NC Paint Removal

I've got a 4" PML nosecone that needs refinishing due to paint chipping off. Does anyone have a good technique for removing the old paint other than sanding? Sanding just heats the paint enough to turn it to sticky goo - clogs the paper and generally just makes a mess. Suggestions?

Reply to
J.A. Michel
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Hi joe, get some wet sanding paper at the auto section of your store and fill a bucket up with warm water and liquid dish detergent.

Keep the nose wet and the paper wet and it does not heat up or get the paper filled up with paint to turn into a goo.

Hope this helps, it will come off in just a few mins of work this way.

have fun !

Reply to
AlMax

Reply to
Jim M

I used EZoff years ago on styrene plastic parts and it removed the paint, after some effort, without destroying the styrene. It's been awhile since I messed with it, but as always use it on a similar piece of unneeded plastic first.

The other method in the modeling world was to soak it in brake fluid for a week or so, I seem to recall I didn't have to much success with that method.

Chuck

Reply to
Chuck Rudy

Wet-sanding is the best method I've found.

-Kevin

Reply to
Kevin Trojanowski

A bit of trivia related to getting the paint to stick to a blow-molded nose cone: A couple of weeks ago, I met with the owner of a blow-molding company concerning a project that I've been considering, and the subject of paint adhesion came up. Apparently, on jobs where the finished part is to be painted, the blow molded part is flame treated at the plant. Pressing further on how this was done, I was informed that they simply pass the flame of a cheap propane torch over the surface of the part! (There is specialized equipment to do this on high-volume jobs.)

According to the plant manager, it takes some practice to get the technique down (duh...), put once the part is flame treated, paint adhesion is no longer a challenge.

Perhaps one of the chemical/techie types can fill us in on what actually happens to the plastic?

James

________________________ James Duffy snipped-for-privacy@mac.com

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Reply to
James Duffy

Blow molded nosecones for hobby rockets are typically manufactured from polyolefins such as polyethylene and polypropylene. These are low surface energy, crystalline polymers that exhibit low surface energy. Flame treating increases surface energy thus promoting wetting and adhesion. Another method commonly used is corona discharge treating which accomplishes much the same thing. The latter is preferred in applications where surface oxidation cannot be tolerated although some will argue that surface oxidation is what is increasing the surface energy in the first place. The techniques are used extensively for print labeling of polymer packaging in the food industry. It's also important to note that it's efficacy is generally dependant on how soon the ink or paint is applied after the treatment. It's also not a silver bullet.

Anthony J. Cesaroni President/CEO Cesaroni Technology/Cesaroni Aerospace

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887-2370 x222 Toronto (410) 571-8292 Annapolis

Reply to
Anthony Cesaroni

Reply to
Phil Stein

Interesting! When I paint my cones, I rough them up with a palm sander with

60-grit until they are really fuzzy. Then I prime and wetsand until they are smooth, then paint. (which takes FOREVER, BTW) Looks great when done, and you think it STICK, but no. Any hard impact which causes the cone wall to flex is enough to pop off a large chunk of paint.
Reply to
J.A. Michel

What blow molded material is?

Reply to
Jerry Irvine

I just whack the nosecone with the handle of a screwdriver until most of the paint flakes off. Then I scrape the rest off with an X-acto knife held perpendicular to the surface

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Reply to
RayDunakin

Jerry wrote,

Jerry,

My reply was in response to James's inquiry regarding flame treating.

Sorry if I confused the thread.

Anthony J. Cesaroni President/CEO Cesaroni Technology/Cesaroni Aerospace

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887-2370 x222 Toronto (410) 571-8292 Annapolis

James Duffy wrote,

Blow molded nosecones for hobby rockets are typically manufactured from polyolefins such as polyethylene and polypropylene. These are low surface energy, crystalline polymers that exhibit low surface energy. Flame treating increases surface energy thus promoting wetting and adhesion. Another method commonly used is corona discharge treating which accomplishes much the same thing. The latter is preferred in applications where surface oxidation cannot be tolerated although some will argue that surface oxidation is what is increasing the surface energy in the first place. The techniques are used extensively for print labeling of polymer packaging in the food industry. It's also important to note that it's efficacy is generally dependant on how soon the ink or paint is applied after the treatment. It's also not a silver bullet.

Reply to
Anthony Cesaroni

You need to use an auto product for painting bumpers and stuff called of all things:

Flexible Bonding Clear

it is put on wet before your paint to make a flexible bonding coat for the paint the will stick on your bumper or cone.

Reply to
AlMax

It also helps to scrub the nosecone first with hot soapy water, then don't touch it again with bare hands until after it's painted -- the grease from your fingers will affect adhesion. You can also buy products for degreasing prior to painting.

-Kevin

Reply to
Kevin Trojanowski

Bob Sanford used to pass out this "flame broil" tip for AT and other blow molded nose cones. With all the plastics now used, it's common in the auto refinishing industry. Part of it is probably removing mold release compounds, but it also does something to the plastic surface to promote adhesion.

Bob Kaplow NAR # 18L TRA # "Impeach the TRA BoD" >>> To reply, remove the TRABoD!

Reply to
Bob Kaplow

Anthony, you didn't consused the thread. You confused Jerry. 8-)

Reply to
Phil Stein

Just to update this thread, I tried the suggestion to whack it off ;-) with a screwdriver handle. No dice - guess I'm not a good whacker. ;-)

After that, I tried wet-sanding. All the grit came off the sandpaper - hey, guess I should use wet-or-dry paper, huh? DOH!

Next, I tried the suggestion to strip the paint with Easy-Off. Had a can laying around, so I thought what the hey. Sprayed it and, wrapped the NC in a bag, and let it sit for a couple of hours. Uh-huh. That worked like sh*t.

So, I ended up scraping it off with a utility knife, following up with a palm sander to get the primer that would not scrape off. The primer sands off without gooing up at all.

Reply to
J.A. Michel

I just removed the paint on a couple nosecones that I painted in a hurry and the paint started to chip off. My method was sticking shipping tape to the cone and pealing it off. It took a little time to get all the paint off but it worked quite well.

Reply to
Zak Orion

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