favorite tips for potions or chemicals that are effective to remove paint from brass.
At lot depends on the paint that was used, but I've had good results using lacquer thinner, which seems to work on all kinds of paint. Other options with which I've also had good results were Super Clean, and methyl hydrate.Super Clean is supposedly somewhat caustic, but I've not had any issues with minimal (ungloved) handling of the item(s) being stripped. However, some paint strippers also require a little manual help, and if I'm using a toothbrush with a caustic substance to remove stubborn paint, I do wear either nitrile gloves or ones specifically for caustics - paint strippers of this type can strip skin, too.
Methyl hydrate, some years ago, would strip paint from virtually anything, but it does seem less effective on the paints which are in use nowadays. If you're using it, definitely wear either nitrile or chemical-type rubber gloves, as methyl hydrate is readily absorbed through the skin, causing liver and kidney problems, and, like many similar chemicals, the vapours are readily absorbed through the eyes, too.Good ventilation and proper protective equipment is a must.
Wayne
johnbalichFavorite tips for potions or chemicals that are effective to remove paint from brass.
Everything Doctor Wayne said.
You did not say if it was factory paint or a previous owner's paint.
Factory paint on brass, in my experience, has been very difficult to remove.
User applied paint job are much easier to get off.
On this brass caboose with a bad factory paint job, I soakked it in DOT-3 brake fluid for weeks, sprayed it with gasket remover, scraped it, and then bought a glass bead blaster!
Good luck.
-Kevin
Living the dream.
SeeYou190 On this brass caboose with a bad factory paint job, I soakked it in DOT-3 brake fluid for weeks, sprayed it with gasket remover, scraped it, and then bought a glass bead blaster! Good luck. -Kevin
Kevin, you removed the signature of the painter of that caboose. NWSL had this caboose made, it was one of the first Korean brass models ever made and it was put in NWSL FED series of models. FED was known among the modelers as the Far East Disaster Series.
This caboose followed no known prototype, and each caboose had the painter's signature on it, his thumbprint where he dipped the caboose in a pail of paint in order to paint it!
Rick Jesionowski
Rule 1: This is my railroad.
Rule 2: I make the rules.
Rule 3: Illuminating discussion of prototype history, equipment and operating practices is always welcome, but in the event of visitor-perceived anacronisms, detail descrepancies or operating errors, consult RULE 1!
Hi there. I use the Badger blaster kit, with soda as a blasting medium. I find it works well and it also removes any tarnish on the model. It does do a mess - but I still prefer that to solvents.
Simon
I use extra strength Easy-Off oven cleaner to strip baked Scalecoat 1 paint from brass. Bear in mind it is caustic, so don't let it sit in an aluminum baking pan for more than a few hours (learned that the hard way). A soft toothbrush aids in removal, and like Kevin I also blast with AO 240.
KT
Be careful with these approaches, as some of them will eat or corrode solder and detail parts. Not all the engine is clean brass, and in some cases there is sloppy and stained fabrication under 'brass-colored paint' intentionally made tough to damage.