To Strip or Paint Over

[EC182]

Hello,

 

Due to an unfortunate mistake during the masking process which snowballed into a bigger problem when I made a ham-fisted attempt to fix it, I am not happy with the unfinished paintjob on my 1/48 MiG-17. It's not terrible, but I don't want to press ahead and put a lot more work in for a substandard result.

 

Three options:

1. Attempt to strip the (enamel) paint off and start again. I am wary of doing this, as most methods seem to involve immersing the model in liquid, and I can't do this without affecting the cockpit, which I don't want to do.

 

2. Black-basing over the existing paint and starting again with new coats. However, there are already three coats (and in some parts, four, including the original black base and some brushed-on paint which is the cause of the problem), and I wonder how this would turn out.

 

3. Cutting out the cockpit and buying a new model for about $40.

 

I am mostly curious about option 2. If I go with this, there would be, at worst, six or seven coats in some places, albeit thin ones. Is that too many, would it be likely to come out poorly? I'm using Humbrol and Revell enamels.

 

Any input welcome.

[dov]

My option: All dry!

 

As used on camo:

Depending on size and are, sanding and polishing, so that the after repaint you can not notify the former accident outline!

It will not show you any mishap.

And spray a patch for overhaul.

With a logic & plausible form.

 

Happy modelling

[EC182]

Thanks for the replies fellas.

 

It's pretty much the entire upper fuselage. You reckon Mr Muscle is good? There seems to be a lot of conflicting information out there on what works best.

 

Sanding might work, but I guess the downside is the risk of rubbing out surface detail. That's why I was thinking of simply airbrushing over the top of it, and wondering how this was likely to turn out.

[Chuck1945]

Depending what the problem is, light sanding if there are rough areas and then repainting might be an option. I don’t know anything about the Revell product you mention but Gunze’s Mr Color Thinner (the levelling thinner isn’t needed here) will remove the paint with rubbing and not harm the plastic.

[e8n2]

3 hours ago, Chuck1945 said:

Depending what the problem is, light sanding if there are rough areas and then repainting might be an option. I don’t know anything about the Revell product you mention but Gunze’s Mr Color Thinner (the levelling thinner isn’t needed here) will remove the paint with rubbing and not harm the plastic.

I concur!  I have had to do it several times, including about 3 or 4 times on just one model before it finally turned out the way I wanted it to.

Later,

Dave

[Vulcanicity]

I would sand or strip just the affected area, having first masked off at a panel line, so that any visible joint between "old" and "new" paint is at the panel joint and is hidden (or looks like a field repainting job on the real aircraft)

[RidgeRunner]

This is exactly an issue I am wrestling with and currently the offending article is assigned to the shelf of doom :(. As an enamels I am interested in seeing possible solutions :). 

 

Martin

[EC182]

4 hours ago, Chuck1945 said:

Depending what the problem is, light sanding if there are rough areas and then repainting might be an option. I don’t know anything about the Revell product you mention but Gunze’s Mr Color Thinner (the levelling thinner isn’t needed here) will remove the paint with rubbing and not harm the plastic.

I think that might be the best course of action.

 

The brown paint has a slightly rough texture (it's a green/brown camo scheme), I'll take that off and apply Mr Color Thinner. Hopefully that'll bring it back to its original state, ready to start again.

 

Incidentally, while looking at Mr Color Thinner I also saw a video of Mr Paint Remover, which looks pretty effective too.

[EC182]

30 minutes ago, RidgeRunner said:

This is exactly an issue I am wrestling with and currently the offending article is assigned to the shelf of doom :(. As an enamels I am interested in seeing possible solutions :). 

 

Martin

Have a look:

 

 

[gingerbob]

I do think that simply airbrushing more on top is doomed to failure.

