# New "Old Guy"



## germaneighter (Feb 22, 2012)

Hey there. I'm a 53 year old HO slot car collector. I don't race any more....just collect cars from my youth and display them. I've been collecting for about 25 years but sold my first collection about 15 years ago to pay for angioplasti (heart ballooning). Ever since I've tried to re-build my collection. I've recently aquired a few uncut Aurora T-jets that have a lot of non-factory paint. I've read on Road Race Replicas to use **** N Span. I've been soaking a Mustang 2+2 for 3 days and have very little paint coming off. I use a tooth brush about every 12 hours to remove loose paint. Is there a certain type of **** N Span to use? I like the idea of not taking off the original paint. Anyone have any hints?

Dave in OK


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## ParkRNDL (Mar 20, 2002)

I've had very good luck with **** N Span except for a couple of times... Pretty sure one of them, the car was painted with nail polish. No WAY that was coming off, anytime, any who. I'm betting that anything I could have found that would have dissolved that finish would have dissolved the body too...

--rick


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## Joe65SkylarkGS (Feb 15, 2010)

Welcome Dave. Can't help with the stripping but you picked a great time to get back in as the market is down and you can have any nice tjet pretty reasonably.

I would make sure to hit a show in your area, soon if possible cause it's slot car show season right now. We drive up to a few hours to get to any show.


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## sethndaddy (Dec 4, 2004)

****-n-span's "new and improved" formula is not the same as the old stuff anymore.


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## Bill Hall (Jan 6, 2007)

*Welcome*

Theres tons of info on "stripping" in our archives. Unfortunatly there's no magic wand. Sometimes it takes days, other times weeks, sometimes sandpaper....:tongue:

Bottom line is that lacquer on a t-jet body is basically a lacquer to lacquer situation. 

Modern urethanes and epoxies are death too because the paint is actually tougher than the original plastic. 

Where you'll have your best success is with vintage paint jobs from old school model paints and garden variety bomb cans of the era, which are generally enamel. This also includes modern enamels.


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## SplitPoster (May 16, 2006)

*Welcome!*

I enjoy bringing them back myself as much as anything else, and am looking at a vette that looked like it had scabbed over with green goo when I got it. Had that and some other heavily crusted cars that I used turpentine on, per Mike Vitale's book. That's what I usually try first. 

Good luck, and don't forget about chat nights! Great place to ask questions and sometimes even get straight answers.

Jeff


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## slotking (May 27, 2008)

> Theres tons of info on "stripping" in our archives.


please stop!!

my kids read this stuff!

:tongue::lol::lol:


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## foxkilo (Mar 27, 2008)

White spirit or any kind of pure alcohol would be my first choice. Soak it for a few days. If it doesn't work last resort IMHO would be brake fluid. But carefull with AFX bodies different plastic different result especially in relation to the color pigments in the plastic. I' ve got now a bleached Ferrari 512.
The most difficultinthe enamel varity is matt paint as it doesn't have a lacquered surface. All the solvents mentioned are working by having the lacquer expanding and starting to wringle and therefore loosen itself from the body. Matt stuuf has to be rubbed off with a toothbrusch. No way around that.

Mario

Btw: 2Strokes are enough for an engine, 'cause I do not condon lazyness in engines working only every second round.


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## vaBcHRog (Feb 19, 2003)

Pine sol woks very well on TEJETS but make sure you remeove chrome and glass. For very stubborn paint I have used easy off iven cleaner put car in ziplock bag and sparay seal up and every few hours rotate.

Roger Corrie


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## slots-n-stuff (Oct 18, 2006)

"Slot cars for boys n girls of all ages!" ** **







*** * "Your Satisfaction is my Guarantee!"​
Liquid Plummer is the best I found...less than 24 hours you can restore the body back to original.. if the paint dulls . all you need to do is buff it... I had this green willys that was painted black I used drano got all the paint off , but the body was dull looking.. gave it to my friend pete.. he buffed it and it looks like new.. Some people are better at this than others.. I'm pretty good but not great..
But what a great feeling after you remove all the paint.. you will be surprised sometimes to see what the original color is...

