Heading towards the last days I can use my garage shop before it’s really too hot, I’ve been working on stripping several models.

Stock cars

Working backwards among projects, the most recent one was a Scale-Craft stock car seen at the bottom of the photo below. That one, the paint came off extremely easily after a day soaking in 91% isopropyl alcohol. This is my standard paint stripper of choice. With some models, it works really well.

Then we get to the other two stock cars, and a couple relatively cool mornings when I could use the shop. Those two cars, they soaked for weeks in the alcohol, and it was only somewhat effective. In the past, sometimes I would use a stronger stripper but in the big picture I’d rather not use such strong chemicals. So, instead, I worked on both bodies with a scraper, a small chisel, and an X-Acto knife, scraping off the remaining paint. It took a while! Then I also run it through a long cycle in the ultrasonic cleaner.

The middle body came out real well and has now been primed.

Backing up a few steps, I got some great decals from K-4 Decals, Texas and Pacific stock car decals, so I’m on a stock car building project. I still need to cut and apply some number boards, etc.

Also backing up, I have only used Tamiya primer on some models, but now I realize that it needs to be used on all metal models, they don’t recommend painting directly on metal with the regular spray paint. Use the primer first. If I’ve used the ultrasonic I like to prime it when the model is extremely clean.

Which brings me to the top model in the photo. That one, if you zoom in, that side has some issues. It looks like zinc pest, but what triggered it was the builder used solder to attach brass pins to the body, and must have used an acid flux. This side is pretty damaged, but the other is better.

I was going to paint it anyway, but looking closer I was like, no. So back to the parts cars and I found another SC stock car with only one good side. That side is now in the stripper, and I’ll put the car back together with two good sides before setting it up for the new decals.

A Fleischmann Baldwin

The other model I’ve been working on was this Fleischmann Baldwin, which I have a drive almost complete for.

It had a few decals on it, and I soaked the hood in water to remove them. When I did that, the paint surface developed bubbles, it was coming off in water! I thought it should be easy to strip.

Fast forward after soaking a couple weeks in the alcohol, there was some very stubborn paint present. In the photo below I had finished with scraping the frame and cab, but had not yet done so to the hood.

As of right now, both have been primed and look solid.

In all of these, it has been helpful that they are metal and can handle some scraping, which causes no damage. As I said, it takes a while to do this, but it is kind of therapeutic in a way, and it’s nice to see these vintage models on the way back to being attractive models.