Teardown
The decals had not been sealed in the original build and were in the process of falling off the model. The original builder used what I believe are enamel paints that were applied by hand.
These engines will be removed in favor of more historically accurate pieces from Ozmods. Preserving the raised panel lines will be challenging, as there is some major surgery involved here.
I applied the brake fluid with a sponge to the entire surface and set it aside for an hour. I found that after an hour I could break the paint with a toothpick, but it took several coats of fluid to finally get the paint to break its hold on the plastic.
The underside was more of a challenge, as the lighter shades did not want to separate from the plastic. In order to preserve the raised panel lines, I used a toothpick to gently scrape away the separated paint before adding another coat of brake fluid.
With the fuselage already separating along the center seam, I separated the halves for easier handling before gently removing the gear doors and a few other pieces.
This process is incredibly messy. The toothpick method of removing the loosened paint from the model is a technique that I highly recommend if you are attempting this yourself.
The top half shows the bare plastic, which is in great shape, but light passes right through it. I masked the windows with canopy glue and sprayed the bottom half with Vallejo acrylic primer inside and out.
Комментарии
27 December 2019, 13:36
JDHi James, that looks challenging, would you say that's acrylic paint you're stripping?
27 December 2019, 19:31
James SkalickyIt is quite the project, and something I have never done before so will be taking it slow. This is very thick enamel paint that has been hand brushed. So far it has taken three days and countless coats of brake fluid to get it all loosened up. It seems that the lighter colors are the most challenging to remove.
27 December 2019, 22:14
JDEnamel is tough to remove, I gave up on a kit I was trying to rescue recently because of all the enamel. I'll be watching...
27 December 2019, 23:41
Album info
The disassembly of a 30+ year old model in preparation for restoration and updates
