My ultima is feeling a bit blue...

[ROH73]

Most, but not all, Kyosho plastic parts are glass filled nylon. Acetone won't hurt the nylon, but test first. Purple Power, Super Clean, etc. are all sodium hydroxide (lye) based degreasers. I use them on aluminum all the time, but just for a quick cleaning with a toothbrush and then a rinse. I wouldn't soak aluminum parts in it. Regular old laquer thinner, paint thinner or mineral spirits won't hurt the aluminum. Acetone won't either.

[Coelacanth]

Here's what I'd do. Get a small margarine container and put a half-inch of acetone in it. Put this container (without lid) in a large plastic bag. Put your car inside the bag, with the chassis plate resting on top of the margarine container. Seal or knot the plastic bag. Let it sit 24 hours. No acetone will touch anything, and the fumes should eat or soften most of that paint.

You might want to do this with the wheels & tires removed, because the fumes will eat any CA glue that might've been used to cement the tires to the wheels...or, leave them on if you want to remove the tires from the wheels, if they're glued on.

After 24 hours, I think a good scrub with a toothbrush would get rid of most of that blue paint.

[Kyoshojoe]

One thing to note when using a solvent like acetone on the parts is that it most likely will reactivate the paint and the cleaning process will be very messy. I used acetone to clean a tf3 composite chassis that hade been painted and had to scrub it in an acetone bath after removing the heavy paint coat by rubbing with acetone dampened paper towels and had to keep using a clean surface. Essentially the paint mixes with the solvent and will just get diluted depending on the volume of solvent. You will most likely need a clean bath or two.

When I had gotten all the paint off I was left with a clean chassis but the edges, screw holes, and scratches still held pigment in the fibers so I used a sharpie to stain them back to black. I have found that painting the composite plate parts with a sharpie and then rubbing the part with a semi dampened with acetone rag to even out the coat and then buffing with a high speed buffer can bring back the finish, note that a regular sharpie has a purple hue to it and I have by chance found a staples duramark permanent marker that is blacker but have never found another like it including new duramark markers I bought.

I have found that most vintage kyosho parts like swing arms and composites are Ok with limited exposer to acetone, I never soak for very long and have had no issues soaking optima wheels in acetone to remove tires and glue but make sure you don't subject any abs parts to acetone. Always be cautious and know what you are working with.

hope this helps

[jwscab]

strip it all down and use mineral spirits or paint thinner first. those are least harsh and will work with a small tooth brush or cloth to help scrub off the paint if it will dissolve with that solvent.

[hugger19]

thats going to be a very long process. glad its not me

[TRX-1-3]

Holy what the.........?

I wonder which "METHod" the previous owner used to apply that awesome color scheme to the ENTIRE CAR. Hidious comes to mind.

An old static plastic model trick: If it is an enamel (oil) based paint, you might try oven cleaner. Seriously, I have used it on ABS injection molded plastics after F'ing up some paint jobs. Spray it, bag it (big zip lock), wait, toothbrush it with cold water, repeat as needed. Wear gloves, ventilate, Easy Off lemon scent. I think it might work, if it's enamel. In my experience with this method, the oven cleaner bubbles and floats the paint away in melty scales. Test a small inconspicuous area first. Duh. Might work. Who knows though. PLASTIC / NYLON / EPOXY SEALED LAMINATES ONLY. No idea what happens to aluminum. Probably burn it up.

Good luck,

Mark

[HKS_TRD]

At least the shocks are still gold!

[tamiya]

No idea what happens to aluminum. Probably burn it up.

yup caustic ovencleaner eats aluminium & potmetal alloys.

That's how we deanodise parts too but it'll eat some metal off so all holes etc get sloppy.
Leave it too long and it'll severely put all surfaces too.

[DennisM]

Don´t know if it has been mentioned before, but dot 4 should do the trick.
I once cleaned a Burns with kind of the same finish - It had more than one color though

[GoMachV]

I have had good luck with dot4 also but some (quite a few) have had fogging

[Momo5]

Just an update. I've bee using Super Clean with really good results. It does look like I will need a new screw kit. A quick search of google and I found two sets.

One from HexHeads for the Ultima Pro http://www.hexcrews.com/kyosho-ultima-pro-hexheads-conversion-kit.aspx

and one from RC Screwz for a "vintage ultima" http://www.rcscrewz.com/product_info.php/p/kyo073-kyosho-ultima-series-vintage-stainless-steel-screw-kit/products_id/1449

Any options or any other places I should consider?

[GoMachV]

If you are trying to go back to original looks, I have had good luck with the metric associated and thunder tiger screws. They are black and a bit shiny like original. It isn't the cheapest route, but looks better

[EvolutionRevolution]

Here's what I'd do. Get a small margarine container and put a half-inch of acetone in it.

Aren't margarine containers made from soft white plastic that dissolves in acetone?

[Coelacanth]

Here's what I'd do. Get a small margarine container and put a half-inch of acetone in it.

Aren't margarine containers made from soft white plastic that dissolves in acetone?

Not the ones I've used. I've had acetone in those containers for 48 hours or more to remove CA glue and never had an issue. I did that most recently as a few weeks ago to remove CA and other residue from the RC12L3 chassis I'm restoring. Those containers aren't simply ABS plastic, I can't say what they're made of but acetone doesn't seem to dissolve them.

[orangemazda]

I've had really good luck soaking parts in brake fluid on a tray for a few days, then using a brush (with gloved hands) to brush the paint away.