Stripping plastic models without harming the detail

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**Cyporiean**

Schmapdi wrote:Hello all, first post here. I have some stuff that needed stripping, so I was quite happy when I stumbled upon this thread.

Yesterday I ran into Walmart and picked up some Non-Acetone polish remover for a buck fifty. Cutex - the same brand as the original poster. The bottles looked a little differently but I chalked that up to being across the pond.

So - always cautious, I decided to test on some sprue pieces. And did the following (all using the same Cutex - not run concurrently)
piece 1 - I left it in the solution for an hour: some mild pitting
piece 2 - I left it in the solution for 30 mins: No harm. So I figured a shot dip was safe, and the OP said it <5 mins to strip anyway.
piece 3 - Just to be sure, left for 24 hours: Came out perfect, not pitted or warped in the slightest. Beats the hell out of me. (I suspect - maybe that the first two pieces might have absorbed whatever the active ingredient is, *shrug*)

Ok - so testing with an actual, painted model now - I took a poorly painted snap-together Ork Boy (from those little $8 kits) and soaked him in fresh Cutex for 5 minutes. Then I removed him, and give him a quick scrub with a scrubby brush and the paint removed quite easily for the most part, and then rinsed.

The Boy is ruined. Without any rhyme or reason the Cutex absolutely destroyed parts of him, leaving other parts unscathed. (For instance, his Choppa got the worst of it - but his shoota was fine) I'm not sure what causes such spotty results, but I would avoid using nail polish remover on anything of value, at least until you are damn certain of the potential results. What's weird is - the Ork boy came out waaay worse after 5 minutes than the pitted sprue piece did after an hour. It makes no damn sense.

Here's some pics:
The Cutex I used. You can clearly see the non-acetone label.
http://www.dakkadakka.com/gallery/36226-Cutex.html

The ruined Boy. His Choppa got the worst of it - but parts all over are either a)completely fine b) a pitted mess.
http://www.dakkadakka.com/gallery/36227-Ruined%20Stripped%20Boy.html

just tried this as well on a bunch of Eldar i got at a bazaar this weekend... almost threw up a few times from the smell of the stuff.

All the metal models came out fantastic, worked much quicker then simple green..

The Wraithlord however.. will probly be a terrian piece now. :/