Stripping Paint Off Resin

I've looked through the threads on paint stripping after doing a search here but didn't really get my question answered. I have a resin helmet that needs the paint stripped off of it in a bad way-you have no idea! Anyway, most of the commercial paint strippers out there are a mixture of toxic chemicals and wasn't sure how that would react with the resin bucket as I was afraid it'd melt or become disformed. Someone mentioned Dawn Power Dissolver, and was wondering how that'd work-anyone used it for several layers of quite durable paint? I did see a "more" natural paint stripper made of oranges or something and wanted to know if anyone has used it, does it work, and will it harm the resin? Thanks for your time guys!

I think your just gonna have to sand it. Most everything that will remove the paint is gonna attack the resin too.

I would have to agree with pennywise, Ive realized that the only way for me to get paint off resin is just to sand it.

-tubachris

BRAKE FLUID!

Seriously. 20 minutes in a bucket of brake fluid ought to be enough to loosen up the paint but not nearly enough time to affect the resin underneath.

Be careful when sanding spray paint though - wear a mask, as it can release lead dust.

Originally Posted by Uther

Be careful when sanding spray paint though - wear a mask, as it can release lead dust.

That's the best part! Mmmmmmmm...braindeath.

If the existing paint job is sound & not peeling or bubbling, there is no need to completely strip it back to bare resin. Just give it a good sanding to smooth out any paint lines & keep the detail crisp, prime it, & you're ready for new paint.

Yeah, when I bought the bucket I'd hoped for a smooth helmet surface I could prapare and paint over. Sadly though the paint job had quite a few spots where they must have painted it with one quick, and heavy coat as there are spots where the paint had run down the sides. Plus I'm repairing a spot where the helmet was dropped or something and cracked. I repaired it with some 3500 PSI strength epoxy, and need to do some sanding and Bondoing (is that a word/verb?) to make it perfect again...I did buy some of the "Eco-friendly" stripper made from Orange's, and tried a little two inch square on the back of the helmet-sparingly of course. I waited just until the paint started to wrinkle and scraped it all off and wiped the area down with water after.It took the top two layers of white off and some of a thick coat of that dark brown primer, ad didn't damage the helmet in any way. It'll be alot easier to sand just the stubborn primer off, and I don't have to worry about inhaling lead dust all afternoon-well "as much" lead dust anyway.

You can use Easy Off Oven Cleaner.

It will remove most of the paint and will not hurt the resin.

You can use Easy Off Oven Cleaner.

It will remove most of the paint and will not hurt the resin.

I'll second the Easy off suggestion.
I've used easy off oven cleaner on ABS and Fiberglass - no damage to the parts beneath. Paint comes off easy. (let sit about 10 minutes) Wipes off with a paper towel.

Third for Easy Off. Just spray it outdoors.

Easy Off huh? I think I have a can around here somewhere, which saves me a trip to Wal-Mart...Do you think it'll interact with the epoxy where I repaired the helmet? If not I can always tape over the area and sand that strip rather than risk the bond breaking...I really need to affix the brackets inside to keep it from coming apart before I really start sanding that area...Anyone else ever repaired a cracked resin helmet before? If so I'd welcome any advice you could give to help me make the helmet perfect again?

Originally Posted by Dha Syntir

the "Eco-friendly" stripper

lmfao. there's a visual statement

Yes, yeees brake fluid dude!

We also have something over here called Nitro Mors. Works great also. Not sure what it's for though

Originally Posted by saint_nasty

lmfao. there's a visual statement

You gotta love eco-friendly strippers... I tried the Easy Off and I was surprised how well it worked. It seems the helmet has had a couple coats of paint and primer, or one big coat of both as the Easy Off seems to be taking off a layer at a time. And the paint does come right off with a paper towel just like you guys said. When I first read the posts about the Easy Off, I was sorta skeptical that it'd work so well. I'm skeptical no more...So thanks again guys, you saved me alot of work that I was dreading to be honest.

I also have a question for some of the 501st folks that they may be able to help me with. I'm going to do an AOTC ARC lieutenant, and I'm not certain if you use a gloss white finish, semi-gloss, etc. I have a can or two of Krylon Glossy White I was going to use but I figured I'd ask first...Thanks.

try straight strength pin-sol! thats what i use ( soak it in the pine-sol for a good couple hrs, repeat if neccessary)...ive built several sci-fi resin and styrene model kits over the years and acetones, some brake fluids, and oven cleaners ruined some of my projects!! so years bcak a guy at the hobby shop told me to use pine-sol, it wont melt or eat away at the resin. hope this helps

Pine Sol huh? And I had that right here the whole time and I had to run to Walmart-twice to get the Dawn Stuff and the Easy Off. The Dawn Power Dissolver stuff took off the top layer of paint, but not the particularly stubborn paint and brown primer sprayed beneath it. The Easy Off worked better than I expected. It still took several coats of the stuff to take the paint off, but there are a few stubborn spots I'll have to sand down I reckon. There's nothing I love more than sanding-especially left handed... I wish I'd have taken pics of the progression as I stripped the paint along with a brief play by play of the events. It might have been helpful to someone, or not...

the trick w/ the easy off is to seal it in a plastic bag for a good couple hrs. then it usually comes off with ease....but.....i only used the easy-off on styrene to get off enams and acrylics! i dont think it would harm the resin to do this, but like i said, i havent tried it on anything resin.

Hey guys, I'm new here, has anyone of you tried using the Dawn Power Dissolver? I'm so close to getting it from this site. Please advice.

I've been using Pine Sol with great results for years. Don't get the lemon scented stuff as it doesn't work. There are some primers that it turns gummy instead of braking it down but it'll still come off.

Watch out it will make plastics soft if you soak them longer than half an hour.

Originally Posted by tim2009

Hey guys, I'm new here, has anyone of you tried using the Dawn Power Dissolver? I'm so close to getting it from this site. Please advice.

lol dude, this thread is over 2 years old


sandpaper and primer is still king in my book for repainting.