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Hey all, like most of you im sure i have a tonne of models from when i started the hobby that have seen better days.

i've searched for plastic paint strippers in vain and just wondered if any one had any suggestions
thanks all

Simple Green or any equivalent product that uses the same make-up.

Seriously. Don't use anything else.

Where/how can I get Simple Green in the UK?

That's a good question. It's been answered before, but I don't have the answer.

For us guys in the UK the best stuff is fairy power spray. It's easy to get, cheap, reuseable and you just dump the models in it, come back in a few days then scrub them off. You can get it at most supermarkets. It's the one in the green bottle.

Fantastic! Got tons of that in the house already I think, time to strip myself some models!

Thanks!

Hang on, you just mean Fairy washing up liquid? You just get some water, add it to it, put the models in then scrub in a few days? I will have to try this! Thanks guys =D

No, not the washing up liquid, the power spray.

Ah, but same company? So it's the same principle - Fairy power spray+water+models=stripped?

No use it neat. No water just drop them in.

Or use diluted dettol, works well for me!

This stuff.

http://www.uk.pg.com/images/fairyPowerSprayPack_IL.jpg

About £3. Pour it into an old jar, don't dilute it.

Add models.

24 hours later and a quick scrub with an old toothbrush.

Done.

It'll have bits of paint in it, but it's still reusable, so don't chuck it away!

Brakefluid.

I use an electric toothbrush. Life is better with one. Buuuuzzzz

I've just done about 30 IG.
I left them imersed in neat detol for a couple of days, the paint comes off like some sick nurgle-esk skin.
I used a cocktail stick to get in the creases and a tooth brush to clear the majority.

Brake fluid will give you a puddle of plastic at worse and soft plastic with brush marks at best. I suggest you never use it even for metal models.

Lorne wrote:Brake fluid will give you a puddle of plastic at worse and soft plastic with brush marks at best. I suggest you never use it even for metal models.

I have to respectfully disagree. I left about 30 plastic LOTR models painted with "who-knows-what" kind of paint that wouldn't come off after a week of Simple Green soaking. I put them in a half gallon plastic container and enough brake fluid to cover them for 4 days. I figured these models had broken swords and spears so if they melted, well, no big deal as they would require new weapons anyway.

I was surprised, though when I pulled them out. No loss of detail and the paint which wouldn't come off with Simple Green came off with the brake fluid and some scrubbing from a toothbrush. The plastic wasn't soft either.

I have heard brake fluid will damage and melt plastic. Perhaps there's more than one kind of break fluid? I don't know. What I do know is that it worked very well for me. Next time I'll take pictures and post them. As usual, YMMV.

See my results went the other way. I was trying to strip GW paint off the old plastic 2 piece marines. After about 4 hours in brake fluid (no water) I went to brush the paint off and a soft brush left grooves in the plastic.

Rather than soaking models in fairy power spray to strip, I just spray it onto them - using the custom made spray bottle that it comes in. Leave for half hour, scrub with tooth brush, rinse, enjoy your clean paint-less models. I spray mine in a huge 99p foil turkey roaster tin.

Before:



After 30 mins and a scrub:

Does any relatively strong surface cleaner work? I've got some TESCO own brand stuff that I'm going to try out but I was just wondering if anyone knew if just a generic sort of cleaning product worked, not particular brands but something like oven cleaner, surface cleaner or bathroom cleaner

thanks guys ill give this fairy stuff a go

Ah, one sec, does anyone know if Mr Muscle bathroom spray works?

@4M2A your a genius!!!!

Been trying to figure out how to strip paint off models thats not simple green (as in usa)

So just used sum fairy power spray as you suggested and its worked wonders ... i left it on for 1 hour (sprayed onto 10 models) tho next time ill leave it for maybe 1hour n 30... mine turned out like this with no damage to the plastic or out 98% no paint left... ill be less lazy with the brushing next time.

cheers for all that guys me and a friend have given the fairy powerspray a try and it works awesomely i can finally recycle some of those old dusty models from the attick so its goodtimes !

Anyone know any of this stuff available in the Netherlands? I guess Dettol and brake fluid, though I'm not going to try the latter.
I need to strip someones old UM collection (I'm collecting Blood Angels, that's why) and it's quite delicate. Some of the metal models I can easily scratch the paint off with my scalpel, but with plastic models I'd cut them in half

Ive found that simple green isent very effective on plastic models,though,there realy good for metal models.

I don't know if they got it in the UK, but Superclean works good on plastic models.
Website: http://superclean.com/product1.php

This Fairy stuff, anyone got a website for it?

Hail!

I have stripped countless modesl, both plastic and metal with brake fluid. Unless I have some super special formula for brake fluid, I have never had a model dissolve or become brittle (even an unlucky Leman Russ that happened to be left submerged in the stuff for over a year X_X!!! I guess it really is humanity's most resiliant tank) or had a metal model develope pits or scale.

I believe it removes paint much faster and with fewer soak/scrub/rinse cycles and I would suggest it to anyone.

Happy stripping ;D

Andy

Have just found out that Tesco's and Sainsbury's own brand mulit-purpose cleaners do the job.


Automatically Appended Next Post:
http://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=20159&hl=

2nd page has a piccy of said bottles of cleany stuff

lots cheaper than Fairy power spray and seems tp work ok with resin too.

hth


Automatically Appended Next Post:
sorry Great Unclean One (a most unappropriate name given the thread!) missed your post - if you haven't tried the Tesco's stuff yet the answer is yes it works.

Lorne wrote:Brake fluid will give you a puddle of plastic at worse and soft plastic with brush marks at best. I suggest you never use it even for metal models.

Not if you know what you are doing.

I use brake fluid.
The bottle I'm currently using is dot4.

I've been cleaning some badly painted RT guardsmen (from the first plastic guard box) & 2nd ed cadians (metal) that I picked up second hand a few weeks back.

This fluid is NOT damaging the plastic (I'm dipping a firm toothbrush into the fluid and scrubbing the miniature with it - whilst wearing gloves, faceshield and a respirator (I just do this around chem out of habit after 10+ years working with [D]angerous [G]oods) and is removing the paint (acrylics and enamels) after a couple of minutes' work.
The metals are made from the softer lead-containing white metal alloy GW used to use. The fluid is not even discolouring the metal, let alone removing or damaging any of it.

The RT plastics are softer than the current gen plastic GW uses, too.

It all comes down to what YOU personally are safe and comfortable using (and what your governments let you buy). I have an autoparts store around the corner, and 4 mechanics' premises in my street. Buying and disposing of the fluid is not a problem for me (I use maybe 500ml a YEAR at the most. Usually, I'll go through about half of that.