TOPIC:

Hi guys, i know just how usefull you all are and how much you know, so have a short quick question

I want to remove the old paint from the plastic body of my P38 Tyrrell, what the best way of doing it apart from 600 wet and dry ? i read somewher on here that De-Solv-It Grafitti Remover from Screwfix does a good job, however i dont want to melt the plastic and cant find any info regarding will it melt the body or not, so until i get some positive reply i am not going to attempt it, i am sure theres a lot of you out there who knows the answer !!
Thanks in advance
Tez

Tez, I've used it on several Styrene/ABS bodies & it didn't melt any of those ... it does soften the surface slightly though, so wear gloves to avoid leaving fingerprints & don't use hard tools on it - nothing tougher than a toothbrush.

Lengthening the dwell time doesn't seem to make it any worse, so I tend to slap a good layer on, leave it 1/2 an hour, give it a thorough agitate & slap more on, leave it another half hour, another throrough agitate, then scrub off under running water ... and repeat. 3 - 4 cycles does quite a good job. The time taken will depend on the sort of paint that's been used on it - Humbrol enamel can be a real badword, aerosol auto paints don't tend to be too bad unless they were put on really thick ... not sure about 2 pack as I've never come across it yet, but I'd imagine it wouldn't shift at all.

Once it's finished, give it a thorough scrub with fairy liquid & leave to harden & de-fume for a couple of days.

The stuff does reek - so ventilation is a must, eye protection would be a good thing too, also try & use plain paper to sit the car on

Hi Jonny

If IIRC i did use Humberol on it and yes i think its going to be a right badword to get off, i now thinking maybe i will just use 600 wet and dry and smooth it down, prime it and then just re-paint with correct colours as par spec, think it will save a lot of time

thanks for the imput tho.
Tez

My experience of sanding is that it takes longer, the paint melts & spreads, you loose details, and there's always the risk of a paint reaction.

I can appreciate that you'll have the motivation to get your car finished quickly - but you have a car that has some financial value & I would have thought a lot of personal value there - and remember that the quality of the paint finish is directly proportional to the time & car you take over it ... my experience (again) is that the overriding thought you'll have about a "quick" paint job is "I wish I'd taken more time over it"

Take a look at my finished Sand Rover - as that's the paintjob I'm most pleased with, the ideal process for me (which that came close to) is something like:

Remove all old paint with Graffiti Remover

Leave 24 to 48 hours

Rub down with 600/800/1000 grit paper

Fill any imperfections & rub down

Complete wet rub down with 800/1000/1200 grit paper

Allow drying time ...

Spray "guide" coat of grey plastic primer

Fill any imperfections that show up (& rub down)

Allow drying time ...

Spray 2 - 4 coats of grey plastic primer

Allow drying time (24 hours +)

Full wet rub down with 2000 grit paper

Allow drying time

For translucent paints/ lighter colours: spray 2 - 4 light coats of undercoat (white plastic primer normally, silver for pearlescent reds, it'll depend on what your top coat is - for blues I'd probably go with white as well)

Allow drying time (24 hours +)

Spray 2 - 4 colour coats

Allow drying time (72 hours to 1 week)

For cars with a lot of decals, apply them wet with a little fairy liquid, then leave plenty of drying time (48 hours + )

Spray 1-2 light coats of clearcoat/lacquer, followed by 1 or 2 heavy coats

Allow drying time (72 hours to 1 week) before handling




I seem to have a bit of a reputation for doing things in fast forward here ... (whole bunch of background deleted) ... even so I think 5 weeks is quick for a restoration.

All taken on board and thanks for the info, i have started on the rear wing, managed to get the sides parts off in one piece and with no damage, i am taking my time for sure, i'm in no rush and want a good finish, i managed to remove the decals without leaving and sticky crap and have rubbed down with 600 and 800 wet and dry the 4 part componants back down to the original plastic, all are looking good and am happy with the outcome so far, next is to prime the parts but cant untill i get some primer, just need to order some !

The next thing to do is decide weather to use the new spare main blue section of body i have or restore the original body and remove the decals and paint ? at this point i am undecided

Have also found among the bits and bobs of Rc stuff i have a brand new 540 motor and new speed controler, its not the disc one like the original but the sliding bar over the coil type so will fit that also, but do i fit the original Acoms radio back in or leave it out ??

All be it i am restoring this back to look like new but i will not be running it thats for sure, i think it will be going in a disply case on my wall unit !

Out of curiosity what will it be worth once it is all done ??? any comments taken on board, thanks

Tyrrell P34 used but mostly there for like $60usd on ebay USA now...
Tamiya keeps reissuing the P34.
As I've said before; Tamiya is killing the collector values market with all the reissues right now.
The Tyrrell P34 used to sell for $300-400ish; nice built ones.
NIB= $700-1200usd?
I have one that I got as a partial built NIB kit.
10yrs ago, it was worth like $500
If the originals held their once high $$$$ values, I'd be 100% happy!
I hope they do in the future when ever I try selling mine off for crazy high$$$$!
I do love the reissues in a way;
you can go beat the snott outta them and not worry about cutting your own throat by thrashing on a old vintage car.

There's a new built one on eBay right now - 110 GBP BIN or best offer ... these are evidently worth less than thought



edit- it is in the UK so I don't know why it's showing up in USD

Nah thats the 76' Japan lexan body f104 2010 reissue.
The old 1978 released P34 alloy chassis[kit#03] Tyrrell is on ebay USA or was today for like $60usd.
The seller is in Arizona

The Tyrrell of mine that used to be worth around $500usd is the alloy chassis' kit #03.
It was made in like 1978 by Tamiya.
I have it now fully museum/perfectly built and painted- underglass- and signed to me by MARIO ANDRETTI!

The one that is or was on ebay was this car/ kit#03.