# Stripping



## hojoe (Dec 1, 2004)

I asked my wife to pick up some Easy-Off for me (I had heard that this is great for stripping). She got "fume free max lemon scent" Does anyone know if this will work for stripping an Auto world body of it's paint?
hojoe


----------



## roadrner (Jul 21, 1999)

Assuming (and you know what that means) that EO is EO. It should work plus smell good to boot. Just Make sure you do it outside to be safe. :freak: rr


----------



## Bill Hall (Jan 6, 2007)

Yup, No problemo works good!...kills chrome on contact though!


----------



## JordanZ870 (Nov 25, 2004)

Bill Hall said:


> Yup, No problemo works good!...kills chrome on contact though!


But it will sure smell lemony!:thumbsup:


----------



## tjd241 (Jan 25, 2004)

*Should work fine....*

One suggestion.... make sure you tell the wife you used it all up. Otherwise you may end up cleaning the oven or grill. LOL nd


----------



## vaBcHRog (Feb 19, 2003)

I found that if you put the body in a zip lock bag then spray it till its completely covered then seal the bag it helps. You can also pick up the bag and gently rub the car and help the stripping process along. Never tried the lemon stuff but back when I raced hard body TYCO's I used easy off all the time.

Roger Corrie


----------



## bumpercar88 (Feb 6, 2005)

Easy Off works on chrome? Great, I tried stripping a chromed JL body w/ Pine Sol and it was alot of labor.


----------



## Dranoel Dragon (Oct 9, 2007)

In my experience, rubbing alcohol is the best for removing AW paint. Drop the body in a tub of alcohol, let it sit for about 30 minutes and the paint will practicly fall off when you pull it out.


----------



## Bill Hall (Jan 6, 2007)

Thanks Leonard ...I'll give it a whirl!


----------



## hojoe (Dec 1, 2004)

Apparently "fume free max lemon scent" Easy Off doesn't work. 10 days of soaking and nothing. The paint on the panel van looks as good as new, but it does have a nice lemon scent. Thanks for all the advice on here and other boards. It sounds like alcohol will be the fastest way to go.
hojoe


----------



## Hilltop Raceway (Feb 12, 2006)

I tried the alcohol on a JL 46 Back to the Future Ford, didn't have much luck. Seemed to softten the paint, but that was it. Any other suggestions??? Thanks...RM


----------



## hojoe (Dec 1, 2004)

I'm getting ready to try Simple Green (found in the automotive dept at Walmart, amoung other places). I'll let everyone know if it works.
hojoe


----------



## hojoe (Dec 1, 2004)

Three days in the Simple Green and the AW Suburban shows no sign of the paint loosening.  I'm gonna leave it in there for a while. I'll keep you posted.
hojoe


----------



## roadrner (Jul 21, 1999)

I didn't think AW/JL could make the paint any tougher than they had already. I remember stripping all of those pink pullback bods from the beginning. What a job they were.  rr


----------



## 1976Cordoba (Sep 20, 2000)

roadrner said:


> I didn't think AW/JL could make the paint any tougher than they had already. I remember stripping all of those pink pullback bods from the beginning. What a job they were.  rr


Maybe it is all the lead?


----------



## T-Jet Racer (Nov 16, 2006)

So what takes the paint off the best? I have a purple vette I tried to paint over and it just ran off. so it is strip time...


----------



## hojoe (Dec 1, 2004)

Six days in Simple Green and still no change. I guess I'll try *****-n-Span next, as soon as I can get to the store. 
hojoe


----------



## carl72 (Feb 13, 2007)

Try 91% alcolol did a couple of 1/32 bodys in less then an hour or so


----------



## T-Jet Racer (Nov 16, 2006)

I tried denatured alcohol, I am not sure if it is the same as the 91% stuff. It works pretty good. Soaked 5 to 10 min. I still have some in the cracks and details but about 5 mins wipe off with a rag and some more alcohol, then its white with some color swirl. It seems to get it the plastic somehow. The car I did was the AW 71 corvette. it cleaned off the glass and did not haze it, and i soaked it for 5 min. good luck


----------



## hojoe (Dec 1, 2004)

13 days in Simple Green and the paint looks good as new. I just put the Surburban in Pine-Sol. We'll see if this works. I should know in a couple of days, if the advice I got was right.
hojoe


----------



## Bill Hall (Jan 6, 2007)

Hey Hojoe, Ya wouldnt be expecting that paint to just fall off when ya pull it from the container and look at it? Some require elbow grease and a magic wand...AKA a toothbrush, toothpics, maybe some scotchbright.

