NGreen
Quarry Creeper
Ok, with all the JK bodies going on out there I figured why not. Anyways, after reading and reading and reading about different ways to remove the mud off the mudslinger type bodies, I have come to this conclusion...it sucks. It sucks bad. That aside, I tried multiple different methods and this is what I've come to.
The stickers...they're gay and have to go. The best way to remove the stickers is with a hair dryer. Heat the stickers up and peel them off. It brings up not only the stickers but the glue as well. Super clean, super easy.
The Mud.....what a pain in the dill hole.
Sandpaper: to some, an obvious choice. It takes time, effort and produces fast, effective results. The only problem is you have to constantly be careful of the details on the body or you'll sand them off....and after that, why waste your time if it isn't going to have the details, right? Bottom line, it works, but it takes effort and patience. Fastest method.
Brake Cleaner: Bad move. It works wonders on metal, can clean anything off of your hands, smells like crap, but is horrible for the plastic body. This may be an obvious conclusion to some, but take my advice, IT WILL EAT YOUR BODY IN MINUTES. I trimmed some of my fenders and put them in a cup of brake cleaner to see if the paint would come off. It did...and fast. However, it also brought off the plastic in a sticky residue form. Left over night, all I had left was this black fluid....not a bit of shape was left, it completely melted the plastic.
Acetone: Similar results as brake cleaner if left on too long, but it sorta takes the paint off. Not very effective and smells horrible.
Rubbing alcohol: Waste of time. Super waste of time. I spent about 20 minutes rubbing a dot of mud and nothing happened. I guess I was hoping for some magic but I was disappointed.
Denatured alcohol: Works well, but it is a slow process. It doesn't hurt the plastic and eats away at the paint, but it takes a while to do it, so have plenty of time on your hands and I hope you're not ADD like me. Another downside is the rate at which it evaporates. You'll be constantly wetting your rag and it gets annoying fast.
Gasoline: Effective, but not really worth the risk. At some point during the gasoline phase, I realized that I had my Ipod blasting out some techno and the garage was filling with gasoline fumes and was probably not safe at all. I imagine that diesel has the same effect. I didn't spend much time with it so I don't know how it effects the plastic.
Now the kicker.....
Dot 3 Brake fluid: Shit is amazing. At first I had a small pint size container and it was taking the paint off really quickly. I got excited and kept scrubbing and scrubbing but realized it wasn't really that efficient and it was getting late. I decided to risk it all and leave it over night with the body and so I went and found a large bucket, found a gallon of the cheapest brake fluid I could find ($15 bucks), poured it all over the body and the whole gallon in the bucket. I came back the next morning and literally could shake off the paint. I got a tooth brush and hit up some of the cracks and details, but by far the least effort required with the best results. Not a scratch, the body is in good shape and I'm only out a gallon of brake fluid. I put the body in the sink in warm water and Dawn grease cutting dish soap and it's clean and mud free! I did this with the windshield as well as the head lights and signal markers. Be careful not to put the whole headlight assembly in the brake fluid or the chrome will come off of the buckets. Strip the hot glue off the lens and put only the lens in. The fluid does not effect the clarity of the glass when it's all said and done.
*Edit* I hear Dot 4 brake fluid works even better than Dot 3....have not done it myself, but I'm sure it's true...after all, it is on youtube. "thumbsup"
Final thoughts:
Use a hair dryer, use brake fluid, and have a bucket as well as a tooth brush handy that you don't mind throwing away. I hope this helps some in deciding how to strip some paint!
The stickers...they're gay and have to go. The best way to remove the stickers is with a hair dryer. Heat the stickers up and peel them off. It brings up not only the stickers but the glue as well. Super clean, super easy.
The Mud.....what a pain in the dill hole.
Sandpaper: to some, an obvious choice. It takes time, effort and produces fast, effective results. The only problem is you have to constantly be careful of the details on the body or you'll sand them off....and after that, why waste your time if it isn't going to have the details, right? Bottom line, it works, but it takes effort and patience. Fastest method.
Brake Cleaner: Bad move. It works wonders on metal, can clean anything off of your hands, smells like crap, but is horrible for the plastic body. This may be an obvious conclusion to some, but take my advice, IT WILL EAT YOUR BODY IN MINUTES. I trimmed some of my fenders and put them in a cup of brake cleaner to see if the paint would come off. It did...and fast. However, it also brought off the plastic in a sticky residue form. Left over night, all I had left was this black fluid....not a bit of shape was left, it completely melted the plastic.
Acetone: Similar results as brake cleaner if left on too long, but it sorta takes the paint off. Not very effective and smells horrible.
Rubbing alcohol: Waste of time. Super waste of time. I spent about 20 minutes rubbing a dot of mud and nothing happened. I guess I was hoping for some magic but I was disappointed.
Denatured alcohol: Works well, but it is a slow process. It doesn't hurt the plastic and eats away at the paint, but it takes a while to do it, so have plenty of time on your hands and I hope you're not ADD like me. Another downside is the rate at which it evaporates. You'll be constantly wetting your rag and it gets annoying fast.
Gasoline: Effective, but not really worth the risk. At some point during the gasoline phase, I realized that I had my Ipod blasting out some techno and the garage was filling with gasoline fumes and was probably not safe at all. I imagine that diesel has the same effect. I didn't spend much time with it so I don't know how it effects the plastic.
Now the kicker.....
Dot 3 Brake fluid: Shit is amazing. At first I had a small pint size container and it was taking the paint off really quickly. I got excited and kept scrubbing and scrubbing but realized it wasn't really that efficient and it was getting late. I decided to risk it all and leave it over night with the body and so I went and found a large bucket, found a gallon of the cheapest brake fluid I could find ($15 bucks), poured it all over the body and the whole gallon in the bucket. I came back the next morning and literally could shake off the paint. I got a tooth brush and hit up some of the cracks and details, but by far the least effort required with the best results. Not a scratch, the body is in good shape and I'm only out a gallon of brake fluid. I put the body in the sink in warm water and Dawn grease cutting dish soap and it's clean and mud free! I did this with the windshield as well as the head lights and signal markers. Be careful not to put the whole headlight assembly in the brake fluid or the chrome will come off of the buckets. Strip the hot glue off the lens and put only the lens in. The fluid does not effect the clarity of the glass when it's all said and done.
*Edit* I hear Dot 4 brake fluid works even better than Dot 3....have not done it myself, but I'm sure it's true...after all, it is on youtube. "thumbsup"
Final thoughts:
Use a hair dryer, use brake fluid, and have a bucket as well as a tooth brush handy that you don't mind throwing away. I hope this helps some in deciding how to strip some paint!
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