Remove paint, don't hurt decals?

[Tito]

Just purchased this Corgi RM and would love to remove the paint without hurting that very nice unique decals. Would appreciate any help.

Tito

[GHOSTHUNTER]

Hi Tito.

Great picture!

This could be a difficult one and we need to try and establish what type of paint has been used, so a few questions for starters...
1, Does it have a gloss or matt finish.
2, Can a finger nail dig into it and scrape away a small area easily.
3, Is the underside also painted the same.

Ghosthunter.

[Tito]

Does it have a gloss or matt finish.

Gloss

Can a finger nail dig into it and scrape away a small area easily.

No

Is the underside also painted the same.

No

Thanks Ghosty
Tito

[GHOSTHUNTER]

Thank's Tito.

Given your answers, there is a high probability the paint is a common enamel hobby paint. There are a couple of liquids that give similar results, such as nail varnish remover and non synthetic brake fluid.

I do not know what both of these liquids will do to the decal, so it is important you are very careful not to get it on them for now. It is a pitty the base is not painted the same as this would have been a good place to practice some paint removal, so all we can try is one small area perhaps at the back of the Bus.

If you have the means to stand the Bus on it's nose with support from something heavy like a few stone bricks, you can use a cotton bud dipped into some the liquid and concentrate on one area such as one of the panels and keep applying it to keep the area wet.

If you only have nail varnish remover, try this first, it is less troublesome or dangerous than brake fluid if you spill it or get it on your fingers, but in the event of any spillages, kleen it up as soon as you can.

How long the softening will take place depends on how hard the paint has dried and how strong the liquid we are using, thats why we need to keep applying it to the same area in the hope it takes effect and softens the paint, but be prepaired for a long haul because of the subject chosen, a big Bus...

After an Hour or so, gently wipe with cloth and gently press a blunt object onto the surface to see if it is soft and to see if with the blunt object you can force some of the paint to move around on the surface, if this is the case then great we have managed to release the paint from the surface.

I said a blunt object such as a handle end of a Tea spoon or a small butter knife as I assume you want to try and keep as much of the original Red paint or are we intending to do a full re-paint, therefore going right down to the bare metal, let me know your intension.

Ghosthunter.

[Tinman]

An "Air Eraser" is the best tool for removal of paint, tampos and other detailed removal of things one no longer wants on a model. Any fine medium can be used and simple baking soda is a good example of a medium I've used to remove paint off a decal and tampos off of paint. It is a process that requires some skill and practice ... so work on some beaters first before going straight to the model you wish to fix.

The "air eraser" tool is pretty inexpensive, but you must have all the other tools for airbrush painting (compressor, hose, water/air filter, regulator etc.). That said, an air eraser will do surgical removal of unwanted stuff on a model. I've used the air eraser to turn a messed up rare model (purchased for a price of lunch money) into a highly sought after rare model!

[toysnz]

An "Air Eraser" is the best tool for removal of paint, tampos and other detailed removal of things one no longer wants on a model.

Joe - what "air eraser" do oyu use... I've found Paasch, Badger and one by Harbor Freight on line....

Ian

[AJR]

Try Brut deodorant (not anti-perspirant) on a soft cloth. Available from £ shops for ... erm ... £1.50p.
This is also a good way of removing tampo printing as it removes the softer of two paint finishes.
It shouldn't hurt the decal.

[Tinman]

An "Air Eraser" is the best tool for removal of paint, tampos and other detailed removal of things one no longer wants on a model.

Joe - what "air eraser" do oyu use... I've found Paasch, Badger and one by Harbor Freight on line....

Ian

Basically, it's a miniature sand blaster. For fine work, I use baking soda (Sodium Bicarbonate) as a blasting medium. I use one by Paasch but the inexpensive one from Harbor Freight seems to work just as well (judging by the videos I've seen on youtube).

[toysnz]

Joe - what "air eraser" do oyu use... I've found Paasch, Badger and one by Harbor Freight on line....

Basically, it's a miniature sand blaster. For fine work, I use baking soda (Sodium Bicarbonate) as a blasting medium. I use one by Paasch but the inexpensive one from Harbor Freight seems to work just as well (judging by the videos I've seen on youtube).

Thanks Joe - I think I'll get a cheap one and try it out... I've an old Dinky Foden with some overpainting I'd like to remove (usually use alcohol, but it is a time consuming process) and I have a tin Kingsbury Cord I'd like to do a little rust/dirt removal on. Since I'm going to be having a total knee replacement in August I'll have a bit of spare time on my hands ...

Ian

[Rob]

Try Brut deodorant

You have to ''splash it all over'' UK guys may find this mildly amusing if they remember that far back.