Welcome fellow Dakkanauts! May I present to you the future of paint stripping your miniatures
So today I had the idea of using the agent I use to clean my paintbrushes to strip some models I wasn't happy with; Isopropyl is a pure alcohol that can be bought readily from DIY stores, chemistry lab companies and even from Ebay in vast quantities. What makes the stuff so special is that it not only gets rid of paint and other household stains in seconds, it evaporates very quickly upon contact with air, meaning that it leaves no residue or odour. And more importantly to us hobbyists, it leaves no trace on plastic, resin or metal, and it can only remove paint if abrasion is applied, meaning that no accidental spillages will damage the paintjobs you laboured into for hours. Sounded like the perfect stuff to do some model reworking, as I shall demonstrate to you now.
A word of warning before you use this - while it will do no damage if it hits your skin, this will cause serious harm if it gets in your eyes or mouth, and any exposed volumes of the substance will emit heavy vapours that are dangerous to inhale. I therefore advise that you only do this in a well ventilated area, and that you seal any container you use to put your Isopropyl in immediately after use
Here's what you need:
A bottle of Isopropyl
A suitably sized, sealable container to put the Isopropyl into
A failed model project
An old toothbrush
An old towel to work on
Some kitchen towel
A bowl of water (this is optional since Isopropyl evaporates in seconds, but have it if it makes you feel more safe going about this)
Step one is to get some Isopropyl into your container to a level that is ideal for your miniature/s. Once this is done, get the models in question and chuck them right in!
This is the failed project in question - a Scout from the Lost Patrol box set. When I built him I didn't have the right tools to deal with the mould lines, and the paintjob itself has obscured a lot of the detail on him. No matter - all traces of this happening shall be gone!
Bon Voyagie!
Remember to seal the container as soon as the miniatures are in, otherwise the Isopropyl will evaporate and the vapours will be released. You only need to wait for about 10 seconds till you're ready for the next stage
After 10 seconds have passed, get the model out (yes it's fine to get this stuff on your hands, or you can just use your toothbrush), load up your toothbrush with some of the Isopropyl, and get scrubbing!
You'll notice straight away that the paint comes off the model with even light abrasive action. That's what we have the towel down for!
Alternatively if you don't want to scrub your miniature, you can get most of the paint off using a piece of kitchen towel - just soak the miniature and the towel and the paint will simply brush off the miniature!
Remember that either way you do it, keep soaking your toothbrush/kitchen towel in Isopropyl, as it will evaporate very quickly after application. It's also fine to reuse the Isopropyl for each miniature.
The final result - in just a minute I got the Scout back down to his red plastic base (on his left you can see a scout I did earlier more clearly). Magical stuff!
And remember, no damage to the plastic or your hands, and no odour left clinging to the model after!
Just keep in mind that you will get paint all over your hands and onto the work surface, so make sure you have something down to deal with that.
And that's a wrap folks! Hope you enjoy seeing the results as much as I did
Isopropanol is the best paint stripper out there. I've always suggested people to trow in the bin all other chemistry such as Dettol and whatever greenish stuff is out there.
DalinCriid wrote: Isopropanol is the best the paint stripper out there. I've always suggested people to trow in the bin all other chemistry such as Dettol and whatever greenish stuff is out there.
I've only just discovered its use as a paint stripper (I used it to clean my brushes before) and I have to say I'm really glad that I have found it out; seems like not enough people use it over more well known methods like Dettol submersion. Shame really
One thing I'd like to know is how long you can leave minis in there for.
I like Simple Green because I can leave minis in there for literally years with no ill effects. SOme other products work fine so long as they're not bathed for longer than 5 minutes. Which one is this?
ultimateweapon200 wrote:I personally use Simple Green myself just because I can use it for pretty much anything outside of stripping paint.
It's good to know that the Isopropyl Alcohol can do the same though. How many miniatures do you think you can strip before having to toss it?
Quite a lot. Once you are done with stripping, pour the used isopropanol in a jar and close it. That will prevent the fluid from evaporating, because it's just like alcohol and you can use the stuff again.
Trasvi wrote:One thing I'd like to know is how long you can leave minis in there for.
