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Hey Folks,
I've got a metal Sigmarite priest that has some really stubborn black enamel paint in the chainmail sections and other nooks. It's already been subjected to 2 multi-day soaks in Simple Green and a couple days in Dot-3 Brake Fluid which didn't seem to work nearly as well as I remember.

Is there another fluid I should try soaking it in? I have some oven cleaner that I've used in the past, but it's rediculously toxic (I now have a child to worry about) and smells terrible/dangerous, so I'd like other suggestions first.

I've stripped hundreds of figs (mostly in Simple green) now and not had anything stick quite this much.

Cellulose Thinners. Look for something with a high MEK content (Methyl Ethyl Ketone). Don't breathe it.

Thanks! I'll look into it.

Also, whatever is suggested should ideally work at fairly cold temperatures. I can keep it inside, but I'd rather put it out on the porch away from the family.

If its an ALL metal model. Then nail polish remover.

Give it 5 - 10 mins sitting in that and the paint should come off just by rubing your fingers on it. get a little pick or a pair of needle nose pliers to pick out the paint in the deep cracks.


must stress that the model is 100% metal... any plastic you put in there will feel like bubble gum after a little bit.

Don't bother with nail polish remover, aim for the big guns:

Lacquer Thinner

Strips most paint in under a minute, let soak for 24 hrs if you want it sparkling clean.

Got a little one? You can leave a can of this out in the shed or whatever, if you want, because it won't freeze.

The MSDS sheet:
http://www.eezimmermanco.com/MSDS/LACQUER%20THINNER%20(ECONOMY%20BRAND).pdf
(copy this whole link into the address bar, the parentheses marks are messing with the clickability of the link lol)

says the freezing point is around -174F (-114C for you Europeans )

Yep, smells absolutely terrible, and yes, wear a set of gloves (plain rubber gloves for cleaning will work dandy), maybe even safety goggles, so...

I would just get yourself a tupperware container, set your dude in it, pour in your thinner, cap the tupperware, and set it outside for the night. Grab it in the morning, hit it with a toothbrush and some warm running water, and presto: that mini will be cleaner than the day it was made.

I've used Acetone (active ingredient in nail polish remover) and it wasn't as strong as I'd hoped).

However, the Lacquer thinner sounds like some good stuff! Looks like it has MEK in it as was suggested above also. I'll look for it at Menards. How much is it?

I'm not sure I'd put it in plastic though. For something that strong a glass jar may be in order.

winterdyne wrote:Cellulose Thinners. Look for something with a high MEK content (Methyl Ethyl Ketone). Don't breathe it.

And keep it away from ignition sources (no smoking around it and if you are stripping paint in your basement - make sure you keep it away from your furnace).

That stuff is not only flammable, it is explosive when vaporised (and it evaporates at room temp).

In addition to being a carcinogen.

It strips paint like nothing else though. Airlines here used to use it when repainting as it took even the primer off).

If it's all metal, skip the intermediaries and go with a commercial paint stripper. Walmart and most hardware stores carry them. Most are a paste so you can apply them to furniture without running off. Ignore those, search until you find a liquid. Put some in a glass jar, insert your parts and give it a little swirl now and then.
Don't get this stuff on your skin, it will burn you. I pour the liquid back into the can with a funnel, then pour the parts out in an aluminum pan. Pick them up with pliers and rinse the chemicals off with water. I suggest chemical resistant rubber gloves (should be available wherever you find the stripper). Ordinary rubber dish gloves will dissolve.
This obviously is a nasty chemical and needs to be disposed of properly (ie NOT down the drain). I reuse the stuff poured back into the can until it gets too fouled up with old paint.


Automatically Appended Next Post:

chromedog wrote:

winterdyne wrote:Cellulose Thinners. Look for something with a high MEK content (Methyl Ethyl Ketone). Don't breathe it.

And keep it away from ignition sources (no smoking around it and if you are stripping paint in your basement - make sure you keep it away from your furnace).

That stuff is not only flammable, it is explosive when vaporised (and it evaporates at room temp).

In addition to being a carcinogen.

It strips paint like nothing else though. Airlines here used to use it when repainting as it took even the primer off).

WHOOOO! MEK is bad, bad stuff winterdyne, I hope you are using a proper respirator for that stuff or ventilating the fumes somehow. Don't breathe that stuff is an understatement kiddies

Just bought some MEK and chemical resistant gloves.
I've also got a hemostat for taking the minis in and out of the stuff.
Based on the MSDS I think this might be the "Methyl Ethyl Death" that my engineer Stepdad used to joke about.

I'll report back with the results.

Eilif wrote:Just bought some MEK and chemical resistant gloves.
I've also got a hemostat for taking the minis in and out of the stuff.
Based on the MSDS I think this might be the "Methyl Ethyl Death" that my engineer Stepdad used to joke about.