Last 'burban I did was a navy blue bastage


----------



## hojoe (Dec 1, 2004)

I've removed paint with all the stuff I've tried in the past, but these AW paint jobs are something else. Bill, what did you use to strip your Suburban?
hojoe


----------



## Bill Hall (Jan 6, 2007)

*just stubborn*

Started with easy off oven cleaner... Used a trimmed toothbrush, a stiff nail brush and a fairly worn green scotchy pad...new ones are tooooo agressive. Switched back to pinesol a coupla times as well. It was a gooey smeary mess so ya gotta clean yer brush and replace the pad. Dont use water just refresh your chem when it gets fouled. Kept hackin at it until it was down to the white plastic with a thin topsmear of paint. To get the last smear off I used the tooth brush with air brush thinner and later picked/rubbed the seams with a sharp toothpick. This part went quick. 

For a final scrub I used a gritty paste from a little water mixed with powdered kitchen cleanser and continued pickin' and rubbing what little was left in the seams. 

The 'Burban was without a doubt the toughest strip job I've encountered. Bobzilla had told me the stuff was extra thick before I started and he wasnt kidding!


----------



## hojoe (Dec 1, 2004)

Six days in Pine-Sol and the paint on the Suburban is starting to loosen. The white paint on theroof and bumpers came right off. Paint over paint I guess. But the turquoise is just soft and getting gooey. I will leave it in another 6 and see what happens. 
hojoe


----------



## T-Jet Racer (Nov 16, 2006)

hojoe said:


> Six days in Pine-Sol and the paint on the Suburban is starting to loosen. The white paint on theroof and bumpers came right off. Paint over paint I guess. But the turquoise is just soft and getting gooey. I will leave it in another 6 and see what happens.
> hojoe


denatured alcohol went thru it quick, I dont know how clean you need it but it came out very good in 5 min.


----------



## hojoe (Dec 1, 2004)

Where can you get denatured alcohol?
hojoe


----------



## T-Jet Racer (Nov 16, 2006)

hardware store, or home depot


----------



## grungerockjeepe (Jan 8, 2007)

T-Jet Racer said:


> hardware store, or home depot


How does the denatured alcohol work on other cars, such as tycos? Ive got several of those Id liek to strip down also.


----------



## T-Jet Racer (Nov 16, 2006)

grungerockjeepe said:


> How does the denatured alcohol work on other cars, such as tycos? Ive got several of those Id liek to strip down also.


never tried it, let me know ok?


----------



## Mike(^RacerX^) (Mar 15, 2003)

If you are really brave,brake fluid sometimes works.

Mike


----------



## krazcustoms (Nov 20, 2003)

Mike(^RacerX^) said:


> If you are really brave,brake fluid sometimes works.
> 
> Mike


Brake fluid also makes some plastics extremely brittle. I've had a couple of AFX cars literally crumble in my hands after that treatment. I would avoid brake fluid completely.


----------



## ebi (Jan 24, 2007)

grungerockjeepe said:


> How does the denatured alcohol work on other cars, such as tycos? Ive got several of those Id liek to strip down also.


works well with all cars. Except resin cars!!! They will melt!
Also old AFX bodies can look like orange skin...

We call the denaturated alcohol "Spiritus". Is it grain- or ethyl alcohol
in english?? We use it to accelerate BBQ fires... 


Ebi


----------



## Hilltop Raceway (Feb 12, 2006)

Thanks Carl. I tried the denatured alcohol. I dropped an AW panel in, just let it soak overnight. The next day I had to take a scuff pad and a stiff toothbrush, but the paint came off. Most of what you see is stain, this was a dark blue panel. That's some tough stuff AW paints with, it's probably straight lead with a little color pigment. The alcohol also worked a lots better on a newer Tyco I stripped. Thanks again...RM


----------



## hojoe (Dec 1, 2004)

27 days in Pine-Sol and the turquoise is still there. Some of it has come off, but not enough for a repaint. I'm going to try Denatured Alcohol next.
hojoe


----------



## sethndaddy (Dec 4, 2004)

How about turpentine (is that spelled right?) anyone ever try that?

