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[glanafon]

Hi

I have just bought a tatty Happy Hunter to renovate/alter. the main problem is that it has been very badly painted with Humbrol enamel paint which i would like to remove without causing any damage to the plastic hull and other parts. Any suggestions on what may help me accomplish this job would be appreciated. Someone has suggested nail varnish remover. Is this any good?

Many thanks

Winston II

[Shipmate60]

The Happy Hunter has a vacuform hull.
Do NOT use varnish remover as it will disolve the hull.
The best way is wet and dry.
Rub it down till smooth, use another couour as an indicator and rub this coat down with finer wet and dry.
Then only paint with Humbrol to ensure compatability.
You will be fine, I have done loads as I do like refurbishing models.

Bob

[DavieTait]

Well if its plastic then i'd spray it with Mr Muscle oven cleaner. I use that stuff to remove enamel paint from metal and plastic wargames models and it takes enamel paint off without any problem at all. Don't leave it on more than 10 minutes then use a scrubbing foam pad to scrub off the paint , wash it down with soapy water then leave it to dry. Sand it lightly to key the surface and it'll take paint againt no problems.

Davie

[Ghost in the shell]

personally id take it right back to bare plastic.  Humbrol have probably changed the mix over the years, so humbrol may not go with humbrol.

try plasticote enamel paints,

[Seaspray]

Question

Is it possible to gently sand blast the paint of his boat. ? 

Can you get a mild sandblaster to suit this situation ?

It would be a lot easier and get into those crooks n crannies.

Martin

[warspite]

There is a trend nowadays for companies to use a nitrogen extractor, it collects nitrogen from the naturally occuring air around you and compress it so that is ice cold / solid, this is then blasted at a surface to remove grease etc and there is only the removed product as waste, since when the nitro naturally gets up to room temp it disolves, could be too abrasive even sand to be none damaging to the boat etc.

[Jonty]

Brake fluid? Check first that it does not attack the plastic.

[DavieTait]

If using brake fluid only use D.O.T.3 or less do NOT use D.O.T.4 as this melts plastic as I found out to my cost when stripping paint off wargames figures , ended up with a nice gooey mess !!!

Davie

[glanafon]

Just like to say thank you for all the helpfull suggestions on how to remove enamel paint from my Happy Hunter, after ages sanding it down, i heard about a product called Modelstrip made by Gaugemaster. So i bought some of this Modelstrip and i can tell you it is brilliant. Paint it on , leave it for about 10 hours (overnight) and wash it off.
The stuff does exactly what it says on the jar, leaves the plastic unmarked but removes the enamel paint.
It is the only way to do it, believe me.

Winston II :)

[Seaspray]

Any chance of a before and after pics  ?



Seaspray

[ambernblu]

Just like to say thank you for all the helpfull suggestions on how to remove enamel paint from my Happy Hunter, after ages sanding it down, i heard about a product called Modelstrip made by Gaugemaster. So i bought some of this Modelstrip and i can tell you it is brilliant. Paint it on , leave it for about 10 hours (overnight) and wash it off.
The stuff does exactly what it says on the jar, leaves the plastic unmarked but removes the enamel paint.
It is the only way to do it, believe me.

Winston II :)

Hi... I chased up the thread for this stuff Modelstrip for my refurb job ('cos it sounds like it will do the job) so of course I go searching for it on eBay - on the off chance of finding some that I could get delivered for this weekend... and I dodn't know, look what I got - I WAS searching for Model strip - honest Guv.... 

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/GAUDiNHO-ORiG-BRAZiL-THONG-BiKiNi-STRiP-MODEL-2006-GOGO_W0QQitemZ5472362963QQihZ015QQcategoryZ58458QQssPageNameZWD1VQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

... and I went searching through all this guys shop items   ::) just in case he had some of this Modelstrip I needed - but unfortunately he didn't - how annoying is that!! 

Having said all that, checkout the item location - Rio de Janeiro, Germany?  ???

[ambernblu]

wet and dry, bit of elbow grease and something wet like water ish?
 Get a grip and all that? c'mon eh?

Paul, thank you for that suggestion - however, to explain, I was looking out for the modelstrip material for a specific reason.... (believe it or not....!)

If you checkout pic 1 (5) below, thats a flat deck area, largely unobstructed, but covered with loads of thick Humbrol green No77...yuk! So, wet and dry, bit of elbow grease and something wet like water.... no problems - made a start on it and will do more tomorrow like I've been happily doing for more years than i care to remember (oh and that whitish/green squarish area is the new flush tiller access hatch i made from scratch tonight... as the original was missing - so i got a grip and all that (c'mon eh?) and built one!)

