Spotlight Hobbies


Glue bonds from the day can be really hard to handle - but mineral spririts are patience will usually carry the day

You want to get it apart with the least amount of collateral damage possible.

I usually hit things that are hidden with the dremel and a coarse drum or the milling bit at low speed, the less stress on the styrene, the better.

Glue joints between like plastics that don't pop after a few soak and dry cycles in a purple concentrate need to be scored at the joint (seats, window glass) with a broken tip #11 CAREFULLY... then dab with a normal size brush dipped in Mineral Spirits. I have heard a very light 'crackle' as the spirits migrate into the seams of window frames, for example. That means it is working - keep it wet for a while and let the chemicals do the work.

Just keep dabbing and encouraging and it should pop.

Strippers - Fresh Zep Brand Concrete and Driveway Cleaner Concentrate (getting to be a tougher find these days) will get enamels/varnishes. EZ Lift Off is the go to for lacquers, just keep splashing the body and agitiating the paint with a soft toothbrush. Once it is loose, the much less expensive 91% or 99% will get the rest. I've never had the success with EZ Off that others have - the purple concentrates have both the lye and the glycols (like brake fluid) in the formula.

Chase panel lines with a toothpick sharpened to a chisel point. I wouldn't take many nights doing that, part of my regular body prep is to deepen and square off the body seams with a scriber or a #11 broken tip which will get most of it anyway.

And my final secret revealed - the fiberglass bristle 'nick' sanders that are available through a few sources will do a good job of cleaning dried residue from textured moldings ('66 Bonneville lower body, for example) if used gently, and they can prep hard to reach surfaces at the lower front fender, around wheelwells, Corvette 'gills' etc.

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