Forum adverts like this one are shown to any user who is not logged in. Join us by filling out a tiny 3 field form and you will get your own, free, dakka user account which gives a good range of benefits to you: No adverts like this in the forums anymore. Times and dates in your local timezone. Full tracking of what you have read so you can skip to your first unread post, easily see what has changed since you last logged in, and easily see what is new at a glance. Email notifications for threads you want to watch closely. Being a part of the oldest wargaming community on the net. If you are already a member then feel free to login now.

Hey guys and gals.

So, I'm removing the paint (or attempting to) from my plastic mini's I've read that a lot of people have left It for an hour or so, scrubbed It with a brush and It has "come straight off." So far I'm having to scrub tooth and nail to get even the smallest bit of plastic showing. I gave them all a few squirts with the spray and left It. Should I be covering them In the spray and leaving them In It over night?

Does anyone find the dettol method works better?

Cheers!

-IronDan

Generally speaking when stripping paint from models it's a good idea to let them soak in whatever solution you're using. I grab a handful of guys that need to be back to basecoat/plastic and leave them in a container, filled with my cleaner of choice for about 12 hours, sometimes longer.

Although depending on what stripper you're using, you might want to be careful with letting the models sit for a bit, some of them can be pretty caustic. That's why I tend to go for a weaker cleaner and longer soak time.

I use purple power in an plastic ice creame container overnight. Works well and doesnt damage plastic. However i left a finecast model in there for a week and he turned slightly purple. No issues at day mark. The warmer the room the better it works exponentially. Below 60 no dice if using outside.

Okay thanks very much guys! I'll just try soaking them In It over night and see what happens. I've read that FPS doesn't damage the plastic as people have left It In for days at a time

I have used Simple Green to great success. But I usually leave them soaking for a week hehe, but I'm sure it's not necessary to do so that long.

I use Fairy Power spray, soaked in a jar for several days, but it doesn't work well on all plastic - if the surface is softer the paint seems ti adhere more. (For metal, it's perfect).

Someone on dakka recently recommended Biostrip:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/271467836264?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649

Dot 3 brake fluid and Dettol work for me on both metal and plastic miniatures with no loss of detail / softening etc.

I have tried both alone and have left models in for several days at a time with no adverse effects but have developed a technique that works for me:

1. Place models into brake fluid for a few days then scrub with a toothbrush (you need to be fairly forceful, but not enough to damage the minis).
2. If this removes all of the paint then give the models a good wash in warm soapy water with more brushing and they should come up like new go on and paint.
3. If you don't manage to get all the paint off with brake fluid, try washing the models as above and rinse well with clean water before placing them in Dettol for another day or two.
4. Any remaining paint should then scrub off fairly easily, then wash again as per step 2 and you're ready to paint!

My reasoning for this method - Dettol softens acrylic and enamel paint to the point that it can go very gungey. This makes it difficult to remove efficiently without gumming up your cleaning brush. Brake fluid breaks the paint down more evenly without softening, it appears to almost "absorb" the paint into an oily film that scrubs off nicely but can leave a coloured residue; this is where the Dettol comes in as it can soften the paint stuck in finer details and make it easier to remove once most of the surface paint is gone.

Just my 2p worth

If the FPS doesn't work then I will try dot 3 break fluid. Is there any specific make I should get?

Break fluid has a nasty reputation of destroying models FYI so be careful with it. It's also hazardous to every living thing on the planet.

But it's great at stripping paint.

I just use Simple Green over-night in a jar or something.

Growing up, my parents had an old farm house they were restoring and the wooden walls they wanted to strip were coated with like 5 different layers of paint. At the time Simple Green was called Mean Green. So rather than deal with the smell of turpentine, they would spray sections of the wall with Mean Green a couple of times and the paint would just begin to bubble up and with a scraper, they removed the paint from the walls with ease and no harm to the wood underneath.

So ever since, I used Mean/Simple Green to strip my figs.

There are LITERALLY hundreds of threads on stripping minis - it gets asked about once a week.

Just scroll down to get even more good info,

I personally use purple power, simple green, and 99% alcohol depending on what I am stripping (resin, plastic, metal, etc) and what it is covered with.

best of luck!

Fairy Power Spray works on everything. Get an old lunch box/ice cream container, pour the contents of the bottle in, put your minis in, put the lid on and in a day they're good to go.

If you're stripping old minis that were painted with GW paints in the 90s, the paint comes off in pretty much one big gross glob. You don't even need to use a toothbrush. It's vile.

Wear rubber gloves and be in a well ventilated area.

Acetone-free nail polish remover works great. Unfortunately it doesn't work so well on GW's Chaos Black primer. I left a bunch of Tactical Marines and regular Chaos Marines (I don't really care about those, anyway - not a fan of the horns and the crotch-skulls) in for too long, thinking that the primer would come off before the plastic got damaged, but it didn't.

EDIT: Just to clarify, I left them in way too long. It worked brilliantly on the regular paint.

Put the oven cleaners away, and the brake fluids.... and get some rubbing alcohol. Submerge model for as long as you like - Ive got some palstics that have sat in 99.9% isporopyl alcohol for a good 6months... theyre fine. 100% fine.

I actually find using fairy powerspray first, and then 99%ipa after is the quickest way to get eveything spotless (yes zero primer left atall... all those 'stained' plastics, werent stained atall it does come off)

But just the alchol works fine with a prolongued soak or a repeat of the process.

Paint will start to come up with mere seconds of being soaked in pure alcohol.

Well I've just got back from a few days away and my marines are sat drowning next to me so I shall soon see the fruits of my labour. Well, not that I did much mind you the spray did It mostly

Still awaiting my paints though :( so I can't get started till they get here :(

Went hunting for Fairy power spray in my local super-tesco.

Found it eventually.

Then tried it out on some Tau Fire Warriors I found in the attic that I thought I lost.

Put them in an empty ice cream tub and sealed the lid.

Left them for about 20 hours and then scrubbed them with a used toothbrush.

The paint was circa 2001, and came off pretty easy. Some loose bits also came off with the scrubbing, and I think some backpacks came off in the solution, but I couldn't find them.

The black primer underneath also faded a little on some models, but stayed strong on most, somewhat ideal for diving back in to a new paint scheme.

Threw some IG in the last of the solution, so fingers crossed they turn out the same.

The tau are still a bit wiffy, so my windows staying open for a good few hours...

Yeah I've given my self a headache because I forgot to vent the room while I was away...oops

Most of the paint has come off but It seems it's mostly stuck In the details which Is a little annoying, but It's going to get a new base coat of black primer anyway.

I'll leave them another day and see what happens. I had a few backpacks/arms come off as well, plus nearly lost one of my CSM's heads down the drain twice.

Then I poked my self with one of the spikes on a plasma gun, so clearly the gods of chaos don't think I'm putting In enough effort!

also HairySticks do you mean surgical spirits? I assume I can just grab that from boots or something?