The Orange 57 panel van I just did started as a dark blue one too.............horrible, i used my dremel with a soft polisher on low speed and Nexus scratch remover to help, and thats all it did, HELP, a very little bit. ****-n-span, the toothbrush, then repeat, for days.


----------



## noddaz (Aug 6, 1999)

*Anyone ever try..*

Anyone ever try using an ultrasonic cleaner with their choice of dip?
I haven't but have wondered if it would speed up the process.....

Scott


----------



## T-Jet Racer (Nov 16, 2006)

noddaz said:


> Anyone ever try using an ultrasonic cleaner with their choice of dip?
> I haven't but have wondered if it would speed up the process.....
> 
> Scott


Yes with denatured alchohol, it did not seem to help


----------



## ebi (Jan 24, 2007)

sethndaddy said:


> How about turpentine (is that spelled right?) anyone ever try that?.


Yes, but it's not agressive enough to get lacquer from bodies. 
But it's ok to clean brushes.


----------



## bobhch (Apr 22, 2007)

sethndaddy said:


> How about turpentine (is that spelled right?) anyone ever try that?
> 
> The Orange 57 panel van I just did started as a dark blue one too.............horrible, i used my dremel with a soft polisher on low speed and Nexus scratch remover to help, and thats all it did, HELP, a very little bit. ****-n-span, the toothbrush, then repeat, for days.


Hilltop and sethndaddy,

Just seeing Randys white and blue tinted 57 gave me the "I want to paint another one of these panels" feeling. :woohoo:

On a side note: Yes Ed that is your AFX semi trailer sticker in progress "MONSTERSLOTS". Just looking for the right scary Jack-O-Lanter head and Skull images now...

Hey I have stripped a few of these 57 panels myself. Here are the three that are sitting in the wings and Coach is sending 5 more soon for the HOHT Auction that will need to be stripped. Don't these things just paint up nice Randy and Ed? Oooooh yeah. 










I just plop them in Pine Sol for several days (3 to 5) and then scrub them with a stiff toothbrush like many of you here have stated. Have 3 different glass pickle jars full of Pine sol in the garage right now.

When they are stripped via Pine Sol they get the ELO (Pollys or now Testors Easy Lift Off) treatment. Also noticed that if you keep dipping the toothbrush in Pine Sol while scrubbing and then rubbing with a paper towel that can get the blue off these 57s pretty good before using the ELO. Wear rubber gloves when using ELO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Another trick I discovered is to scrub the body with a toothpick (the rounded type) while scrubbing with toothbrush also in the ELO stage. Yeah go ahead and bend that tip (crack) and push hard. Before you break the tip get into the door lines and such. Don't know why a toothpick works this way...seems like anything with the word tooth in front of it is good for paint removal.

ELO is my last step in a simple and fast way to strip off all that unwanted paint. Just let the Pine Sol do the work then rinse and scrub in soapy water and finish them off with ELO. I can strip several bodies at the same time and just rotate them between scrubbings while they sit in ELO for for a few min. 

I used a capfull of ELO to finish off these 3 trucks after Pine Sol...it doesn't take much!!

Bob...zilla


----------



## brownie374 (Nov 21, 2007)

What is elo?


----------



## coach61 (Sep 6, 2004)

brownie374 said:


> What is elo?


Easy Lift off by Poly S only thing ya need ten minutes get to work none of this waiting days and weeks lifes to short lol...


Dave


----------



## bobhch (Apr 22, 2007)

brownie374 said:


> What is elo?


What coach said...will post a picture up here of my cans of ELO soon...real soon! You should be able to find it in most Hobby Stores. Hobby Town carries it here in Nebraska so, anyone should be able to find it...LOL




























Someone gave me a couple of these brushes new. The little end works great for scrubbing in tight areas. I have worn one out after 6 months and am almost ready to open up my last one now...any of you Jedi Slot Car Masters know who sells these? Help me Obi-one-ka-nobi as you are my only hope.










