I’ve been asked several times and noticed it is a reoccurring question on modeling sites just how to go about stripping paint from old models. I decided to take this opportunity to make this quick tutorial with a Shadair jet from the Gerry Anderson UFO series.

I have seen more people recommend using oven cleaners for this process. All I can say to that is DO NOT DO IT! Oven cleaners are extremely dangerous chemicals that just should not be used for this hobby. Even more so when safe options are available. Let’s face it when it comes to building models I hope to have a long healthy life in the hobby.

Two products that work wonders are Simple Green and Castrol Super Clean degreaser. For this project the paint was thick and I had no way of knowing just how long it was on the model so I opted for the Super Clean.

Before starting make sure you know exactly the composition and material of the model. Both the above mentioned products work safely on plastic, resin, and fiberglass kits. If you’re not sure– sand a small area removing enough paint to verify the material.

Select a container that is suitably sized for the subject. Be sure it has a lid, as this can take from a day to a week to completely strip the model and nothing is worse than spilling all over your bench.

Next I place the model in the container and pour in enough Super Clean to cover 3/4 of the model. I fill the remaining amount to completely cover the model with water.
You may opt to dilute more or less depending on how stubborn or old the paint.

    

In this case, the plane is hollow and wanted to float. Adding a non corrosive weight to the model keeps it submerged. Here I’m using an aluminum block heavy enough to do the job. I cover the container with the lid and wait.

    

After about an hour I inspect the parts to see how things are going. The paint has already started to ripple and slide off the parts. Enamels seem to break down much faster than acrylic paint, so I keep checking back on it to see if more solution is needed to cut through the paint. Once the paint has started loosening up I’ll scrub the parts with a tooth brush to remove the thick spots or multiple layers to speed things up. The red stripes where quite stubborn and required quite a bit of scrubbing.

Once the majority of the paint has been removed from the model there are corners and recesses that still have paint. I use tooth picks and pieces of styrene that are cut to shape to scrape out these areas. I’m now ready to clean the parts up for the rebuild. Simply scrubbing all the parts under running water with a soft bristle tooth brush will remove any debris and cleaning solution.