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?
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 !
Although I have not tried it, a person with plastic model background told me
that EZoff oven cleaner makes a good paint remover. I believe the "No
fumes" stuff was milder than the regular. Obviously, I'd try it on a throw
away first.
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
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
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
formatting link
(905) 887-2370 x222 Toronto
(410) 571-8292 Annapolis
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.
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
.
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
formatting link
(905) 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.
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.
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
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!
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.
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.
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