 

What have you got to lose, besides some time and $40 for a replacement kit, by trying to strip what needs to be fixed?  I'd start with the "topical" approach others have suggested, but be aware that it is likely to encroach on bordering areas, so don't let that bother you.  Regardless, be patient- more harm is likely to be done by impatience than by anything else (aside from a too-aggressive solvent that eats the plastic!)

 

Please also report back, whatever happens, for the benefit of the rest of us.

 

Incidentally, I've got a Monogram F-106 that I inherited from a friend, "reduced to components", and is now marinating in a bath of Simple Green.  The paint didn't magically dissolve away, but a bit of scraping with a fingernail dislodged much of it.  Considering how long it has been in the Simple Green, there might be such a thing as too much patience (aka procrastination).

 

bob

[Graham Boak]

I haven't tried the various liquids on offer, but there used to be a paste you could get, basically caustic soda (which might even do as well),   The model was covered with this paste then left overnight,  The wash it off under a running tap using sn old toothbrush.  It should be possible to do this without affecting the cockpit

[Chimpion]

If attempts to fix it don't affect the cockpit option 3 remains as a back up. As @gingerbob says, what have you got to lose by trying to fix it before resorting to cutting out the cockpit?

[Jochen Barett]

18 hours ago, EC182 said:

Hello,

 

Due to an unfortunate mistake during the masking process which snowballed into a bigger problem when I made a ham-fisted attempt to fix it, I am not happy with the unfinished paintjob +++

 

Three options:

1. Attempt to strip the (enamel) paint off and start again. I am wary of doing this, as most methods seem to involve immersing the model in liquid, and I can't do this without affecting the cockpit, which I don't want to do.

+++

Any input welcome.

 

Try Methoxypropanol PM aka propylene glycol dimethylether and cotton buds and rags (and just a little patience and very little Mr. Muscle). It works well on alkyd resin paint without affecting the plastics too much, still you don't want to rub or immerse clear parts more than neccessary.

 

I do not know how to qualify as a "professional user", but in case you go shopping, it may at least be a price reference:

https://www.kremer-pigmente.com/en/shop/solvents-chemicals-additives/70920-methoxypropanol-pm.html

 

I got my bottle at a local arts supplies store, and it seems I qualified as a professional

[iainpeden]

For UK users!

I use  a cheap liquid all purpose cleaning fluid sold by tesco and Morrisons which costs £1 per 500ml and strips enamel and acrylic. With Mr Muscle I find you need to lather the whole it in it, put it all in a plastic bag and leave for a few hours before using a toothbrush to remove all the crud - it's also toxic.

The cleaning fluid I use is gentler in that I can put the kit in a washing up bowl and brush on the liquid to area you want to strip,  this softens everything after an hour. It's more manageable than Mr Muscle

[EC182]

6 hours ago, gingerbob said:

I do think that simply airbrushing more on top is doomed to failure.

 

What have you got to lose, besides some time and $40 for a replacement kit, by trying to strip what needs to be fixed?  I'd start with the "topical" approach others have suggested, but be aware that it is likely to encroach on bordering areas, so don't let that bother you.  Regardless, be patient- more harm is likely to be done by impatience than by anything else (aside from a too-aggressive solvent that eats the plastic!)

 

Please also report back, whatever happens, for the benefit of the rest of us.

 

Incidentally, I've got a Monogram F-106 that I inherited from a friend, "reduced to components", and is now marinating in a bath of Simple Green.  The paint didn't magically dissolve away, but a bit of scraping with a fingernail dislodged much of it.  Considering how long it has been in the Simple Green, there might be such a thing as too much patience (aka procrastination).

 

bob

 

Your point is well-made; nothing to lose and potentially a lot of time saved.

 

I'm going to sand everything smooth and, based on the video, hopefully pick up some Mr. Paint Remover tomorrow.

There is some concern about what effect it'll have on the Tamiya Basic and superglue I've used to fill some gaps, but we'll see.

I'll let you know in a few days' time.

