Remove paint but leave CARC!

[mturner2003]

Hello! I have a unique twist to a common question on here. I would like an experienced opinion.

I have a M998A1 with a beautiful and original camo paint... on one side of the vehicle. The other side on the other hand, well the previous owner took it upon himself to use it as a test canvas.

He painted random sections of the vehicle satin black and other areas “camo” from rattle cans because he “wanted to see what it looked like”.

It looks terrible. But because it was simply cheap spray paint, I would think I might have a chance to remove it.

I’ve read CARC is some tough stuff but can be removed by paint stripper. Or, is it only aircraft stripper? In other words, is it possible for me to remove this spray paint and cause no ill affects to the underlying original CARC paint?

I appreciate everyone’s support. Thank you in advance!

 

[Scrounger]

As you have already read CARC is a pretty durable coating. In fact, one of the ways to check to see if one has the older enamel paint or CARC is to rub the paint with acetone.

With that said, there are two things that come to mind. DOT 3 brake fluid dissolves paint but doesn’t hurt CARC. What may also work is MEK (methyl ethyl ketone). MEK takes off the glue from stickers, grease paint and what not, without affecting CARC. If you use MEK make sure to use it outside, stand upwind, use disposable gloves, and eye protection. MEK is nothing to play around with.

 

[Jbulach]

Try hot high pressure washer or steam. If they didn’t do any surface prep before spray bombing, it may blast right off.

 

[mturner2003]

I appreciate the input!

I’ve often wondered if I really do in fact have CARC paint and not an older version of enamel paint. I’ll try some acetone on a small area.

I do have an industrial Jenny steam pressure washer. I was thinking of giving that a try too.

Next few few days are supposed to be warm. I’ll test a few things out and reply with what worked.

Other suggestions are still welcomed. Thank you.

 

[NDT]

That aircraft paint stripper will lift the CARC. I attempted to remove spray can paint number stencils I painted on a door and the results were poor. It bubbled the CARC before I could wash it off.

 

[mturner2003]

That aircraft paint stripper will lift the CARC. I attempted to remove spray can paint number stencils I painted on a door and the results were poor. It bubbled the CARC before I could wash it off.

That was my understanding as well from reading the forums. But what about regular paint remover? I think I’m going to buy a small container just to see what it will do.

 

[Scrounger]

Most military vehicles starting with the CUCV’s came painted with CARC. All vehicles painted with CARC are supposed to be marked with CARC and the date when painted in service. I’m sure there are some with out the markings, just as some of the CARC painted vehicles were painted over with enamel.

 

[mturner2003]

Most military vehicles starting with the CUCV’s came painted with CARC. All vehicles painted with CARC are supposed to be marked with CARC and the date when painted in service. I’m sure there are some with out the markings, just as some of the CARC painted vehicles were painted over with enamel.

Ah, I see. Well, I’ve been over every square inch of this vehicle since purchasing a month ago. There are no CARC markings anywhere. It doesn’t appear to me that it has been repainted. But I could be wrong.

Here is the bad side.

 

[Scrounger]

Most of the ones I have that are painted with CARC have (CARC year) stenciled in black somewhere on the dash.

 

[glcaines]

Why not contact Sherwin Williams technical service and ask the question? As a manufacturer of CARC paint, they should be able to steer you in the right direction.

 

[snowtrac nome]

get some ds-2 that is why they changed to carc ds2 will remove enamel, but not touch carc. admittedly the military decon agent might be hard to come by. if using acetone or mek you will have to soak towels and let it sit for a while to soften up the enamel or it will evaporate too fast.

 

[mturner2003]

*update*

Well I decided to give acetone a try.

I first tried inside the bed on the original 383 green. I rubbed vigorously and it appeared that no green paint came up, only dirt. Tried a different spot with different colors, the black and tan. Same result, no color, just dirt.

When it came to the bad side of the vehicle the green paint lifted immediately. As well as some of the black. What has become apparent is that the original owner first painted the entire right side of the vehicle satin black first. He must not of liked it and then tried to redo a camo paint job with non-original matching colors.

So in other words, I have a lot of work to do LOL. The base satin black that he sprayed is not coming up as easily as the green paint. I’m attributing this to the fact that it is on top of the original CARC paint which is extremely rough and sticking well. But nonetheless it is coming up. I’ll update again when completed and with hopefully good results.

 

[Keith_J]

Xylene will also cut other cured paints but won't touch CARC.

 

[MWMULES]

I have used rags soaked in lacquer thinner to take rattle can paint off of CARC with great results.

 

[Scrounger]

If the added paint comes off with acetone, MEK should do a number on it. Place a rag on the paint, wet it with MEK, allow to soak for a short period. The paint will be lifted into the rag. That will get most of it. The cheap red shop rags from Sam’s Club work well. They get trashed after use. Then it’s small brush and scrub time.

 

[mturner2003]

Well acetone did the trick but good lord did I wind up with a mess I wasn’t expecting, lol.

I would say I am done with my first stage. The unfortunate problem was that there was so much spray paint over top of the original camo, that when I would go to wipe it off, it would just smear. So, there is about 10% left over on the entire side of the vehicle.

I need to go back over it with a clean rag and acetone 3 or 4 times and it should clean up like new.

When I first was done and encountered this issue I figured my hot steam pressure washer would do the trick. I was actually really surprised that it didn’t do a **** thing. You could still see the swirls from where I wiped away the majority of the paint. So it’s back to good old elbow grease.

I’ll post before and after pics when completed tomorrow.

 

[mturner2003]

I would say I was able to get about 99% of the paint removed. The green and tan have a slightly darker tone than the other side but it looks a world better than what it looked like before.

During the final stages of wiping it down I ended up finding a few spots that had been touched up once before.

From what I’ve read, Rapco makes the best matching touch up, yes? Slight sanding prep, spray and then after dried, spray with WD40 to “flatten it out” to match the old sun beaten CARC?

 

[glcaines]

I don't know about the WD-40, but the Rapco 383 is a virtually perfect match to the CARC, especially a few weeks after application. I would try that before trying the WD-40.

 

[NDT]

Rapco may match color but it is WAY OFF on flatness. You want CARC substitute from ArmyTankGuy on ebay.

 

[98G]

Rapco may match color but it is WAY OFF on flatness. You want CARC substitute from ArmyTankGuy on ebay.

If he's concerned about color matching.... at this point the best thing to do would be to just prep and shoot the entire truck. (House paint over the more or less intact CARC).

Even if he manages to do a partial paint job to match the rest of the faded CARC now, in 6 months it'll no longer match due to unequal rates of fading.