away, down to the level of the roof. Apply a small drop of testors 502 into the hole and wedge a screwdriver into the back light. The glass should pop out after a few seconds. Careful with thin roofed cars like chargers and rivs. Try not to over saturate the roof with solvent the risk of bleming the roof is alway present if ya get sloppy. Patience is the ticket!

Although UtherJoe has pg-11 linked up, I found one with some pics on pg 14.http://www.hobbytalk.com/bbs1/showthread.php?t=215904&page=14 Pretty simple task but this purple Charger demonstrates the trick. This doesnt work for all glass... 

If you should have one of the dreaded gallon of glue jobs you'll have to nibble away at the roof or the glass with the dremel depending on which one you want to save. Short bursts allowing the plastic to stay cool is the trick. Otherwise it becomes a huge smear and melts back together. Just stick and move until you work it free. I like the coarser grey stone for this task. I've also carved them free with an exacto knife in a pinch.

To reinstall window inserts I goop the glass in via the index hole in matching color and then smear it with the iron if I need to get close to original. If yer "goopless" one can always glue a nibblet of car colored plastic in the index hole and smear it with the iron. Do yerself and future generations a favor and dont over slobber the job...a small dot or dot and a half should be more than adequate to secure the glass if you fitted it correctly.

I just cut bumpers off flush at the inside of the hanger bracket. Then a thin blade is used to carefully prise them away from the body. Re-attachment can be done with black goop or gluing a nibblet of black plastic to the original bumper bracket and carefully melting it in with the iron. If it doesnt matter one can always ...gulp...just glue them in conventionally.

The BEST WAY is a "no such thing" type of question. The trick is to minimize damage and leave yourself an out that closely resembles the factory work and accept that there will be casualties along the way. I just blew a Riv glass to smithereens last week and invented a new swear word!


----------



## butchd

Thanks guys ! greatly appreciate your words of wisdom.


----------



## ParkRNDL

I put bumpers and glass back on with tacky glue available at craft stores. It's essentially white glue but thicker. Holds together really well, and the good thing is it peels right off if you want to take stuff back apart. I actually have a red Aurora Jag that's entirely held together from underneath with this stuff, it was in 4 separate pieces... the nose and roof are from one body, the doors/quarters are from another. Looks ok from a distance...


----------

