We seem to get on the topic of stripping paint two or three times a year I posted this back in July of last year. It is relevant to this discussion. j
Rubbing alcohol or denatured alcohol will both work. Both are flammable. Acetone is too aggressive and will dissolve many plastics. Not to mention it has a high vapor pressure and a low flash point, not a good combination. Would be my last choice. I use Lye, sodium hydroxide which is the active ingredient in oven cleaner. In an old 5 gallon sheet rock mud bucket I add about 4 gallons of water and 1-1.5 cups of lye crystals stir till dissolved. Tie a nylon cord to the body shell and lower into the solution, every 6-8 hours scrub with a soft nylon brush most paint will be off in a day or two. I keep the snap-on lid on the bucket while soaking. Use rubber gloves and eye protection though this weak solution would give you plenty of time to rinse your eyes with running water should some splash in your eyes. Old clothes ! I use a brand called ComStar Commercial Lye that a small independent hardware store near my house stocks. $6-8 for a life time supply. Once all the paint is off wash well to remove all the stripping solution. The best thing about using lye is once you mix a bucket it will last for years and overall is the cheapest method. The old Lionel shells hold paint just fine but the new water based paints don't stick very well. I scrub my shells with a soft brush, soap, water and a lot of BonAmi scouring powder. till all the shine is off the plastic. Now you have enough tooth that most paint will adhere. I have a stock pile of original Floquil model RR paint it is no longer made and works fine on the Lionel F3 shells. I use Floquil's water based PolyS paint but don't like it quite as much as the old solvent based stuff. Forget using spray cans you will never get the paint on thin enough not to hide much detail. I have been known to spray out of a can into a jar and then use it in my airbrush. That is the only way I use spray cans on models. There are infinite ways to get your F3s a good new paint job this is just the way I do it. BTW; The lye solution will strip the remaining chrome plating off old chrome plated cars, such as the Flyer passenger cars. j
Another post about paint stripping from 11-26-17
Several substances will remove paint from Plastic and not attack the plastic,in most cases. The rate you dilute them will determine how fast they act and how much control you have. If you wish to completely strip down to the bare plastic 91% isopropel alcohol will remove the paint using a soft brush to help it along. It is easy to find and relatively safe. Lettering can be removed if you use a soft brush to coax it along faster than the rest of the paint on the model. My favorite because it is really cheap is Lye, Sodium Hydroxide. Use Goggles it can scar your eyes though you would have to leave it without rinsing for some time. I used to use Red Devil but they stopped selling lye some time ago, Some drain cleaners are pure lye I have a two pound can "ComStar Commercial Lye" that I bought at a local hardware store for $8. Last time I bought Red Devil it was .79 cents for a one pound can that lasted me almost ten years. Some drain cleaners have metal chips in them so look and if you see little bits of silver or gray it is not pure Sodium Hydroxide. There is a learning curve as to the dilution that will get the job done. I used to dump the full 16oz can of Red Devil in a 5 gallon plastic bucket the kind sheet rock mud comes in with a snap on lid. Then fill the bucket with water around 80% full. Once I bought an American Flyer passenger set at a garage sale that someone sprayed the cars with silver and since the aluminum in silver paint reacts fast with the sodium hydroxide I was able to remove all the silver with hardly any effect on the green factory paint. I have also removed decals with little effect to the paint. And last as GRJ mentioned is Brake Fluid it is particularly good on water based paints and won't attack most plastic or metal, which can't be said about Lye. But it won't remove all paints at least in a timely manner. Oven cleaner contains lye and I have used it. Guess there are numerous substances that will work but which ever one you choose experiment on something you don't care about and try it on something you want to completely strip first. Before you go trying to remove lettering or decals where there is some finesse involved. And then there are Air Erasers that are basically sand blasting in miniature. They use a fine powder likely pumice to remove graphics and lettering. I have had one on my wish list for years but don't own one yet. I have watched a friend make a rubber cement mast and remove graphics with an air eraser. After a dull coat you could not tell where the graphics were and I would guess 80% of the paint underneath was untouched. j
