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Please test on a model you don't care about or a peice of sprue first

Firstly, i'd like to say hello!, this is my first actual contribution to the site, having been here almost a day, i thought it prudent to give back before i begin to take.

So, sorry if this has been posted/said before, but it's my contribution to dakkadakka!.


Ahem. Have you ever dug out a box of units you painted when you were 12?, or bought some cheap units on ebay, prepaided, only to find that they have been coated in so much paint you can't tell if it was an ork or a nid?

Well, i'm not sure how common knowledge this is, but it is very very easy to clean up 'gunked' models with very little effort, leaving behind as pristeen 'good as new' unit.

So, lets begin.

Step 1. Purchase, dig up, assertain ruined model.



Check.



Step 2. Get yourself some Acetone Free Nail polish remover.



Che.. oh yeah, before i skip ahead, let me stress the importance of the ACETONE FREEness of the nail polish remover. If it has Acetone in it, it'll turn a deamon prince into nurgle. Please don't scream at me if you melt your newly aquired model by using a Acetone containing remover.

.. Check.


Step 3. Submerse the subject in a fair amount of the liquid.



Check, kinda.. i ran out of remover, but you can just turn him upside down to soak the rest.


Step 4. Wait for the subject to have a McDonalds make over (balloon into fatness).



Check.


Step 5. Place the model onto some tissue paper (to soak up excess liquid) and scrub over with an old tooth brush.



Check. Note, the paint comes off unbeleivably easy, so you don't need to apply too much pressure.



Step 6. Admire your 'mint' condition unit, ready for assimilation into your army.



Check, and i mean Check!.



Anyway, hope that was informative and useful.


Toodles!


EDIT: edited to move images to dakkadakka gallery

Don't know about that, looks reasonably effective, but try out Dettol. The regular stuff, not the fancy stuff. The active ingredient you are looking for is chloroxylenol.

Huh, nice tutorial. I haven't heard of using nail polish remover (acetone free) before, so I'll have to give that a try!

Test it on a scrap piece of plastic first. Some acetone-free polish removers will still eat plastic.

Cool thanks, very helpful.

Could you tell me how long till the paint is loose from the model approx. Thanks

3 or 4 minutes, generally, you will see the paint start to expand abit, i found on areas where there had been glue on a joint, i had to soak it for longer to get the paint out.

If in doubt, give it a scrub with the brush, if it doesnt come off easy, pop it back in the liquid.

Brake fluid does well and comes in a large bottle so can do them on mass Not as good as the nail polish remover appears to be though.

the best thing ive found with this remover is it gets the paint out of the fine areas, like the vein bits on the arms on the nids, and the chest cavities.

Also, i have only tryed this particular brand of nail polish remover.

As far as i am aware, if it says acetone free, you should be okay, but as insaniak said, do test your remover on a scrap peice first to be on the safe side.

Dude I could hug you.

no problem , im new here so i'm glad to contribute!

Nice tutorial. Did you know we have a tutorial contest going on right now?

If your pictures were hosted on this site (you can upload them to the gallery and then edit your tutorial to link to them) and this tutorial hasn't been posted anywhere else on the net then you'd be eligible.

Just FYI!

i didn't know, ill sort that out when i get in from work!, the images are hosted on my own webspace at the moment, all originally photographed and taken by me in my room

How much is this stuff a bottle?

I tried fairy power spray on plastic (which is perfect with metal btw) but the amount of stress you need to brush with on plastic means you end up taking apart the glued parts or any green stuff, and the fine areas are impossible. Think I will have to give it a try.

it's about £2-£2.50 for a bottle the size i have, but i stole it from my girlfriend so it didn't cost me a penny, if your careful about pouring it back into the bottle you can use it over and over.

I've tried this method on spray coated rhinos. The models had been undercoated with GW spray, but it won't come off. What am I doing wrong?

How long have you soaked it for?, one of the tyranids i cleaned up even had gloss on and that lifted right off. they were both undercoated right black GW undercoat also

For us guys across the pond: I found a bottle in walmart for 1.08 USD, and that is in alaska where everything is more expensive than the continental US. You can probably get it for 99 cents down there.

Perhaps you could go to the articles section and edit the tutorial on there to add the advice from this tutorial to it?

It sounds like the remover you use is a lot quicker than Dettol, though I think Dettol probably works out cheaper due to bulk buying.

Do you find you can reuse the polish remover?

Yeah, i've managed to get the majority of it back in the bottle, luckily the paint is heavier than the liquid, so it sinks to the bottom and makes it easier to get the liquid back in the bottle with no bits.

I didn't know there was another tutorial up about this. If i work out how to edit an article it will.

Im currently working on a different tutorial, might take a few days to get this one done.

mercer wrote:Brake fluid does well and comes in a large bottle so can do them on mass Not as good as the nail polish remover appears to be though.

Brake fluid is really variable. Different brands work with different levels of success... some work great, some don't work at all, and some dissolve the plastic. And all of them are highly toxic, and contain all sorts of nasties that are absorbed through the skin.

There are plenty of safer and much more reliable alternatives.

Simple Green is a lot safer and easier on you and the environment than Brake Fluid.