I like Simple Green because I can leave minis in there for literally years with no ill effects. SOme other products work fine so long as they're not bathed for longer than 5 minutes. Which one is this?
From what I've read Simple Green and Dettol strips paint, because there is Isopropanol in the formula. If Simple Green did not damage your minis, the Iso won't damage them either.
I've left some space marines in my jar with Isopropanol for days, although the paint dissolves for less than an hour. There are no effect over plastic and metal, but I cannot confirm anything about Resin.
Trasvi wrote:One thing I'd like to know is how long you can leave minis in there for.
I like Simple Green because I can leave minis in there for literally years with no ill effects. SOme other products work fine so long as they're not bathed for longer than 5 minutes. Which one is this?
From what I've read Simple Green and Dettol strips paint, because there is Isopropanol in the formula. If Simple Green did not damage your minis, the Iso won't damage them either.
I've left some space marines in my jar with Isopropanol for days, although the paint dissolves for less than an hour. There are no effect over plastic and metal, but I cannot confirm anything about Resin.
Not trying to downplay your comment but Simple Green doesn't contain Isopropanol, according to their MSDS from their website. Unless my chemistry knowledge is just that old and outdated.
I think that I'd test out the resin. Who knows when you'll need to strip resin.
Don't have much to add since DalinCriid has done all the social work for me (thanks mate! )
ultimateweapon200 wrote:I personally use Simple Green myself just because I can use it for pretty much anything outside of stripping paint.
It's good to know that the Isopropyl Alcohol can do the same though. How many miniatures do you think you can strip before having to toss it?
Technically it could be used infinitely since the paint that gets in it will not be soluble in the alcohol, but I plan to change what I've kept in the container I used when the substance isn't transparent anymore.
Trasvi wrote:One thing I'd like to know is how long you can leave minis in there for.
I like Simple Green because I can leave minis in there for literally years with no ill effects. SOme other products work fine so long as they're not bathed for longer than 5 minutes. Which one is this?
Like DalinCriid said, a lot of household products have Isopropyl as their active ingredient because of the great results it brings, so it's very likely that your Simple Green or Dettol is just a diluted version of the stuff - I'm not sure though because I don't have either of those to hand.
As I said in the tutorial, it's only really abrasive action that will strip the paint of the miniatures - you can think of the Isopropyl as "loosening" the paint; I left a model in the liquid for about 6 hours yesterday as I asked the question myself, but not a single drop of paint came off it, even if I shook it about
Isopropyl will only dissolve natural resin, such as the stuff you use to clean violin bows, so it will be fine for your resin miniatures
Trasvi wrote: One thing I'd like to know is how long you can leave minis in there for.
I like Simple Green because I can leave minis in there for literally years with no ill effects. SOme other products work fine so long as they're not bathed for longer than 5 minutes. Which one is this?
Have some plastic/metal minis in Isopropanol for a year now. They are fine as far as I can tell.
Subbed.
I've just received a cheap Shadowsword from ebay and this thing is B.A.D, the paint is super thick all over with static grass stuck to it as camouflage.
Ordered some Iso so i'll let you know how I get on!
Alex Kolodotschko wrote: Subbed.
I've just received a cheap Shadowsword from ebay and this thing is B.A.D, the paint is super thick all over with static grass stuck to it as camouflage.
Ordered some Iso so i'll let you know how I get on!
Thanks for the support!
Just something you may want to know when tackling that static grass - this stuff won't dissolve plastic glue. I haven't tried it on any models with super glue yet, but I doubt that it would dissolve that either.
Also if the model is a FW Shadowsword, I'd advise that you only try stripping a tiny part of the model before proceeding as I've heard that their resin is quite delicate. However again I don't reckon it will do any damage to hard resin as this stuff is incredibly unreactive; I've spilt it on my clothes, on my bed and on my hands and not a trace of it was left behind after 30 seconds. Plus I've used it to clean the house bathroom and kitchen, and it hasn't damaged any of the surfaces there
Good stuff, ive taken some 'before' photos so I'll let you guys know how I got on with tackling a big model I'm the worst condition possible.
I'll probably do a blog type post over in pm forums.
