Windex Alternative

[Stewart Frazer]

Like many others I have used Windex glass cleaner to strip most acrylic paints except Vallejo (I now try to stick with Tamiya). However it is expensive (£12-£15) and not readily found in shops, so in search of an alternative I have found "Stardrops Power Cleaner with Ammonia". It is £1.20 from such as "onlinepoundstore". It works much the same as Windex, seemingly due to the ammonia content, albeit more slowly.

It can be diluted and works equally well (not sure yet about gloss though) so is even cheaper. It comes with safety warnings re eyes skin etc. so care should be taken.

Hope this helps.

[noelh]

I've seen the stuff. Never thought of it for stripping acrylics. Thanks

Edited November 6, 2020 by noelh

[ckw]

I just use bog standard household ammonia (diluted as required). Dirt cheap  - I think I got my bottle form The Range (but it was a good while ago). I've never quite understood why people bought Windex just to get a bit of ammonia. Yes, ammonia can be a bit smelly and you need to take a little care with it, but that goes for many of the products we use.

 

Cheers

Colin

[Stewart Frazer]

Thanks for that Colin, good advice. I was not sure where to get ammonia, assuming that is the essential ingredient.

I found the diluted Stardrops stuff works better than the gel like original which seemed to just coat the item.

It did eventually strip Tamiya gloss acrylic but more slowly than on the flat XF paint.

Cheers

Stewart

[Seahawk]

28 minutes ago, Stewart Frazer said:

I was not sure where to get ammonia, assuming that is the essential ingredient.

I got mine from Boots but it was just after 9/11 and I had to work hard to persuade them that I didn't not have criminal (or worse) intent.  Good stuff for removing botched Klear applications to canopies as well.

[fubar57]

For stripping acrylic paint from models I use this. It contains acetone and that seems to freak a lot of people out but I've completely stripped all the paint from four 1:48 fighters with no ill effects. Its a slow process, doing about 2²-3² inches at a time. Sorry about the huuuuuuuuge photo, it was the clearest one I could find

 

[Mike]

5 hours ago, ckw said:

I just use bog standard household ammonia (diluted as required). Dirt cheap  - I think I got my bottle form The Range (but it was a good while ago). I've never quite understood why people bought Windex just to get a bit of ammonia. Yes, ammonia can be a bit smelly and you need to take a little care with it, but that goes for many of the products we use.

 

A bit???? it's flippin' deadly!  I remember telling @stringbag to sniff the bottle of 5% I had, and it nearly blew the back of his head off! He's still not forgiven me

 

Oh, and never leave it in your airbrush cup, as it can remove chrome reeeeally easily.  Ask me how I know

[Pete in Lincs]

I just use Dettol. Overnight. It may not be suitable for transparencies though.

[Mike]

6 minutes ago, Pete in Lincs said:

It may not be suitable for transparencies though.

Can to elaborate?  Don't make me buy some to see why... I don't like the smell, as it reminds me of scuffed knees as a kid

[Pete in Lincs]

I think the last time I used it the canopy went a bit cloudy. I think it polished up okay with toothpaste.

The paint, which memory says was old enamel, came off though.

I've since used it on acrylic too with good results.

[dogsbody]

Are there not other ammonia-based household cleaners that could be used? some will probably need to be diluted first for modeling usage.

 

 

 

 

Chris

[Wulfman]

Surgical spirit will clean off acrylic , no ammonia, smell not too bad .

 

Wulfman

[OneEighthBit]

Have to admit, I always used meths (T-Röd here in Sweden) and it worked fine.

[Jackson Duvalier]

On 11/6/2020 at 12:38 PM, Mike said:

Oh, and never leave it in your airbrush cup, as it can remove chrome reeeeally easily.  Ask me how I know

 

Those Who Know are an elite fraternity.  Any chance we could get an Achievement Badge for our profiles?

 

I've found IPA removes Tamiya (and Gunze IIRC) acrylics very easily.  Sometimes when I don't want it to.  Alcohol prep pads are handy for wiping off Tamiya.

 

Windex is great for removing acrylic floor treatments, I usually use it about three times per canopy 'cos I never get a clean coat the first or second time.

 

Nothing I've tried works very well on Vallejo, I'll remember that nail polish remover trick.

[Duncan B]

There's a whole thread on household products suitable for paint removal in the Tips section (or is this a specific WW2 aircraft paint removal thread 🤣).

 

Duncan B

[alt-92]

Or, to keep it slightly in line with the forum subsection: I do have an old household almanac from 1939 somewhere mentioning lye soap. 

Good luck finding that somewhere today.

[Black Knight]

Lye soap can be bought in proper farm supply shops. Its used on furry & woolie livestock to de-tick them.

[alt-92]

Be advised though: I wouldn't take an 1939 recipe for scrubbing period lead paints (probably) as suitable for plastic model kits!

[Black Knight]

Nor should you use lye soap without industrial type personal protection. Lye is the old name for caustic soda. It will take the skin off you. it'll eat through light-weight rubber or latex gloves. Its nasty stuff but useful for removing ticks on goats, which I used it for.

[MrProd]

Cif Power & Shine kitchen surface cleaner works like a charm. When I made a mess of a canopy i gave it a good spray, left it in a sealed container and the next day the paint wiped off easily and the canopy was spotless and clear. 

I use it for my airbrush cleaning, works perfectly. The only thing I've found it struggles with is Mr Surfacer 1500, but Mr Tool cleaner takes care of that.