is there anything in specific to be careful about when stripping paint from toys with acetone? i know this is like grabbing for handouts, but i've really no clue and i'm interested in possibly removing paint from a few japanese made toys in the future. thanks for any thoughts J.
Basically, just don't use too much... if you over do it with too much acetone, it will start to eat into the vinyl. Better to just use quick swipes with a cotten ball, or some other soft material that won't scratch or dig into the vinyl's surface. After you take off a bit of paint, let it sit for a while and let any residual acetone evaporate off the figure's surface. Too much acetone will also fog up clear vinyl, so go lightly. On areas of foggy clear vinyl, I used a fingernail buffer to get it shiny again.
I don't know about acetone, but I just recently stripped a toy with lacquer thinner. I did some quck wipes with a rag and took it off quite quickly. Didn't hurt the figure at all.
Mind what these guys said, and definitely be very very careful. If acetone can do this to styrene it may not be so forgiving with vinyl: http://toyboxst.inwards.com/phorum/read ... msg-131136
A kit builder friend of mine uses a small tub of auto break fluid to strip paint. It is MUCH slower but also safer in terms of not harming the plastic or vinyl. It can take up to a few days soaking in the tub. I have not done this myself, so I can not speak first hand. Just thought I would pass it along as an option.
thanks a lot everyone!! if/when i do this i will certainly be approaching it with much trepidation. would rinsing a toy off during stripping be okay? i'm thinking back to college chem and i don't know enough about these compounds to determine how they react with water. i'm pretty sure it would be fine but i thought i'd throw it out as a bonus Q. LOL
