RC Tank Warfare community hobby forum

Dot 5 brake fluid is silicon based - Dot 4 is OK, but wash/rinse thoroughly afterwards .

Wellllll, that's not wanted to read...

X82d Pathfinder wrote:Free advice: Don't use brake fluid if you plan on repainting, It's silicon based and the paint will not stick and it fish eyes.

-Dan

Hi Dan..

Thanks for the heads up. Is this an instant reaction?

When I read your post I washed a stripped part anf gave it a light coat of acrylic paint. So far.... It looks OK?

Brake fluid with the exception of Dot 5 will strip paint off cars, the down side is the silicone residue. Kind of like Armour All on the door panels of your car. Even hot soapy water doesn't remove it.
-Dan

Aha!

Maybe the god of rc models is smiling on me then. Just looked, this is dot 5.1!!

Like I said above, brake cleaner WILL remove brake fluid and any of its residue and it won't harm plastic. I've been using various makes for years.

Also, the builders wipes like Wonder Wipes, most are designed to remove silicone.

Great. I'll report back....

Found this. Fingers crossed!

DOT 5.1 (glycol-based) where DOT 5 which is silicone-based.

Found this. Fingers crossed!

DOT 5.1 (glycol-based) where DOT 5 which is silicone-based.

It's not that it won't remove paint, because it sure will. It does something to the plastic chemically. There becomes a bonding issue. Being we handle these all the time in my experience it come off. Brake clean will also melt some plastics or make it soft.

-Dan