I bought a Die Cast police cruiser and want to paint it white. I have bought primer and sprayed it on the car, the added the white paint. The results......terrible. Now I am going to strip the car of all its paint.
Any suggestions on how to strip the paint on the car...and how to paint the car to make it look even and shiny?
Thanks
I hear in the US you can get special stuff, in the UK i use Mr muscle oven cleaner, works with most but not all, im gonna try brake fluid for some paint it doesnt touch.
Try to use Simple Green - my son has used it and it works great.
Woody
Marc LePage wrote:
Don't use oven cleaner or caustic soda on diecast models it will eat them alive. better to try the brake fluid idea for this one or a commercial paint stripper.
Some have suggested Mr. Muscle, Simple Green, Brake Fluid and similar things.
Virtually all diecast is painted with a baking enamel, for adhesion, which makes it pretty tough stuff. Also, diecast miniatures are almost universally cast in zamac, which is non-ferrous, and has a high percentage of zinc.
Caustic chemicals which can be used on plastics with virtually no problem are death on zamac, in fact some will eat away the zamac before they touch the paint!
Strong suggestion: "Aircraft Grade" paint strippers are made for use on active metals (after all, aluminum is about as active, chemically as zinc). Aircraft stripper can be gotten at paint stores, auto supply stores, even in the home improvement sections of major retailers.
Just follow the instructions on the can, and be sure to use eye and hand protection, this stuff can be nasty.
Once stripped and washed down, you may want to take some time to rid the surface of your model of mold parting lines (far more visible than on most plastic model bodies) with files and sanding.'
For a primer on diecast, I've had the best luck with "self-etch" primers, which are made for use in automotive touchup and body repair. Self-etching primers will "bite" into the zamac just enough to make a very tight primer coat very resistant to chipping and flaking (adhesion of paint to zamac can be a real problem!). Once primed with this stuff, you have all manner of choices for a finish, but I would suggest automotive touchup paints.
Art Anderson
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