I'll report back with the results.

Yep, my chemical engineer buddy generically refers to anything seriously toxic as "methyl ethyl bad stuff" Use a well ventilated work area or get an inexpensive respirator. I believe you want organic vapor cartridges for it but you should be able to find an application guide so don't trust my memory.

Edit: 12/13, added rinse step 6a

Report on MEK as stripper:

Just pulled the Sigmarite Priest (very fine chain mail) and a batch of old metal Flatgelants (lots of chains and tiny tears in fabric details) out of the Methyl Ethel Keytone and scrubbed them down.

I followed the following procedure

1) Place figs in Glass Pasta sauce jar.
2) Fill Jar half full of MEK and put on lid (all of this was done out on the porch)
3) Let sit for 2 days
4) Bring Jar inside and put on Chemical resistant gloves ($2.50 at hardware store)
5) Open window at sink.
6) Open the Jar just long enough to remove a figure with the hemostat and immidiately replace lid
6a) Set figure under running water.
7) Scrub figure down in warm water with plastic and metal brush
8) Repeat 6,7 for each figure
9) Tighten lid, and thoughrouly rinse bottle, brushes, hemostat and gloves
10) Rerinse figures
11) return bottle to porch.

The results were quite good. There's still a touch of paint on a few knooks on the priest, but most of it came right off. The paint came right out of the torn details on the Flagelants as well as the various knooks on their chains.

I've tossed the priest back into the MEK and will give it another scrub in a few days.

I'll definitely be using MEK in the future for stubborn paint on metal models.

I will re-echo; Don't Breath It. Methyl Ethyl Bad Stuff indeed. Also if you get it on your fingernails they'll go brittle. If you do get in on your skin, this is the procedure I've found best:

1) Rinse well. Lots of cold water.
2) Soap up; wash well.
3) Moisturise. I kid you not; it'll suck all the oils out of your skin, and if you don't put some moisture back your skin will be dry and cracky before you know it. I like my baby soft hands.

I've been stripping models over the weekend and had quite a bit of success with awkward chainmail areas.

My method was just a three(ish) hour soak in B&Q's (DIY store) own brand brush restorer, followed by a scrub wth a tooth brush in a warm water bath.

Lord alone only knows what's in that stuff but the models came clean in less than five minuites.

It's quite cheap (£2.50ish for 500ML) and easily available.

If the paint is being a bitch, I reach for this stuff


Itll murder paint, and best of all its safe on plastics as well (havnt tried on resin so dont blame me if it melts your DKOK) Walmart/Auto zone is where you find it

I've considered purple power. I've even used the SG brand version which they call Simple Green HD (It's also purple). It's essentially Simple green with an additional active ingredient. I doubt however that it would have done better than the brake fluid that I've given up on in favor of MEK.

I might try purple power in place of the simple green I use for most stripping jobs when I get through the jug I have.

Purple power is pretty good (actually much faster than Simple Green) and is safe on plastics.

But yes, it couldn't hold a candle to the firepower of Lacquer Thinner or MEK.

Happy your stuff came clean

brake cleaner, soak them.

Today Lacquer thinners aren't that harsh to be around, had a spray can of red enamel car paint explode in my face. (long story as I will say aerosol vapors are worse the lacquer thinner) Anyway had to practically bath in the stuff to get the paint off me, took a regular bath when I got home, and no problems, Even my luxurious hair was fine. So if your doing this outside and on a metal model I'd go with that.

Just wanted to give an update. I tossed another batch of figs into the MEK overnight, including some a Demonblade "Stalker" vehicle ( basically an IG Sentinel clone) that had lots of stubborn paint and many small crevases.. The next day what little paint hadn't been disolved brushed away easily.

The Sigmarite priest I had put in earlier still had some paint in the tinyest recesses, but it came right out with a pick.

So, I'm sold on Methyl Ethyl Ketone (MEK). It's cheap, fast (compared to Simple Green) easy to use, and works as good or better than anything else I've tried (Brake Fluid, Oven cleaner). Simple green stil works for most figs and will remain my first choice, but from now on, anything that resists a treatment or two of simple green is going in the MEK jar.

Note: I've updated the step-by-step instructions above. Before scrubbing the figures that have been taken out of the MEK jar, I immidiately put them under running water for a bit. As well as getting rid of the MEK on the fig, it also seems to cut down on the amount of fumes.

Just keep in mind that MEK is highly flammable and will eat plastics pretty quickly.

I've found isopropanol to shift paint like nothing else.

Todosi wrote:Just keep in mind that MEK is highly flammable and will eat plastics pretty quickly.

I'm definitely aware of this. I keep it out in the "garage" (external porch) and I never put plastic in it.

Howard A Treesong wrote:I've found isopropanol to shift paint like nothing else.

What is isopropanol?