12thRonin wrote:Simple Green is a lot safer and easier on you and the environment than Brake Fluid.

And also doubles as a carpet cleaner when you skill pasta sauce on the rug. True story.

Does anyone know if this works better than purple power and simple green.

I would definitely vote for a tutorial that covers many/all available paint strippers and covers all the pros/cons associated with using them.

--For example, Simple green works good, it's safe, and it's environmentally friendly. The problem is that it doesn't work well to remove primer from GW plastics in many cases, but works wonders for metals (even if it does slightly tarnish them slightly). Generally, the model needs to soak overnight for full effect.
--Easy-off Oven Cleaner works great for most plastic models but seems to have inconsistent results (sometimes the plastic strips perfectly, sometimes it only comes off with great difficulty or leaves a stain in the color of the primer). One major problem is that it's not reusable at all and you'll find yourself going through several cans to complete a good 2500pt army. It works within an hour or two.
--Brake Fluid reportedly gives great results but different brake fluids have different effects ranging from devastating to excellent, and it's not environmentally friendly at all (for most or all brake fluids you are required to dispose of it with an appropriate hazardous waste company). Not sure how long it takes to start its magic.
--Acetone will destroy plastics but works great for metal models, but it's not the friendliest stuff for being green nor for your skin (or wherever else it may get on you). Works in minutes.
--Acetone-Free nail polish remover (as demonstrated above) apparently has excellent results on plastics (perhaps better than Easy-Off Oven Cleaner), but apparently has mixed results, and may have different chemical properties such as with the brake fluid. Works in minutes.
--Dettol (I'm American, so I haven't tried it), apparently works well, some say as well as Simple Green or better, though without being as environmentally friendly (can cause burns?).
--Pinesol has been used to decent effect, but I've heard it will melt your models in an hour or two.

My own personal favorites are Easy-Off Oven Cleaner (fume free) for my plastic models (although now I'll have to try the acetone-free nail polish remover and see about results) and Simple Green for my metal models.

tuatha1337 wrote:--For example, Simple green works good, it's safe, and it's environmentally friendly. The problem is that it doesn't work well to remove primer from GW plastics in many cases, but works wonders for metals (even if it does slightly tarnish them slightly). Generally, the model needs to soak overnight for full effect.

's about right.

Also completely non-toxic, non-harmful to the environment, and not overly noxious to use... particularly the lemon-scented version, which is a little less whiffy than the regular one, and has the same effect.

--Easy-off Oven Cleaner works great for most plastic models but seems to have inconsistent results (sometimes the plastic strips perfectly, sometimes it only comes off with great difficulty or leaves a stain in the color of the primer). One major problem is that it's not reusable at all and you'll find yourself going through several cans to complete a good 2500pt army. It works within an hour or two.

And oven cleaners are toxic, so you have to be careful not to breathe it in, and corrosive, so you have to be careful not to get it on anything else.

Some other oven cleaners work, and some don't.

--Brake Fluid reportedly gives great results but different brake fluids have different effects ranging from devastating to excellent, and it's not environmentally friendly at all (for most or all brake fluids you are required to dispose of it with an appropriate hazardous waste company). Not sure how long it takes to start its magic.

I've used some in the past that work well with an overnight soak, some that take a little longer, and some that start working within a few hours.

But, as mentioned before, toxic, not good for the environment, and there are cheaper and better alternatives.

--Acetone will destroy plastics but works great for metal models, but it's not the friendliest stuff for being green nor for your skin (or wherever else it may get on you). Works in minutes.

Sounds about right.

--Acetone-Free nail polish remover (as demonstrated above) apparently has excellent results on plastics (perhaps better than Easy-Off Oven Cleaner), but apparently has mixed results, and may have different chemical properties such as with the brake fluid. Works in minutes.

May dissolve plastics, and still not great to have to handle as rather whiffy.

--Dettol (I'm American, so I haven't tried it), apparently works well, some say as well as Simple Green or better, though without being as environmentally friendly (can cause burns?).

You'd have to bathe in it or have particularly sensitive skin to be burnt by it. I've heard mixed results, so may just depend on the specific paints you use.

--Pinesol has been used to decent effect, but I've heard it will melt your models in an hour or two.

From what I've heard, it's another than seems to come down to the specific paints. I've heard very mixed results.



Simple green is my personal pick. Relatively cheap, does the job on metals or plastics, good for the environment and ok for you.

Bongeh wrote:How long have you soaked it for?, one of the tyranids i cleaned up even had gloss on and that lifted right off. they were both undercoated right black GW undercoat also

About 48 hours, with no discernable effect on the paint. The primer was one of the old school GW coloured ones if that would make a difference. Bah, looks like I need a couple of new rhinos...

Fairy Power Spray also works wonders too/

very nice ! My girlfriend will also be sure too loan me some But is it okay if it has some lemon sirense in it ?

I've used DOT 3 brake fluid (cheapo Wal Mart stuff) before on a Marine army with 99% results, however it does have a side effect of making some plastics brittle. Of course there is the disposal problem and the need to use gloves / respirator when using it. I will try the Simple Green in the future.