An excellent solution to an eternal conundrum. I'm currently using Castrol Super Clean, as that is the recommended solution from the DD article. Perhaps I shall give it a shot.
I tried this out yesterday with a mix of minis. One after 18hrs shed its paint like a rubber balloon. One softened enough that I could wipe a lot off... One softened a little.
One was absolutely untouched and nothing happens if I rub or scrape it, and another is very slightly rubbery.
Buttery Commissar wrote: I tried this out yesterday with a mix of minis. One after 18hrs shed its paint like a rubber balloon. One softened enough that I could wipe a lot off... One softened a little. One was absolutely untouched and nothing happens if I rub or scrape it, and another is very slightly rubbery.
Weird, as they're all acrylics.
Were these acrylic paints oil or water based? It shouldn't make a difference but mine were all Citadel system
Leaving them in for long periods of time makes no difference I learned; you'll get the same result if you leave them in for 18 hours or 10 seconds. It's the abrasion that you do with a brush or tissue that does the work
In this case some were all slightly tacky at 1 minute, I could have made a dent in the paint. But nothing like when I left them overnight. I peeled one like a skin entirely.
It's 99.99% Isopropyl, so I can only conclude it's the age of the paint.
They're all 1990s-early 2000s basic marines. The extremely static posed ones.
My partner who's a development chemist is a little confused that it's working at all, which tickles me.
My partner who's a development chemist is a little confused that it's working at all, which tickles me.
I had no idea he was a dev chemist too. I was the same but borrowed some iso from work and tried it last christmas and it worked a treat. Its pretty much the reason why dettol and other cleaners work so since they contain iso too.
The kind of resins they use in water based paints like acrylics and polyurethanes are soluble in isopropanol. We use it at work for cleaning some of our equipment when acetone might be a bit too rough. Dettol may in fact work better due to the detergents it contains clearing up the pigments and redispersing the resin. It may be worth trying iso with a small amount of water and washing up liquid. Say 90% iso and water with washing up liquid.
Aye, he's a formulation / dev chemist, and a European specialist in some areas that I should know, but they all blurred into one. I can tell you the place he works in person some time. I guess it just shows you can always be surprised.
He said the reason he thought it wouldn't work was him assuming it was PROPAN-1-OL, but the one I bought was PROPAN-2-OL. I am no more informed.
I usually steal his estasol, but with second hand figures it has melted things I thought were metal in the past. Miss using it though, I like the smell, it's sort of sweet compared to acetone and Iso. It also turns superglue pink/orange.
I'm totally ignorant, forgiveness please. Does it need to be a certain solution/percentage of isopropyl? I have 91% at home from the drug store and am thinking of giving it a shot. So far I've been using simple green in an ultrasonic cleaner and that seems okay, but anything that can speed up a process is something I'm interested in.
BossJakadakk wrote: I'm totally ignorant, forgiveness please. Does it need to be a certain solution/percentage of isopropyl? I have 91% at home from the drug store and am thinking of giving it a shot. So far I've been using simple green in an ultrasonic cleaner and that seems okay, but anything that can speed up a process is something I'm interested in.
I've heard people using 90% and not be very happy, but give it a shot if you have any. I am using 99% of Isopropanol and it literally makes metal models shine like new.
Boom, the hunter returns.
I've just had my first go at this method and it works very nicely indeed.
Much better than Dettol although there is still some scrubbing involved especially with this beast.
All told it took me about an hour of work with an extra 30 mins of soaking.
The thing was in a proper state when I got my hands on it and it definitely needed a second soak (halfway pics included) and a very stiff brush but it's somewhere close now.
There's still a bit of picking and poking to do with some tools but it's a lot better.
I did add some Fairy Platinum washing up liquid for the second soak and that really moved things along.
The best bit is that you can just run/wash it underwater and it doesn't go all gakky like Dettol.
FIVE BIG STARS *****
Any questions?
That's really awesome man! What surprises me good is that the alcohol even removes some pretty bad base attempts - like bad glued grass on the base. It totally strips this as well.
Is that a second hand Banebalde you bought on ebay?
