Has anyone had good luck on stripping  paint off old AHM cars made in Austria so far the tried and true 90% alcohol has not done it  and I'm out of potassium hydroxide  (pot ash ) . has anyone tried Mr. clean on these cars ? what I'm trying to strip is several helium cars .

I've never tried it myself but I've read that brake fluid can sometimes be used as a stripper. I would test it in an inconspicuous spot first.

Tom

I have used brake fluid with success on some old Athearn Blue Box models. However, I used it on another brand which I cannot remember the name of and it it took the paint off and misshaped the model. I may have been at fault as I might have left the model in the fluid for too long. I had submerged the model in the fluid.

I agree definitely test before using.

Be wary of brake fluid as a paint stripper:  while it can work well on some plastics, it can also make a real mess of others.  I stripped an Atlas diesel shell using brake fluid and it damaged the bodyshell so severely that it was almost unrecognisable.

A safer choice might be Super Clean, as I've used it for stripping paint from all types of rolling stock without any ill effects on the plastic.  It's supposedly somewhat caustic, but I've handled partially-stripped items un-gloved, with no ill affects.  However, if you need to fish the item out of the container that you use for the stripper, it might be advisable to wear nitrile gloves.

I use this former Kool Aid container for Super Clean, although it's too short for most HO scale passenger cars, which need a "double-dip" to get the paint off the entire car....

[attachment=36943]

Simply toss the item into the container, cap it, then come back later to see if the paint has started to come off or is only starting to soften.  A toothbrush (used or new) is useful for scrubbing-off the softened or already loose paint.  Some types of paint may take longer than others, but it seems to work on pretty-well any type of paint.
It also has a good shelf life, even after you've stripped a number of items, as long as you keep the container capped.  The loosened paint usually simply drops to the bottom of the container, but the fluid remains useful as a stripper, even after multiple uses.

Wayne

Tom the brake fluid melts the AHM plastic .
Doc  will try the super clean as it easier to get than pot ash and way cheaper .
Jim

20 hrs.' in super clean and so far no effect on paint or plastic .

I remember using oven cleaner once to strip some boxcars. It's been so long, I think it worked, but I can't be sure how well. Just a thought....

(08-31-2021, 12:45 PM)jim currie Wrote: [ -> ]20 hrs.' in super clean and so far no effect on paint or plastic .

Well, at least the model hasn't been destroyed. 

My former go-to paint stripper was methyl hydrate, which doesn't have much effect at all on many current-day models, but may work on on your older models.

I got this Athearn caboose for a couple of bucks...

[attachment=36971]

...then dropped it into a container of methyl hydrate.  Within minutes, the paint began to blister...

[attachment=36972]

It took only a few minutes and a little work-over with a toothbrush to get all paint off the body shell.

While methyl hydrate is used primarily for thinning shellac and varnish, it is also a good paint stripper...but not for all paints.  You should be able to find a pint (or gallon) of it at any hardware store or home improvement outlet.
I'd consider it a type of alcohol, but one that's on steroids when it comes to stripping paint.  Work in a well ventilated area if possible.

If you chose to use it, make sure to use nitrile or heavy rubber gloves, as methyl hydrate is readily absorbed through your skin, and can cause severe damage to some internal organs. 

At one time, it was also one of the components used in Gestetner copying machines...a co-worker used to use it to wash the ink off his hands after a day of making copies, and I wouldn't be surprised if it contributed to his demise.

Wayne

Dumb question...are you sure the cars have paint on them rather than dyed plastic? I cant believe that something already mentioned would not have at least some effect. That said, oven cleaner works well for me.

(08-31-2021, 11:07 PM)nachoman Wrote: [ -> ]Dumb question...are you sure the cars have paint on them rather than dyed plastic?  I cant believe that something already mentioned would not have at least some effect.  That said, oven cleaner works well for me.

yes there painted green silver and yellow  . don't know what type of plastic there made  of as they are from the 1970's  and the pot ash i have used is a type of lye .

Wayne I might be forced to try methyl  hydrate if its cheaper than the  pot ash i found in stock  it is over 30$ a gallon

well the methyl hydrate didn't work either  I'm starting  to think that they used automotive paint on these cars as its fairly thick coating will get into town and pick up a gallon of pot ash for last ditch attempt .
Jim

Have you got a sandblaster?  It seems like it might be easier to remove the plastic and simply let the paint stand on its own, as it's apparently pretty tough.

Wayne

to up date the super clean took the paint off the silver and gray cars in less that 12 hrs  but nothing touches the green and yellow paint which looks like a match for 1970 porche colors conda green and canary yellow if i had known what a problem the yellow and green turned out to be I would have look for more silver and gray cars . live and learn i guess .

Just a thought, but I've been using my ultrasonic cleaner to strip paint off of vehicles that I've been trying to paint. It even stripped off the primer coats. I have a couple of passenger cars that I might sacrifice to test it on factory paint, I bought mine at Harbor Freight when they had a recent "10% off everything" sale.