Pic 2 (6) however shows one of many areas on the refurb job where thick horrendously multicoloured fittings abound and where that horrible Humbrol green No77 has been applied in some difficult, extremely tight and very delicate areas... (and there's more!) hence I was wondering (as well as to save time) if a model strip material may come in handy for areas such as this - I do hope you approve! 

Trust me Paul, I'm not a politician! But I can understand why someone earlier today suggested having a Mayhem get-together would be good because he would be able to talk to other modellers and ask questions without the fear of being made out to be the village idiot! 

Can't think for the life of me where he gets that idea from! 

Cheers, Brian

[Too Large - attachment deleted by admin]

[ambernblu]

Paul, pleased you liked it! 

[martno1fan]

try international paint called japlac for the repaint its great stuff comes in many colours and leaves absolutely no brushmarks!!.also cheaper than humbroll you can get large tins of the stuff for the same price as a small tin of humbroll.

[ambernblu]

try international paint called japlac for the repaint its great stuff comes in many colours and leaves absolutely no brushmarks!!.also cheaper than humbroll you can get large tins of the stuff for the same price as a small tin of humbroll.

Hi... Sounds very interesting - I wonder what sort of colours are available for a late 1930's RN Destroyer? Deans Marine suggest Halfords acrylic range of paints - mainly aerosols, which can be a bit expensive. Where are you buying these Japlac paints from and are we talking both matt and satin?
I can go and take a look at them at least. Cheers for that, Brian

[martno1fan]

i got mine from B&Q but there are sometimes sellers on ebay selling this stuff,mine was a gloss yellow for a power boat ,im not sure if they do matt or not, maybe if you do a search you may be able to find the colours you need?.all i can say is its touch dry in  2hrs and it covers very well,its fuel proof water proof you name it ,my boats nitro and the fuel hasnt harmed the paint yet!!.have alook here at theyre website and see what colours you can find!!http://www.international-paints.co.uk
 just checked it out they only seem to do high gloss apart from black sorry!!,but if anyone wants some good gloss paint try it its brilliant stuff.

[dougal99]

[ Deans Marine suggest Halfords acrylic range of paints - mainly aerosols, which can be a bit expensive.

Ron has said many times that the cost of the paint compared to the overall cost of the boat is small.

Why spoil the ship....etc

JMO

Doug

[martno1fan]

you can buy acrylic paint fro almost anywhere you dont need to use halfords1!,they are a bit expensive try B&Q they have acrylics as do wilkinsons and a few other places.also check ebay and choose an ebay shop that way you get things at a good price but safe!!.

[cbr900]

Most of the paint that comes from ebay would be terrific for painting dog kennels but that is about all, it's rubbish...


Roy

[dougal99]

You pays your money and takes your choice.

Ron recommends the Halfords sprays as being the best in his opinion.

Each to his own.

Cheers

Doug

[cbr900]

DOUG,

Dead right mate the better quality the better the finish, take your time and do it properly...


Roy

[ambernblu]

Guys, thanks, Please don't panic, I've got my Halfords acrylic spray shopping list emailed from Deans Marine to produce a very early war version of HMS Maori (I think - rest of family live in NZ, so a tribute to them i guess!) which means I'll be rid of this green decking colour and can replace it with nice orangy/red decks...!!

I've also ordered some Modelstrip direct from the Gaugemaster website.

Its interesting to note all your favourite stuff, especially what you think about various paints, as i have only ever used Humbrol on the boats I've built - sometimes even gloss paints on my two fast boats (oh and Gloss Humbrol light grey - as per Glynn Guest's suggestion!) on my original 1987 balsa 1/144th Battle class destroyer (my steep R/C learning curve!)

Certainly if I do another fast electric racing boat, I'll give those Japlac paints a go - they were only in high gloss finish and I couldn't find a broad enough colour range. As for the other acrylic ranges mentioned, i know a few guys at the club swear by an acrylic undercoat spray can for a £1 from the local Poundshop - they tell me it can't be beaten on quality - and obviously on price either! What can i say?

Thanks for the help and suggestions - nice one - perhaps I'll post some pics when i get spraying!

regards, Brian

[martno1fan]

Most of the paint that comes from ebay would be terrific for painting dog kennels but that is about all, it's rubbish...


Roy

what a ridiculous statement!!! ive bought hundreds of quallity items off ebay at half the price of many so called retail outlets.try doing a search for whatever paint you care to use and compare the prices of halfords to one of the ebay shops and see.same paint better price.no one was suggesting using rubbish paint i was suggesting buying the same paint at cheaper prices theres a massive difference but hey you cant educate ignorant people!!.

[Seaspray]

You've just got to watch what you buy on ebay... it is an experience you get. Just pick the good from the c**p

Preperation is  99% of the job !!!

Martin