The best paint stripper I've used is actually brake fluid it doesnt damage the model at all or make it tacky/rubbery, just wear some gloves when handling it, put your models in let them soak for a couple hours and you can literally rub the paint off to bare plastic with a tooth brush, then just use washing up liquid to wash the stripped model off and youre good as new.
heck if you wanted to you could strip car paint with the stuff.
I just want to say that Isopropyl Alchohol of high concentrations should not come in contact with your skin. If you are using this stuff please wear protective gloves and read a safety data sheet prior to use.
The OP said it was fine to get on your hands, it is not.
Swabby wrote: I just want to say that Isopropyl Alchohol of high concentrations should not come in contact with your skin. If you are using this stuff please wear protective gloves and read a safety data sheet prior to use.
The OP said it was fine to get on your hands, it is not.
Absolutely is fine to get on your skin, it evaporates too fast to do any harm; the worse you'll get is a stinging sensation under your nails, and that's if you practically dip your hands in the stuff, and if you bite your nails too
If you have sensitive skin, perhaps it might. I've used it over and over again and my hands are as good and clean as ever, despite frequent contact.
EDIT: It does say "avoid contact with skin and eyes" on the bottle, however I assume that kind of skin contact would have to be full submersion
Swabby wrote: I just want to say that Isopropyl Alchohol of high concentrations should not come in contact with your skin. If you are using this stuff please wear protective gloves and read a safety data sheet prior to use.
The OP said it was fine to get on your hands, it is not.
Iso alcohol wont do any long term harm to your skin. Hell, one of it's applications is as a direct wound disinfectant.
I'm having such wildly mixed results with this stuff at the moment.
Soaking is an absolute must for these old minis, but some are just starting to be a little gummy after 3 days, some have shed everything, and one is absolutely untouched. What the hell, Grey Knight!
Buttery Commissar wrote: I'm having such wildly mixed results with this stuff at the moment.
Soaking is an absolute must for these old minis, but some are just starting to be a little gummy after 3 days, some have shed everything, and one is absolutely untouched. What the hell, Grey Knight!
Have you applied anything like varnishes to any of the models? Perhaps that may have something to do with the mixed results
Well, isopropyl can be absorbed through the skin and is an irritant, so beware of that. It is recommended to wear gloves with products containing isopropyl alcohol.
They do mention in that article that Denatured Alcohol is an eligible paint stripper, and that type of alcohol sometimes contains isopropyl as one of its additives. However you're right in saying that pure isopropyl is not mentioned; I will see to adding something there in the near future about it
Buttery Commissar wrote: I'm having such wildly mixed results with this stuff at the moment.
Soaking is an absolute must for these old minis, but some are just starting to be a little gummy after 3 days, some have shed everything, and one is absolutely untouched. What the hell, Grey Knight!
Have you applied anything like varnishes to any of the models? Perhaps that may have something to do with the mixed results
Nope. Most of these are just hella old badly painted marines. Some aren't even primed.
That's good to know seeing as I plan to strip some old miniatures myself that are terribly painted; perhaps it struggles to remove thick, old paint like you said before
I can't recommend much else to you, only say sorry that it isn't working out as I said it would However, perhaps mixing it with Fairy Platinum like Alex said before will help, since he also tackled a poorly painted, old model.
If I may add a few notes from my own experience: I've been using ISA for many years as a paint stripper and frankly every time I see a "new" paint stripping thread I always recommend trying ISA as it is easier to find than alot of the commonly used products and it's safer to use. I personally have never used 100% ISA as its hard to find for me. The Highest I've used is 99% but I only use that as a finisher, as in the scrub off all those really stubborn little spots that just wont come out. On Average I stick with 91% for almost everything I strip.
I always soak anything for at least a day as it doesn't hurt plastic or metal ( at what I use doesn't). Soaking is not enough. I've had the same experience where a really tough mini that was painted with Krylon Fusion (the stuff that bonds) was soaked for a week and the paint was still intact. But once I started scrubbing the model with a nail cleaning brush dipped in the ISA the paint starts to come off. You can get these from any beauty supply store and I like the grip on these.
As noted in the tutorial agitation or friction is very important. I use toothbrushes for tight little spots but my go to brush is the Nail Cleaning brush because of the stiffer bristles. I've removed enamel, acrylic and rattle can paints successfully with just a 91% soak followed by a 99% Scrub.