Just make sure to wear those disposable thin rubber gloves as this stuff will cause skin irritation if you don't....Seriously. 

After removing the bulk of the paint off with Pine Sol and a soap and water rinse. I pour some ELO in the ELO cap and then dip my trusty toothbrush in and have body near by. Brush on a thin coat of ELO and move on to the next body. I usually do about 3 bodies at a time. Now that you have all the bodies soaking in ELO start scrubbing inside and out the first body. then move on to the second and then the third. Add more ELO if needed but, really it doesn't take much.

You will get the hang of it...these 57 bodies are pretty durable so, feel free to scrub hard if needed! Ta-dah...you now have taken all the work out of stripping paint and can focus on painting...rinse and scrub bodies well with soap and water after you have gotten off all the paint you can get off with ELO and dry the bodies............Phsssssssssssssssssssssssssssh now comes the fun part "PAINTING"!!!!!!!!!!!!

Bob...zilla


----------



## slotcarbus (May 24, 2007)

Hello to all,
Just this weekend I stripped a chrome afx porsche with ELO. It took about 4 hours to do because the chrome was tough to get off. I had to scrub with a tooth brush and soap. I have used ELO before to strip other cars and it's quick.

Buster


----------



## bobhch (Apr 22, 2007)

slotcarbus said:


> Hello to all,
> Just this weekend I stripped a chrome afx porsche with ELO. It took about 4 hours to do because the chrome was tough to get off. I had to scrub with a tooth brush and soap. I have used ELO before to strip other cars and it's quick.
> 
> Buster


Hey and Welcome slotcarbus,

Just out of curiosity what color is the stripped Porsche now?

Bob...zilla


----------



## slotcarbus (May 24, 2007)

I was curious to see also but it turned out to be the mustard yellow. I have done a couple of AFX but mainly the super g monte carlo's and fords to paint and decal. I stripped a Capri for our clubs next race and it it mustard yellow also. 

I have been lurking for a while now but this site is great. I hope to add some usefull info myself.

Thanks
Buster


----------



## hojoe (Dec 1, 2004)

Three days in Denatured Alcohol and the turquiose on the Suburban is still there. Some of it came off with a good scrubbing with a toothbrush, but this is the toughest paint I have ever seen. I've had it soaking in one thing or another for allmost 2 months. All I wanted to do was paint it white. 
hojoe


----------



## bobhch (Apr 22, 2007)

*Try ELO...You will be glad you did...*



hojoe said:


> Three days in Denatured Alcohol and the turquiose on the Suburban is still there. Some of it came off with a good scrubbing with a toothbrush, but this is the toughest paint I have ever seen. I've had it soaking in one thing or another for allmost 2 months. All I wanted to do was paint it white.
> hojoe


hojoe,

Either see my post on the page before this one or hit the dang thing with a hammer...Seriously that sucks man....really try ELO...it is the Sheeeeit!

Pine Sol soaks are good to loosen and get off the major amounts of paint and then just use a little ELO. 

Bob...ELO or Bust (HTERS)...zilla


----------



## roadrner (Jul 21, 1999)

Bill Hall said:


> The 'Burban was without a doubt the toughest strip job I've encountered. Bobzilla had told me the stuff was extra thick before I started and he wasnt kidding!


I'm working the dk blue one now and i'm ready to get the jack hammer out. Would have to agree this has been the toughest. If I do another, I might just take some light sand paper and wet sand her to give the paint something to bite on and reshoot her as is. :freak: 

Maybe someday AW will offer all their cars as kits! It would knock a couple weeks off of a custom job. :devil: rr


----------



## tjd241 (Jan 25, 2004)

*Seriously....*

Just try the ELO... it works. nd


----------



## Mike(^RacerX^) (Mar 15, 2003)

Just wanted to say,that I subscribed to this thread,and every few days I get an email with the subject "Stripping" :woohoo:which immediatly makes my mouse hand uncontrolably click the link............to which I find a bunch of old guys trying to take paint off toy cars.:hat:

Thanks to all of you here at Hobby Talk for keeping it real for me.

Thats it.I have nothing of any value to add to this thread.Just that.


