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So, recently I purchased two used chimeras, one older kit and one new. These were both painted in a dark green and brown camo paint scheme. To be honest the paint job wasnt terrible as the paint wasn't globbed on and was pretty clean. My guard are pretty much a not-tallarn armored battle group, so into the simple green they went! The newer chimera stripped quite easily down to the black primer...the older kit on the other hand... After vigorous scrubbing it appears that this tank was spray painted slightly glossy blue (the under side of everything is bare grey plastic) and painted with thick neon green acrylic. I have let is soak in 100% simplegreen AND scrubbed it with 91% isopropyl but it just wont let go. I'm assuming that the previous owner painted it when he or she was young and then repainted years later.

Have any you found something strange beneath the surface of paint while stripping? Also can anyone suggest anything stronger to loosen this up? Unfortunately Dawn power dissolver isnt sold in my area. I just need to get it down to a state where I can spray my airbrush primer over it so it wont glob up detail.

I bought a Dreadnaught off ebay over a year ago and like yourself, also uncovered a blue layer (sparkly in my case) that Simple Green, hot water, and ultrasonic cleaners would not even dent despite multiple week long soaks. I did my best to make sure it was smooth and primed over it but never ended up painting it.

Recently, I pulled it off the shelf and tossed it in a glass jar of DOT 3 brake fluid and let it soak for 3 days.

Last night, I had a look and all the blue paint (enamel I believe) was peeling off. A quick scrub with a old toothbrush and I am down to the bare plastic again. There isn't a trace of the blue paint anymore and I essentially have an almost new model again.

DOT 3 brake fluid. Give it a try. Its good for multiple strip jobs but most be disposed of properly, not down the sink.

 Rickfactor wrote:
I bought a Dreadnaught off ebay over a year ago and like yourself, also uncovered a blue layer (sparkly in my case) that Simple Green, hot water, and ultrasonic cleaners would not even dent despite multiple week long soaks. I did my best to make sure it was smooth and primed over it but never ended up painting it.

Recently, I pulled it off the shelf and tossed it in a glass jar of DOT 3 brake fluid and let it soak for 3 days.

Last night, I had a look and all the blue paint (enamel I believe) was peeling off. A quick scrub with a old toothbrush and I am down to the bare plastic again. There isn't a trace of the blue paint anymore and I essentially have an almost new model again.

DOT 3 brake fluid. Give it a try. Its good for multiple strip jobs but most be disposed of properly, not down the sink.

This.

DOT 3 brake fluid will remove just about anything from anything. It can even work on Finecast and resin, but you cannot keep the model in the fluid for long periods of time. Plastic and metal can be left much longer.

That blue and green tank might look rather interesting just varnished overall matte or satin.

Give the brake fluid a go, and if it doesn't work, distress the tank, paint it up, and use it as terrain or an objective covered in rust and corrosion. I've also bought done minis that we're a similar blue sprayed colour, but fortunately it was a sufficiently thin layer that I could over paint it. Wouldn't come off with anything I tried

Brake fluid does work very well but it won't shift everything.

Keep in mind with Brake Fluid that it is nasty stuff when it comes to disposal. It is considered hazardous and MAY NOT be poured down the drain or toilet. The good news is, it lasts for a really long time and you can reuse the stuff.

I have a rhino that has the exact same glossy blue undercoat that was not phased by a week in simple green. Sadly I had to scrape the paint off!

Simple Green is really not that great at stripping paints. Go to Walmart in the automotive section and get some Super Clean or Purple Power. They are much more potent (wear rubber gloves!) and will strip just about anything.

100% safe for GW plastic & metals as well as FW resin, even for long amounts of time.

I have stripped fully varnished models down to bare metal.

Slightly OT, but looks like you've found an Alpha Legion double agent

I agree Super clean or purple power. I use it all the time and works great.

Oh gak! I just spent the better part of yesterday afternoon scraping that blue stuff off of a whirlwind. I don't know what it is but I kind of want some to use as a resist for electrolytic etching...

After trying superclean, purple power,LAs totally awesome, simple green, and even supposedly acetone free nail polish remover... I was working on a similar problem with shiny black paint on rhino chassis. The only thing I found that would do the job was rubbing alcohol and a lot of scrubbing. The system was to soak for 10 minutes then scrub, dip the brush in the alcohol, then scrub more, and repeat. But after trying all those different products, this got it to bare plastic.

Click on the link in my signature. That should do the trick.

If all else has failed, you could try a sonic cleaner.

If the blue stuff is enamel paint you want some cellulose based thinner.This is what the scale modelers use for cleaning brushes when using enamel paints The bog standard stuff from DIY store should work fine but if you like brand names try Mr Color Thinner.

Hmmm looks like I'll just have to go down the list lol Thanks for the input guys. I'll post an update if I get anything to work.