Oh and PLEASE wear rubber gloves and eye protection. I learned the hard way. if you are a nail biter like me ISA burns like hell and it also burns when it gets in your eyes which it can when it flicks off the brush and gets airborne. So be safe.
As I said it also makes a great finisher for cleaning with other products such as Simple green and LAs Totally Awesome solutions. Soak as usual but dip your brush into ISA when you start scrubbing the paint off.
I've cleaned a ton on models like this including an entire Tau army I painted with Model Master enamels and a about 120 Marines that were caked in Rustoleum thick paint.It also breaks Super Glue bonds and will loosen greenstuff off a model that had conversions.
I hope this info helps with anyone having issues with using ISA.
Yea I call that stuff rubbing alchohol and it is fine on skin ..Do not drink it ..it is for external use only always have a quart or teo in the medicine cabinet ..its the sting in yet aftershave lotion and the base for many perfumes..
I'm intrigued as to whether the Iso removes primer. In the past I've tried using Isopropyl to remove paint, but I found it took me ages and didn't strip the primer off. I don't know what percentage it was, but I'd be curious to know if the 99% has a good effect on primer?
Warpig1815 wrote: I'm intrigued as to whether the Iso removes primer. In the past I've tried using Isopropyl to remove paint, but I found it took me ages and didn't strip the primer off. I don't know what percentage it was, but I'd be curious to know if the 99% has a good effect on primer?
From what I've used of it so far, yes it does remove primer easily, or should at least; I use Army Painter and GW primers, and both of those come off with moderate scrubbing. However white primers can remain in the recesses of the model and be tricky to dig out - you can see this in the test model I did in the tutorial (which was GW's Corax White). However it's no issue when the model is re-sprayed, as it's not enough to clog up any detail.
Plus I literally did that model in a minute or two, truthful to the title. I'm sure if you kept at it, you could get rid of all the primer.
We seem to be finding that age can be an issue when it comes to whether paint comes off or not. How old roughly were the model paintjobs you tried to strip before?
Warpig1815 wrote: At the time, they were about 1 year old, but I'm pretty sure the issue was an insufficiently high % of alcohol.
I would reckon that anything below 90% would be too weak if you were using a concentration below that. The stuff I use is either 99 or 100%. If you're still having problems with that concentration, try what Buttery Commissar said and submerge them for a time and see if the primer comes off better after a few days.
Just try with 99% concentration. It really strip anything within 1 hour. However, no many how good your paint stripper is you can land into this issue:
The guy bought some DA marines which cannot be stripped by anything.
I would agree that the MSDS shows that skin exposure could cause "sensitization", I would say from personal experience it dries out your hands terribly so if you forget the gloves, moisturizer is not a bad idea. Gloves are the good way to go especially if you have any cuts: it will sting like heck.
I just want to thank the poster for this guide. I rescued a horribly oversprayed Dragon Prince last night (entirely my fault) from 3 attempts at priming, stripping, priming again. Simple green had been only slightly effective after days of soaking, but an hour using this method and he was ready for a fresh coat of primer that looks great.
I used 93%, which is what I could get at the drugstore. I used it right on my hands and grabbed the model out of the container with my hand, and had no ill effects.
The only thing I've tried that's been better is car paint-thinner (don't know if it's called something else in english) but that will destroy plastic models. Metal models on the other hand are clean within minutes! (Don't breathe too much of the stuff though, especially if you think the Isopropyl smells bad. Thinner will knock your socks off, so mask on).
Goddin wrote: I just want to thank the poster for this guide. I rescued a horribly oversprayed Dragon Prince last night (entirely my fault) from 3 attempts at priming, stripping, priming again. Simple green had been only slightly effective after days of soaking, but an hour using this method and he was ready for a fresh coat of primer that looks great.
I used 93%, which is what I could get at the drugstore. I used it right on my hands and grabbed the model out of the container with my hand, and had no ill effects.
Thank you again!
Glad to hear you could rescue some old models!
