Recently the great Gamera Baenre posted to /r/Gunpla about how he was stripping the gold coating from the new Hyaku Shiki 2.0. He didn't post a full tutorial on the process, and since I just used the same process on a my upcoming Hyaku Shiki 2.0 build, I figured I do a quick tutorial myself for folks with questions.
The process is really easy. All you need is...
- 1 gallon jug of Purple Power (roughly $18 on Amazon)
- Plastic tub in which to soak the parts (I used a 12qt dishpan, $6 on Amazon)
- Dish washing gloves, or any other waterproof glove ($4-$10 on Amazon)
Oh, and you need the Hyaku Shiki too. Per Baenre the original plated Shiki was clear plastic below as well. Why is it clear plastic? Well guessing that milky white is just the base manufacturer color. Makes sense, why spend more on a coloured frame folks won't see?
Now all you need to do is take the gold plated runners, place them in the tub, cover in Purple Power, and wait 8-12 hours. The runners want to float a bit so I took some other old runners and put them on top just to keep the Shiki's runners submerged. Every once in awhile I would flip the runners just to make sure there weren't any air bubbles or parts accidentally left unexposed.
Make sure to use your gloves as Purple Power can be caustic if it should come into contact with your skin.
The Purple Power will start eating way at the gold coating until nothing's left without effecting the plastic underneath. No need to scrub or scrape.
Once all the paint has been removed rinse the runners thoroughly and allow to dry.
That's all there is to it!