Always lurkin'!!!! :wave:


Mike(akaIce9)


----------



## carl72 (Feb 13, 2007)

I found some stough called Awesome at the dollar store works real well used right from the bottle takes paint off over night just put in body or what ever you want stripped let sit wash with water paint gone,for 1.07 cant go wrong

Carl


----------



## bobhch (Apr 22, 2007)

carl72 said:


> I found some stough called Awesome at the dollar store works real well used right from the bottle takes paint off over night just put in body or what ever you want stripped let sit wash with water paint gone,for 1.07 cant go wrong
> 
> Carl


Carl,

That sounds Awesome...can you take a picture of the Awesome and post it here. Please!!!!!

Bob...Sweet Awesume find...zilla


----------



## roadrner (Jul 21, 1999)

I hope this Awesome stuff works as well as Carl says. Going to have to find some to try.:thumbsup::thumbsup: rr


----------



## Hilltop Raceway (Feb 12, 2006)

Here you go Bob...I'll try anything...zilla. Picked it up at the Dollar General Store. It's in the household cleaning section, costs 1.00. I'll try it, nothing else, it should be good for cleaning up the shop. I'll let the boys try it out. I'll drop a body in and try it for stripping. " KEEP OUT OF REACH OF CHILDREN"... RM


----------



## Hilltop Raceway (Feb 12, 2006)

*Wow!!!*

P.S. Says it "Removes blood stains" from the X-acto knife mishaps. Could be some great stuff!!! RM


----------



## bobhch (Apr 22, 2007)

*Awesome....*

Randy,

You are not supposed to cut yourself with those X-acto knives man...OUCH!

Can't wait to see how this Awesum stuff works! Dollar General here I come baby. Yeah!

Bob...will buy that for a buck...zilla


----------



## Hilltop Raceway (Feb 12, 2006)

*Save that gas!!!*

Save that gas, Bob...it's back to the old stuff...zilla, The "Awesom" didn't even start to remove the Auto World paint. I left a light blue van in overnight, didn't even take off the fender tampo. Sorry Carl, just didn't work for me. Were you stripping a factory paint job or someone's custom??? Also, use straight bleach for stripping AFX chrome cars. Here's a gold chrome Porsche I stripped, sorry Coach. Takes about 20 or 30 minutes. Was yellow with an orange wing. RM
P.S. Bob, Sometimes you don't plan on a "body cut", it just happenes!!!


----------



## roadrner (Jul 21, 1999)

Hilltop Raceway said:


> Save that gas, Bob...it's back to the old stuff...zilla, The "Awesom" didn't even start to remove the Auto World paint. I left a light blue van in overnight, didn't even take off the fender tampo.


HTRW, 
Thanks for the update. Saved me a trip or two to the $ store. There has to be something out there that would make this an easier job. I'm sure we'll keep experimenting. :freak: 

:thumbsup: rr


----------



## bobhch (Apr 22, 2007)

*Kewl Porsche*

Randy,










Bob...bloody, bloody, bloody Kool Porsche...zilla


----------



## roadrner (Jul 21, 1999)

I can't believe the difference in the paint AW uses. I took two of the AW Daytonas earlier today and stripped them with Testor's Airbrush paint thinner in 45 minutes. Took them out after thirty and got most of it off, the rest came off 15 minutes later with some qtips and toothpicks helping. :freak: rr


----------



## hojoe (Dec 1, 2004)

Thirty days in denatured alcohol and the AW paint is still there. That's two months it's been soaking in one thing or another. I give up. I'm going to primer it and than paint it. 
hojoe


----------



## Dragula (Jun 27, 2003)

2 wordes...lacquer thinner,dip it and see.not too long though!
DRAGjet


----------



## bobhch (Apr 22, 2007)

hojoe said:


> Thirty days in denatured alcohol and the AW paint is still there. That's two months it's been soaking in one thing or another. I give up. I'm going to primer it and than paint it.
> hojoe


Can't wait to see some pics when it is done man. I love those AW 57 Panels! :woohoo:


----------



## Hilltop Raceway (Feb 12, 2006)

*stripping*

Hojoe, Just send the bodies to Bob...I got 3 ready to paint...zilla, and let him strip em. He seems to have the handle on it!!! Just my thoughts...RM


----------

