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How do I use dot 3 to strip models. How long do I keep them in...do I dip, soak or paint it on? Just any info on using Dot 3 to get the paint off.

Thanks for your help.

You don't.

You buy Castrol Super Clean and use that instead.

Then you give thanks 10 years from now, when you're cancer-free and still able to have children...

what you mean like how they say dot 3 causes cancer the same way they say green stuff does? :S

sry man i got no answer to your question though.

Brake fluid is nasty stuff. Avoid it.

CSC works great. Use it.

I can agree w/all of the above. It can also attack the plastic, especialy since GW uses a softer & more porus plastic than in scale models. At least I think it is. If the plastic absorbs the "brake fluid" it will be harder to get a decent paint job later. I am also a mechanic who's had experience from aircraft to cars to heavy equipment. I avoid "brake fluid" every chance I get.

i know a few guys that i used to play with would use regular pinesol. (regular not lemon) they said they would fill a coffee cup about 3/4 full and set the minis in there for about 15mins i think. supposedly paint just melts off the mini with a toothbrush.

KingCracker wrote:i know a few guys that i used to play with would use regular pinesol. (regular not lemon) they said they would fill a coffee cup about 3/4 full and set the minis in there for about 15mins i think. supposedly paint just melts off the mini with a toothbrush.

This is true, but you have to be careful with your timing. Much more than 15 min. and the plastic begins to melt or warp. I'd stick with CSC.

To answer the question, submerge the model (plastic or metal) for 24 hours. Use rubber gloves, a brush, eye guards, breathing mask and hold the model with a rag to reduce splatter as you brush any remaining paint off.

I have not seen it ruin the plastic.

Or use this:

http://www.dakkadakka.com/wiki/en/Dakka_Modeling_FAQ:_How_to_Strip...

So I got to the post to late....who needs kids any way right...well it worked. On metal, plastic I have not tried, but will be using CSC on new stuff. No one ever said Dot 3 was so bad, I mean I'm not drinking it or anything.

I've only used it twice to strip models. I've probably been around it more working on the car to top off the brake fluid tbh. I'm not overly concerned. Especially since I sold cell phones for 6 1/2 years from '98 to mid 2004. Yeah, the old kinds: Bricks, Bags..nothing beats that 3 watt analog cell ;P

i have found castrol super clean to be relatively hard to find. i've heard everything from we don't carry that anymore to castrol stopped producing it.

SO... there is a degreaser/cleaner called Purple Power, it's in a white bottle at every wal mart i've ever been to and a gallon costs around 5 bucks. i just use a large pickle jar (cleaned out of all pickle residue) and if i have 2 minis or 30... i fill the jar so that the minis are all submerged.

doesn't melt the plastic AT ALL. I have left minis in there for weeks at a time... not because it doesn't work just because i get side tracked. i usually just let everything sit over night but i have experienced some pretty good results within an hour or two... if left over night the paint falls off the model under a stream of water from your kitchen sink. no scrubbing at all. i have found that i have needed to pick paint out of the tiny places on the model... but, i can't complain too much about that.

I am pretty sure that purple power and castrol superclean is the same thing, but like i said, i had a hard time finding the CSC, i went to wal mart, every auto parts store in my town, every hardware store and i checked online, however not thoroughly. i bought the purple power just because i was at my last wal mart visit looking for CSC, and i said... it's only 5 bucks, why not...

works pretty flawlessly.