There is a book by Mike Vitale called "The Complete Restoration & Collecting Guide to HO Slot Cars"

Quoted from the book.. I have used the ones I checked off...
weakest.. 1) turpentine √
............. 2) liquid Plumr(safe for plastic pipes) √
............. 3)Alfa"cleaning fluid" (at true Value hardware)
strongest 4)Easy-off Oven Cleaner √

Andrew ( www.slotsnstuff.com )​


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## Shadowracer (Sep 11, 2004)

As was suggested, grab a bottle of Pine Sol and let it soak for a couple of days. The stuff is cheap enough, and won't hurt the body a bit. Its worth trying before you pull out the big guns. It's worked for me thus far - Soak a day or 2, scrub it down, soak another day, scrub some more. Scrub it in the Pine Sol, not under running water.

I've read in a number of places that **** and Span doesn't work like it used to.


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## Bubba 123 (Sep 10, 2010)

germaneighter said:


> Hey there. I'm a 53 year old HO slot car collector. I don't race any more....just collect cars from my youth and display them. I've been collecting for about 25 years but sold my first collection about 15 years ago to pay for angioplasti (heart ballooning). Ever since I've tried to re-build my collection. I've recently aquired a few uncut Aurora T-jets that have a lot of non-factory paint. I've read on Road Race Replicas to use **** N Span. I've been soaking a Mustang 2+2 for 3 days and have very little paint coming off. I use a tooth brush about every 12 hours to remove loose paint. Is there a certain type of **** N Span to use? I like the idea of not taking off the original paint. Anyone have any hints?
> 
> Dave in OK


welcome aboard... "KID"... ;-)
55 yrs. old, 2heart-attacks, yadda...Yadda.... 
i have track/ but mostly collect & parade race on track....
same on the stuff w/ a kid (still have about 4 of the 8 i had...)

& the track...

feel free 2 contact me 2 chat ALSO!!! WE meet nightly in "Slot Car" room
in "Chat" here :thumbsup:

please feel free 2 drop in (8-ish CDT)..... most of us r "Our" age..or older..

i'm going 2 get it from that last line...ROFLMAO!!!
hope 2 c u there !!! :thumbsup:

Bubba 123 :wave:


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## bolts69 (Dec 24, 2009)

When you use the Pine Sol does it take the orignal paint off? I have an old dragster and I really don't want to ruin it after seeing the prices on ebay.


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## germaneighter (Feb 22, 2012)

Well the Pine-Sol works pretty good. And yes, it takes off everything. I am stripping three bodies at the same time. The Mustang 2+2 had some kind of crazy, custom top glued to it and had thick black, green and yellow paint globbed onto it. As the layers of paint were coming off I saw what looked like factory candy green coming through. Then the green came off and under it was an off-white car with twin black stripes. Any chance the candy cars were painted over a regular run body? The paint was coming off all three cars nicely. I wanted to inspect the progress so I rinsed all 3 in warm water. It seems doing this may have "set" the remaining paint. It doesn't seam to be coming off as well after I rinsed them off. (I should have followed Shadowracer's instructions....) I'll change out the Pine-sol tomorrow if there is no more progress. (It has become pretty black....)

The Cheetah has damaged WS posts but otherwise a good body. The Charger obnviously has cut rears but it's just so cool in original color with the black stripes.


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## Marty (Oct 20, 1999)

Welcome back Germaneighter!

If you don't already have them, there are two books that collectors NEED! Both written by HT members, Bob Beers and John Clark(Slotcarjohnnie). They give you the body styles and colors that were available. If you collect TYCO, Dan Esposito's book are what you need.

Have fun!!

Marty
Marysville, OH


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