Just a quick little update: I am trying to add a tutorial to the paint strip article on this site, but I'd like to take everything everyone has said here and use a new model for the demonstration, while learning how to edit articles there. When I get round to it and finish it, I'll post an update here
Just used some 99% isopropyl on my plastic model with lots of greenstuff and a resin base. It took the paint off quite easily as advertised although it struggles some with the primer. I went at it for a bit with an electric toothbrush as well as a manual and the black primer has faded some but is far from gone. For my purposes that's actually fine -- i'll just touch up the primer and be good to go! It did substantially weaken some of the glue bonds, fwiw.
I was kind of skeptical, but I just had to use this method on a bunch of minis I was priming (green), and the paint can (Krylon) left them looking like sugar-coated doughnuts.
I was actually able to use 70% Iso to get the paint off after about a 5 minute soak (it was only about 4 hours old, so that probably helped). For protection, I did use glasses and wore a latex glove on my "holding" hand, and thoroughly washed up afterwards (my hands smell like mint though). Hardly had to do any brushing, it just sort of sloughed off.
Has anyone heard of purple power? its like simple green but better, it even breaks down the glue if you leave it in there long enough. You can grab it at your local auto shop. This is what I started using after finding simple green doesn't work as well as I had hoped. As far as I can tell, it does well and doesn't damage the models but usually I only let my stuff sit in there for 48ish hours. Table top minions does and awesome job about talking about it.
Chemist and Teacher here....
Directions, Warnings and MSDS are legal documents intended to release companies from fault when people intentionally misuse their products. If someone was doing a MSDS for purified water, they would likely have warnings about getting it into your eyes and nose and mouth! You have to take what a MSDS says with a grain of salt, but you definitely need to understand what it says about a substance. Things like LD50, explosion limit thresholds, etc are not to be taken lightly. 70% or 99% alcohol is flammable, so yeah... take precautions and don't smoke. Read and follow those directions, even if they seem a bit on the silly side.
Also, please note that pure isopropyl alcohol is a different beast than what is in the little bottle in your medicine cabinet. Concentration is important; just like the high concentration is what makes it a good stripper for the paint is what makes if not great for getting on your hands. We are talking more than just some dried out hands here... solvents like isopropyl alcohol can bring things through the skin with them. That can easily include paint colorants like heavy metal ions (not like Slayer or Metallica, but like Lead and Mercury... and not the Freddie kind). While that won't harm most people in limited amounts, you may be one of those people who is sensitive to such things or you could find yourself with a really old paint that has some truly nasty stuff in them.
So... take some basic precautions because someone out there likes you and wants to keep you around.
I have had good results with Iso-Alc, but would add to the issue that you should protect your skin at all times and be very careful with any chemicals. Just because it has evaporated from the surface does not mean it has not left a residue, so wear gloves please.
On that note I would chip in that I now use a different product, Methylated Spirits, it is purple can be bought in most hardware stores, and does a similar job but much quicker. My experience to date it has stripped the paint only, no damage to the models, or glue, you can literally clothe the paint off the model after a few minutes. It is a lot nastier than Iso Alc, so you definately have to wear gloves for this one, but it is more effective and evaporates in seconds. Price wise it is very cheap.
Professor_Plum wrote:Anyone have any experience with resin and isopropyl and resin?
I've cleaned some Dropzone Resin models with it, no hitches. I think FW resin is quite fragile though, so take great care if you're going to clean that type.
Lance845 wrote:How does this method impact greenstuff?
I have a few conversion/kitbash models I need to update the color scheme on. Should I expect the greenstuff to dissolve? Fall off the model?
I honestly don't know; I'd say it won't, but I wouldn't take the risk if I were you.
I'll go digging and see if anyone has experience with it, if nobody here has.
I'm going with General Annoyance on the question of affecting Green Stuff.
Being a two-part system, the green stuff itself undergoes a chemical reaction. Just dunking it in a solvent won't undo that reaction. You could get a situation where the solvent will dissolve the green stuff (unlikely, in my opinion)... but possible given the right solvent and the wrong amount of time. Before that happens, you would see dulling of the sharp details in the sculpting.
I'm going to have to do an experiment when I get home! I'm sure I have a couple of cured balls of green stuff kicking around, and while I don't have the pure Isopropyl at home I do have the dilute. A soak overnight and I should be able to give you an answer.