[Seahawk]

6 hours ago, Graham Boak said:

I haven't tried the various liquids on offer, but there used to be a paste you could get, basically caustic soda (which might even do as well),   The model was covered with this paste then left overnight,  The wash it off under a running tap using sn old toothbrush.  It should be possible to do this without affecting the cockpit

Called Modelstrip.  Marvellous stuff stripping enamel of whatever age back to shiny virgin plastic.  Afraid the operative words in Graham’s post are “used to”.  It seems to have disappeared nowadays: probably fell foul of some health and safety concern or other.

[Graham Boak]

I think there has been more than one variety in my time.  I still have a pot of it somewhere, probably dried up (if that matters).

[Troy Smith]

5 hours ago, iainpeden said:

I use  a cheap liquid all purpose cleaning fluid sold by tesco

Any chance of a more specific description please?   I had a search and found a variety of products. 

this one?

https://www.tesco.com/groceries/en-GB/products/253259214

 

Thank you

 

[Alan P]

Rather than using chemicals, would it be possible just to sand it back using progressively finer grades of sandpaper and then just wipe down with water and apply primer and paint again? I've done this before successfully.

 

The only time I ever  used a solvent paint stripper it dissolved some of the glue joints and melted a few spots on the plastic. Needless to say, that was a very expensive mistake I won't be repeating

[iainpeden]

1 hour ago, Troy Smith said:

Any chance of a more specific description please?   I had a search and found a variety of products. 

this one?

https://www.tesco.com/groceries/en-GB/products/253259214

 

Thank you

 

Troy, that's the one. In the last week it has also proved effective at getting takeaway curry stains off the washing up bowl and a load of fungus off my daughter's hot tub.

[EC182]

8 hours ago, Alan P said:

Rather than using chemicals, would it be possible just to sand it back using progressively finer grades of sandpaper and then just wipe down with water and apply primer and paint again? I've done this before successfully.

 

The only time I ever  used a solvent paint stripper it dissolved some of the glue joints and melted a few spots on the plastic. Needless to say, that was a very expensive mistake I won't be repeating

That might be the right approach too, hard to know at this stage.

In the video he uses Mr Paint Remover on parts still attached to the sprue, no glue involved. I can't find any reviews to help, either.

 

What solvent did you use?

 

I have a painted and glued fuel tank; might try it out on that first, see what happens.

[Mycapt65]

There's a ton of responses to this and I'm too lazy to read them all. Every kit I build is stripped and repainted completely at least three times. NO JOKE! Only because I suck at modeling. 

Here it is!, the secret to my non success is Mr.Color thinner. It removes paint with out destroying plastic or glue joints. I used to use ELO (easy lift off). There was nothing easy about it. The plastic became brittle and useless. The Mr.Color thinner doesn't affect anything that meet a standards 

[Paul J]

15 hours ago, Troy Smith said:

Any chance of a more specific description please?   I had a search and found a variety of products. 

this one?

https://www.tesco.com/groceries/en-GB/products/253259214

 

Thank you

 

That would be scary if one used the stuff for domestic Purposes! Hate to think  of the results if used in the kitchen or somewhere else in the home.  I tried it once but it didn't  seem to work. I recall another product for DIY  purposes called Ronstrip. It came in a pack about the size of a cereal pack. The contents looked like porage flakes and when mixed with water into a paste and applied to your  painted surface it did its job. It smelled a bit like modelstrip funnily enough.

It worked on a number of my models wonderfully but I don't  know if it's still about

 

 

[Whitewolf]

23 hours ago, Graham Boak said:

I haven't tried the various liquids on offer, but there used to be a paste you could get, basically caustic soda (which might even do as well),   The model was covered with this paste then left overnight,  The wash it off under a running tap using sn old toothbrush.  It should be possible to do this without affecting the cockpit

I remember this, but can't remember what it's called? It works really well as it does not damage the plastic in any way

[Greg B]

Moved, not exactly pertinent to cold war aircraft chat...