Octane wrote:hey, I has a question....
How might one go about removing unwanted paint from a figure? Say, testor's paint marker? I did some touchups on a figure that I have now decided didn't need touchups. Any suggestions?
I used Goo Gone to take silver Testor's enamel paint marker off of a Mutant Skycutter and it worked like
a dream! The original paint on the toy should stay on while the other will rub off gradually with a course paper towel or a white cotton terry cloth. Put your Goo Gone on the affected part and let it lie on the surface for awhile then start the process of rubbing it off. It may take more than one application so you have to be patient.
Look who is advising patience........
It doesn't seem to take the detail off of your labels if it just happens to get on them but I wouldn't tempt fate with it either so I'd try to keep Goo Gone off the labels. It is a petroleum distillate.
Anyhoo..........
Praise be to mighty Ramjet for introducing me to Goo Gone! That stuff is a life and time saver! Goo Gone comes in bottles, mini portable pens and big 'Ol big spray bottles too. Its a little pricy but helps prevent you from ruining toy boxes during the price tag removal process and toys during paint or label removal. It also gets rid of that sticky price tag glue too!
If Goo Gone doesn't work.........very carefully use some paint thinner or if you're feeling adventurous lighter fluid (that delightful stuff that comes in a yellow can... Ronson's) and gently massage the affected area. Take care to not get the lighter fluid or paint thinner on any plastic windows or your vacuum metalized parts it could haze it. It'll sometimes warp plastic windows too.
If you use any of the above make sure and burn your paper towels or wash your cloth towels as soon as you can. Don't store either until later because items impregnated with petroleum distillates could spontaneously combust and set your house on fire.
You'll at least have an excellent chance to play with fire for a "legitimate" reason.
Rubbing alcohol (isoprophyl) will take the paint off too but it will
for sure haze and mess up your metal parts and windows. It'll strip the dye off your labels just as sure as the world spins too. Use this stuff as a last resort with great care only.
The only chemical I can say to never toss on a Transformer is turpentine. That stuff is like tossing holy water on a vampire!
I don't know if any of you have had experience with it but it turned my white Transformer paint chalky after it dried and made a blooming mess out of a Red Alert I had!
I also got the turpentine on my jeans.......a couple of hours later I felt a burning sensation on my leg.
The turps had actually burned the area of skin where it fell on my pants and made a welt on my skin!
So stay away from it!
If your paint is acrylic try scraping it off with your fingernail or the paper part of a Q-tip after the cotton is pulled off. Since acrylic paint is kind of like a plasticy rubber and has a matte finish to begin with your fingernails will catch the paint surface easily and maybe all you have to do is just peel/scrape it off in sections.