Wax putty...how to remove?

[anj4de]

Hello all

I recently bought a partly built 1/350 Yorktown 1944...which apart from being build lousy was also puttied with green wax! I assume that stuff was put on hot? I wonder if anybody knows how to remove that stuff again? Heat I think is not a good idea and thinners would hurt the plastic...

thanks
Uwe

[Timmy C]

I looked up some general ways of removing dried wax, and they're all some variation of heat and/or cold - a hair dryer to melt or freezer (if it fits) to make the wax brittle may work.

[Scheldeman]

Hi,
Beeswax and mineral waxes dissolve in mineral spirits like white spirit. White spirit doesn't affect resin or styrene kit parts. To speed up the cleaning process you could first slightly heat the white spirit in an open jar on a radiator. Complete removal of the wax, necessary before repainting, will require multiple sessions and maybe even soaking. Use tissues and cotton swabs for friction. Wear gloves and ventilate. A less irritating but slower alternative is Shellsol T. Turpentine works great too but i'm not 100% sure if it's safe on polystyrene.

[Scheldeman]

I suppose I made a translation error. 'Green wax' is hair removal wax, right? In that case it also contains organic resin additives like gumma or copal. These components dissolve in ethanol or a fairly strong ethanol solution like vodka . Ethanol could degrade certain styrene plastics but only very weakly and easily monitorable.