Stripping Floquil?

[daniel_leavitt2000]

I have had a rough time stripping some gray and silver Floquil paint from a few vehicles. The paint is OLD. I have tried 91% alcohol and Chameleon paint stripper. Neither has worked. Any ideas?

[Kisatchie]

...I have tried 91% alcohol and Chameleon paint stripper. Neither has worked. Any ideas?

Try Scalecoat "Wash Away" paint remover. Don't listen to Dee.


Hmm... pour bottle into
washing machine and toss
in cars to be stripped...

[peteski]

Or Floquil ELO (Easy Lift Off) paint remover.

[LV LOU]

 Daniel,Purple Power,Castrol Super Clean,ETC,pretty much any of the "purple" cleaners will take Floquil off..Wear gloves,though.My friend had an ABA set of Kato F3's,he decided to cheat,put a green/yellow CNJ toothpaste tube paint job right over the factory paint..It was his FIRST paint job,looked like a big green/yellow Butterfinger bar when he gave then to me to try to save them.With the Purple cleaner and alcohol,got them completely down to bare plastic,even the chicken wire..LOU

[davidgray1974]

Or Floquil ELO (Easy Lift Off) paint remover.

That was going to be my suggestion as well. 

[LV LOU]

Or Floquil ELO (Easy Lift Off) paint remover.

ELO,8 ounces,$15.00 from a hobby shop,probably not in stock.Purple cleaner,$8.00 a gallon at any Walmart or hardware store,and can be used for other things,even when it's dirty,it will clean your drain...I've never used a commercial stripper in my life,the prices are stupid...

[Hyperion]

Lou -- is there a particular 'purple' cleaner that you like more than another -- maybe one that doesn't have a bad smell or washes away easier than another or something like that?

I've used 91% alcohol with good success in the past on factory and my acrylic paint jobs, but I've got a few units that are being pretty stubborn with some residue and, while I could probably paint over it, your description of straight to the gray plastic even on the grills is intriguing.

[LV LOU]

Lou -- is there a particular 'purple' cleaner that you like more than another -- maybe one that doesn't have a bad smell or washes away easier than another or something like that?

I've used 91% alcohol with good success in the past on factory and my acrylic paint jobs, but I've got a few units that are being pretty stubborn with some residue and, while I could probably paint over it, your description of straight to the gray plastic even on the grills is intriguing.

Truthfully,it seems "purple is purple"..I've never really seen one that worked or was different than another in any way.I may gravitate to the more expensive stuff just because,[Oooh..Ten bucks a gallon,LOL!!] But they really all seem to be exactly alike.You REALLY need to wear gloves with it,though,it'll mess your skin up pretty good after prolonged exposure.Just putting you hands in it is bad..The stuff REALLY rocks in an ultrasonic cleaner,but it really only works well on Floquil,even prehistoric old dead dried 40 year old paint.If 91% alcohol doesn't work,Purple is next..Nice thing,even if you don't like it for some reason,at least you can still clean you bathtub with it.

[ns737]

HI Daniel did you heat the 91% up or was it cold? I striped two up sd70 Ace engines with 91% right down to gray plastic it even removed the flags. I heat a bowl of water in the microwave to boil then put my bottle in bowl on the table and let it heat up. then pore the 91% in a tray. put the shell in and 10 min. later take a tooth brush clean the paint off in about 5 min. i have a shell that looks just like a undec.  shell.

[peteski]

ELO,8 ounces,$15.00 from a hobby shop,probably not in stock.Purple cleaner,$8.00 a gallon at any Walmart or hardware store,and can be used for other things,even when it's dirty,it will clean your drain...I've never used a commercial stripper in my life,the prices are stupid...

Lou, I have the Purple Cleaner, ELO, Scalecoat Wash Away, Chameleon, EasyOff Oven Cleaner, and several other brand (and home-brewed) paint strippers in my arsenal. In my paint stripping adventures I often find that some strippers work with some paints and not with others.  Purple Power is good but not for every paint.  That is my personal experience (YMMW).

[peteski]

HI Daniel did you heat the 91% up or was it cold? I striped two up sd70 Ace engines with 91% right down to gray plastic it even removed the flags. I heat a bowl of water in the microwave to boil then put my bottle in bowl on the table and let it heat up. then pore the 91% in a tray. put the shell in and 10 min. later take a tooth brush clean the paint off in about 5 min. i have a shell that looks just like a undec.  shell.

I agree that heating the stripping solution is an excellent idea. It makes it much more aggressive!

[tehachapifan]

Be careful with "crazing" with certain plastics. I used to use non-water-based Floquil back in my HO days and the first Athearn shell I ever painted crazed pretty bad (this was due more to my inexperience at the time). Then, I started using their "Barrier" to protect the shell which worked great for years afterwards. However, if I recall correctly, I had another shell craze when I stripped Floquil back off. This removed the Barrier as well and the paint mixture that was coming off during the stripping process was still able to craze the shell.

[LV LOU]

Be careful with "crazing" with certain plastics. I used to use non-water-based Floquil back in my HO days and the first Athearn shell I ever painted crazed pretty bad (this was due more to my inexperience at the time). Then, I started using their "Barrier" to protect the shell which worked great for years afterwards. However, if I recall correctly, I had another shell craze when I stripped Floquil back off. This removed the Barrier as well and the paint mixture that was coming off during the stripping process was still able to craze the shell.

Cheap $3 a can primer from Walmart stops that.You can use different colors to change the final color you spray,black base makes the final color darker than gray..