A question about Paint Stripping - your help is appreciated!

<span style="font-weight: bold;">Hi guys, I have a question about paint stripping. What is the best brand and way to take off all the paint on old and newer hot wheels car bodies?</span><br style="font-weight: bold;"><br style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Thanks in advance and I know you guys will know the answer and what's best.<br><br style="font-weight: bold;"></span>

I've heard of using brake fluid (any brand I suppose) as well as carb. cleaner (the stuff in a gallon bucket with a parts tray) ..smelly, but they work (dont use them on plastic though...and make sure to wash off the car after doing this) make sure to use these in a well vented area because they reek and the fumes might make you lightheaded if not in a well vented area.

For removing spectraflame finishes, lacquer thinners will wash it right off. On newer cars and enamels, your best bet is the gel type paint and varnish removers. Don't bother with the citrus strippers or those other "green" products, they just won't cut it - go for the good stuff. <br><br>
Brake fluid "might" work on spectraflame if you let it soak long enough, but it won't touch enamels or the newer stuff .... but it does work for scrubbing off tampos. Brake fluid also works fine for stripping "kiddie paint" from plastic interiors and windshields - it won't hurt plastics.<br><br>
Always clean your cars when you're done in an alcohol bath (no - not a bottle of Jack in the hot-tub !) to get rid of all the stripper residue (.... and no inuendos on stripper residue either !)<br><br><br>
Mark.

<img src="http://forums.gottadeal.com/images/smilies/new/gdyeahthat.gif" width="41" height="46"><p><br></p>Gel rocks the best!<br>Easy off oven cleaner is my second choice.. <br> I bought a gallon of "all purpose paint remover semi-paste"over a decade ago from K-Mart. It's actually a Gel and not paste as the label describes. It has been the very best for srtipping paint'. <br><br><img src="http://www.ezboard.com/image/posticons/pi_grr.gif" width="20" height="20"><p><br></p>

<span style="font-weight: bold;">Thanks guys for the info and options. I am after a clean natural Zamac look after the car is stripped, before I prep it for a clear coat. Does any of these products you mentioned make the metal dull after stripping? Which one would you say would be the best for my application?</span><br>

My experience has shown that none of the above mentioned products affects the cating or plating itself. <br><br>All spectraflame cars (68-72) are zinc plated and the condition of the plating will be readily apparent before you even strip the paint off.<br><br>Enamel cars - right up to present day - obviously aren't plated, but raw castings. You'll probably be surprised just how rough some of those castings are once you get them stripped .... there's a reason why they have that thick coat of enamel on them - it buries a lot of flaws.<br><br>In most cases, just stripping the paint will leave you with an original looking clean cast. That enamel paint has protected the metal from oxidizing all these years. If there were a lot of paint chips in the finish and the metal has darkened, you can bring it back up with some brasso and a soft cloth or toothbrush. You will still need to give it a lacquer thinners / alcohol wash after any polishing if you plan to clear coat it - ANY residual polish on the cast will cause fish-eyes in the finish. Also, do not handle the cast with your bare hands once you have given it the final cleaning. Use some cotton gloves to handle the car, else you may end up seeing dark fingerprints show up under the clear down the road.<br><br>Mark.

MArk, by alcohol, do you mean rubbing alcohol?

<span style="font-weight: bold;">Thanks again Mark for the great info, I will check out the brush on gel type, btw, the Jack and Strippers are long gone since I got marrried....lol. Too many memories. </span><img style="font-weight: bold;" src="http://static.yuku.com/domainskins/bypass/img/smileys/tongue.gif"><br style="font-weight: bold;">

The alcohol wash should be as pure as possible. Isopropyl with a content in the 90%+ range would be recommended. I use 99% pure industrial grade (which you won't find easily), but 92-95% would work just fine. Isopropyl in the 70 and 80 % range has too many base additives that seem to leave a residual on the surface. Use as pure as you can find.<br><br>The reason I recommend the alcohol, is that I've found a lot of lacquer thinners were also leaving behind a residual film that would mess with the paint finish. I couldn't figure the problem for the longest time - I swore my castings were spotless !<br><br>Once I added the final alcohol wash to my proceedure, I haven't had any problems.<br><br>Keep in mind, these are tricks I've learned over many years to make the job as fool-proof as possible. When I first started, I knew none of this. The first car I ever stripped was done with a wire wheel in a drill !!! Once the paint was gone, I painted it .... no surface prep at all. Granted, it wasn't very pretty - but I was on my way. Trial and error can be a great learning experience.<br><br><br>Mark.

<span style="font-weight: bold;">Hi guys, the car stripped well with Klean Strip in the can I happened to have for using on 1:1 car parts, it's foamy and tried it, worked like a charm!, 10 mins later, paint was all gone I rinsed it in cold water outside and with an old tooth brush in the detailed areas to get off the rest until completely clean, then warm soapy water in the sink, then some 91% alcohol , it dried fast and did not leave any residue, dry at a bone. Mark, thanks again for all your expert info, like you said, it has been trial and error for you through the years, so I greatly appreciate you stepping up here and offering your expertise in this field. <br><br>KUDOS to YOU Sir!</span> <img src="http://www.ezboard.com/image/posticons/pi_thumbsup.gif"><img src="http://www.ezboard.com/image/posticons/pi_wink1.gif"><img src="http://www.ezboard.com/image/posticons/pi_thumbsup.gif"><br> <br>

for that zamac look I would chuck them in a vib polisher with no added polishes after stripping the paint

1 thing to add, don't know if anyone does it here. If you have an old toaster oven, I think it would be a good idea to dry at a low temp to remove any residual moisture from the pores of the metal. I think that may be the reason for some restores to re-tone after some time has passed. Maybe clear before painting. <br>JMHO may work may not,<br><br>Cap

The thing that I've found to cause REtoning the fastest is to bring ANYthing water-based into contact with the cast .... including rinsing them in water.<br><br>
I had some water-based clear colors that I thought might work on a polished cast. It went on great and left a nice glossy finish. In a matter of six to eight months the ENTIRE car had toned - not just spots, but the whole thing !!!<br><br>
Ever since, I follow the "no water" rule religiously. No water-based strippers, no water-based rinses and no water-based finished .... chemical solvents all the way.<br><br><br>
Mark.

wow, this was just what i was looking for, and i didnt have to ask, thanxs guys
mitch