I am not opposed to redoing my greenstuff work. Mostly it's gap filling or adding in small bits of detail at connection sites where I merged various pieces together for kit bash/conversions. It's nothing that cannot be redone easily enough. It's mostly knowing what I am in for.
I have the 91% iso from a drug store. Not the pure. So your test would be great Anpu-adom! Really appreciate it.
Experiment #1 is set up.
Will common paint strippers effect green stuff?
Trial #1.~ 70% IPA
Two pieces of green stuff were recovered from the bottom of my tool box. Based off of their location and the rate at which I hobby, the minimum age of the green stuff in question is about 9 months and could be as old as 4 years. Each piece of green stuff weighs about 1/10th of a gram, and I've covered it with about 10 ml of 70% isopropyl alcohol from my medicine cupboard. I have no reason to believe that the concentration is other than what is on the label.
Trial #2. Water
This is the control. The second piece is placed in a similar contain containing 10 ml or so of tap water. I have no reason to believe that the tap water is in anyway impure (ie... I don't live in Flint, MI).
Results. Neither feels slippery or more gummy after being left in the solution for 6 hours.
Test complete. Couldn't find any resin so just green stuff.
Dettol 6 hours - Kneadatite looks pale but doesn't appear to have changed. 12 hours - If I really try I can scrape the surface a little with my nail. Effects kneadatite enough to break it's bond with another material. 24 hours - Feels a little softer, can damage it with my nail pretty easily. Effects kneadatite enough to break it's bond with another material. Ultrasonic Cleaner - Very effective at paint removal. Effects kneadatite enough to break it's bond with another material and prolonged use can cause it to soften a lot.
99.9% Isopropyl Alcohol 6 hours - Kneadatite looks pale but doesn't appear to have changed. 12 hours - If I really try I can scrape the surface a little with my nail. Effects kneadatite enough to break it's bond with another material. 24 hours - If I really try I can scrape the surface a little with my nail. Effects kneadatite enough to break it's bond with another material. Ultrasonic Cleaner - Very effective at paint removal. Effects kneadatite enough to break it's bond with another material.
Off Brand Disinfectant 6 hours - No change. 12 hours - Kneadatite looks pale but doesn't appear to have changed. 24 hours - Kneadatite looks pale but doesn't appear to have changed. Effects kneadatite enough to break it's bond with another material. Ultrasonic Cleaner - Quite effective at removing paint. Effects kneadatite enough to break it's bond with another material.
Obviously my results are anecdotal but Isopropyl seems to come out on top.
It's likely that if you are relying on the natural bond of green stuff to other materials then it's going to be compromised during paint stripping. The green stuff should recover over time but you may have to glue it back in place.
Dettol is really expensive in comparison, it would set me back at least £6.67 a litre where Isopropyl only costs £3.20 a litre and is equally effective but less harmful to kneadatite. The off brand version was okay in a pinch but it's going to cost you in time.
Casey's Law wrote: Wait, why have I been spending all that money on Dettol?
Spoiler:
...
Should I be worried that the label has a spelling error?
As a biochemist - nope, that's just an alternative name.
Isopropanol is the IUPAC name for an alcohol with three carbons, with the hydroxide on the second.
Alternate names are isopropyl alcohol (where the carbon branch is the additional group), 2-propanol, or 2-hydroxypropane, and so on.
Thank you for getting back to me on that, it's much appreciated. However I meant the first line where it says, "IPA Isoproyl Alcohol." Is that just a term I'm just unfamiliar with or a simple typo?
I tested this with the 90ish% I got from the local drug store and a dollar store tupperware container.
I put 2 zoanthropes I had primed black with army painter can primer, painted and top coated with a spray can of water based urathane clear coat designed for indoor/outdoor furniture.
After a 1 hour soak the paint rubbed off from my finger. One of the models had the primer hold up a but tougher but after another 30 minutes with some tooth brush scrubbing it came away nice and clean. I have a little pick I used to dig any excess out of the tiny ridges on the body/ribs but this stuff worked great with very little effort.
