How (NOT) to Strip Paint from a Lexan RC Body
Step By Step:
Choosing a candidate to strip should be pretty simple. I choose a body that had a bad paint job from day one. Paint from the backing had bled through the primary color, windows had been painted and had lines and other inconsistancies that did not look impressive. Unfortunately, this body is the (un)lucky candidate that will undergo stripping.
Second step to stripping is to gather the correct materials. I utilized some inexpensive Dot 3 brake fluid, which happens to be "Prestone" branded. Most any Dot 3 certified fluid will eat through standard paint on lexan... As well as eating the lexan if left to its vices. Also useful is some degreaser, rubber gloves (to protect your skin), a roll of paper towels, and a lot of patience. You'll need to work as quickly as possible once you get started to minimize the affects that the Dot 3 fluid will have on the lexan. Once you've gathered the necessary supplies, pour a generous amount of fluid into the body and begin to wipe the inside down with the brake fluid. A nice thick coat should be applied evenly, then allowed to sit for about 15-20minutes. This will be the first step in breaking up the paint (especially if it's been on there for awhile!).
The Third step is a "Rinse-and-Repeat" step... In other words, you'll repeat this until you clean up the old paint on the body. After the fluid has soaked for about 15-20 minutes, you'll notice that the paint has become "slimey" this means it's become soft enough to start scrubbing off of the body. Pull on those rubber gloves, grab a paper towel with some brake fluid on it, and get scrubbing. The faster you can get the paint off the body and then get the brake fluid off the lexan the less damage you will do to your lexan. Scrub evenly and make sure you work all the way through the body. If you find stubborn spots, you may need to re-apply the brake fluid let it set and then keep scrubbing. I can't stress enough the importance of minimizing the contact of the brake fluid with the lexan. It's eating the paint quickly, but it'll do that to the lexan too! Inevitably, you'll get some clouding using this method, but it depends on how you work and how you clean up.
If the first application of fluid does not clean off all the paint (which it likely won't) you'll have to repeat the 3rd step. This is simply a matter of getting the paint loosened up enough that it will come free of the lexan. The more intricate the body is, the harder it will be to get all the "cracks and crevices" clean of the paint. It took me 3 applications and about a total of 1 hour to get all of the paint loosened off of this body. Unfortunately, that is TOO long for the brake fluid to be in direct contact with the lexan. I got some "Severe" clouding because I was unable to get the paint loosened fast enough.
The final step is to clean up your mess. Use some clean toweling (as necessary) to wipe off as much of the excess brake fluid as possible. You CANNOT pour brake fluid down the drain, that's just not safe for the environment so you'll need to wipe off the excess and dispose of the towels accordingly. After you have wiped as much of the excess fluid as possible, you'll need to spray the body down with a degreaser (I used mean green) or with some sort of less abrasive cleaner to clean the residual greasy-ness off of the lexan. Wipe this clean, then wash the body under a faucet using some mild dish detergent. Allowing the body to dry, you'll be able to see your handy work. Unfortunately, I'd say mine is lacking. I did not move quick enough to prevent MAJOR clouding on this body. This technique is one that I've heard about on many message boards and forums, so I wanted to give it a try and either PROVE or DISPROVE the theory. The results are mediocre at best.