This weekend I am going to try and strip my exocrine conversions. I will post before/during/after pictures. That will show everyone how it's impacting the green stuff as well.
Got myself the Isopropyl Alcohol 99,9%, dunked in it my little ultrasonic cleaner, and had myself some fun with a couple of older models dunked into it. Rubbed it a bit with an old toothbrush, worked like a charm on just about everything acrylic, but I noticed certain primer sprays actually seemed to have discoloured the plastic underneath. It didn't scratch some really old enamels on ancient Ral Parthas I had lying around though.
Well, Having trouble with new pictures, but here we go.
I stripped my 2 exocrine conversions. (you can see painted and unpainted pictures in my P&M blog) One went in for about 1 hour. Some scrubbing with a tooth brush and it got cleaned right up. There was some slight curling up on some of the green stuff used to smooth out areas (where the gun attaches to the carnifex shell), but some slight sanding and it's all good.
The second soaked overnight. LOTS more greenstuff lost it's grip. One arm is off, and the torso separated from the legs. Some of the detail GS around the eyes on the gun came off. More curling and sanding. Not the biggest issue but longer soaks will ruin more green stuff. Not even really a problem if it's your own GS work. But expect it.
Another alternative is to use this stuff if you live in the UK:
Easily bought from Home Bargains, Wilkinson's, B&Q, Screw-fix etc. Doesn't hurt plastic and minimal impact on resin. A guy in my FLGS uses this all the time and says it's really good. He also uses Dettol, but admittedly he uses that only if the model has been primed / paired with anything but acrylic paint...
He's brewing in a pot of isopropyl right now. I'd strip him, but I've just cleaned my room up, so I'll give you some results tomorrow. Pester me if I forget
Awesome. I've got some fire dragons off eBay that are itching for an alcohol bath if it will suit them. Rest of the minis I've won are metal so they're going in the cellulose thinners. It's pure comedy to see literally every layer of paint come if in a matter of seconds. Plus it smells amazing haha!
Cellulose thinners works for finecast. Just leave in for literally less than 2 mins. Toothbrush. Scrubby scrubby. Job done. Just don't put them on with the bases on
Hey Luke, seems like Isopropyl works a treat on Finecast. The initial layers of paint on my Lord Commissar just peeled straight off as I lifted it from the container, and most of the rest came of pretty easily with a toothbrush. No damage to the resin, although I'd recommend getting an ultrasonic cleaner to avoid snapping any resin on more delicate models as you try to clean it.
None from me! I'm currently experimenting with "gunk green degreaser". With a metal warp spider off eBay. Moreso to satisfy my own curiosity in regards to the constant recommendations of simple green or purple power, which are both degreasers. Gunk is easily attainable from Halfords and is biodegradable. I've used it on engines and it will get caked on oil off with ease, it's also safe on plastics. I will post the results in 24 hours after the initial soak!
A further report on Finecast; don't leave it in the stuff for too long. My Lord Commissar's sword has warped after a week of being in Isopropyl - the damage is mendable, but easily avoided by doing the cleaning in one go.
General Annoyance wrote: A further report on Finecast; don't leave it in the stuff for too long. My Lord Commissar's sword has warped after a week of being in Isopropyl - the damage is mendable, but easily avoided by doing the cleaning in one go.
Iv left spartan game resin in iso once.
it came out feeling way more brittle
i think it does effect some resins moe than others.
I've bought isopropyl alcohol from eBay, it stinks to high heaven, so can't use it for very long as causes headaches and dizzy spells, but i most important of all I've had models soaking in a sealed tub for days but the paint isn't shifting.
I've bought isopropyl alcohol from eBay, it stinks to high heaven, so can't use it for very long as causes headaches and dizzy spells, but i most important of all I've had models soaking in a sealed tub for days but the paint isn't shifting.
I
You must scrub the minis with a toothbrush, should be stripped in a couple of minutes.
I use isopropyl alcohol's cousin methylated spirits, does the same thing stinks just as bad.
Use in a well ventilated area but not outside, make sure you wear nitrile gloves or your fingers will go soft and you will feel drunk.
)
However, perhaps mixing it with Fairy Platinum like Alex said before will help, since he also tackled a poorly painted, old model.
