Switch Theme:

Step by step: Stripping paint with Dettol  [RSS] Share on facebook Share on Twitter Submit to Reddit
»
Author Message
Advert


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.




Made in gb
Grey Knight Purgator firing around corners





Edinburgh, Scotland

Howdy folks!

Just recently bought a couple models from eBay for my latest project, and I often see posts about stripping paint so I thought I'd share my method here. Often I see SimpleGreen or oven cleaner or even brake fluid mentioned, some of the products mentioned aren't always available for everyone, but at least in the UK you can find Dettol, so here's my step by step guide.

Step 1:

You'll first off need some models to strip, here I have a Tech Marine and an Apothecary I picked up. As you can see, the paint is globbed on pretty heavily, especially on the poor Apothecary. Soon sort ya out fella



Step 2:

What you'll need. Here I have the models, some Dettol- Please note, you HAVE to use the old style brown Dettol, the green stuff just does nothing to paint. Also a container for the dettol and models, an old toothbrush (I'm waiting on a set of drawers and tool box arriving, hence my painting stuff being stored so hap-hazardly there ) and also a pair of rubber or latex gloves, not pictured.



Step 3:

Here, I'm using the Dettol mixed 50:50 with water, it turns a milky white, so don't worry. You do not need to mix it with water, I have used it successfully neat on plastic and lost no detail. I've had a model or two in a jar of it for about a week with no damage to detail. I mix it with water as it works fine, slightly slower, but makes the Dettol last a bit longer as you're not using so much. These models are metal, but I threw the bases in as I both couldn't be bothered removing them, and they'll be fine in there. Here's my container.



Step 4:

Leave your models in there for maybe half an hour, if you use the Dettol neat, and you're in a hurry, it'll take about 20 minutes to work to this level. This is the Tech Marine upon exit from the bath. Please use gloves as noted before, Dettol isn't the nicest mix of chemicals to inflict on your hands for any length of time.



As you can see the paint is blistered and will come off fairly easily with a toothbrush.

Step 5:
This is probably the most important point to note. Do NOT under any circumstances dip your toothbrush into water, or try and rinse off the paint under the tap. You will end up with the paint becoming a sticky, horrible goop that is far more difficult to remove from both model and your hands. I learned this the hard way and my hands were blue for roughly 4 days (another reason why i recommend gloves now). Use the bath of Dettol to rinse the model and toothbrush if you need to. It'll prevent the super goo ever forming and will help get the paint off a little quicker. After a good scrub, here's my Tech Marine and Apothecary afterward.




These guys are going to have to go in the soup again, the best thing with this is that it too (like Simple Green et al) is reusable. When the effectiveness (if using with water) is wearing off, your mix will change from white to a murky pastel brown. If you're using it neat, you'll be able to see it full of bits of paint and will be notable darker.

Hope this helps you guys!

Any questions, please ask.
   
Made in us
Dakka Veteran





Los Angeles

What's the active ingredient?

For paint stripping, rather than disinfectant purposes.

I'd be curious to compare with other household chemicals.

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2010/10/15 17:41:52


DR:60-S+GM+B+IPw40k96#-D++A+/fWD001R++T(M)DM+++

 
   
Made in gb
Grey Knight Purgator firing around corners





Edinburgh, Scotland

I believe the active ingrediant, stripping wise, is Pine Oil and this is why it does the same job as Simple Green as it too contains Pine Oil.

Saying that, I've just checked the bottle and it also has Isopropyl Alcohol, another good one for stripping.
   
Made in gb
[SWAP SHOP MOD]
Yvan eht nioj






In my Austin Ambassador Y Reg

If the models are metal, then the best substance I have found, bar none, is nail polish remover. No messing around, dip them in and scrub and the paint slides straight off. I have used this many a time and metal minis come up like new with no residue.

I have tried acetone free nail varnish remover on a couple of plastic rhinos this afternoon (one old version in a kind of milky plastic, the other a slightly less old grey plastic). I was loathe to leave the plastic in the NPR for too long as I have heard it eats it but I didn't notice anything. A quick scrub with a toothbrush and all is good.

That being said, good tutorial. I might try the Dettol in future as the NPR stuff stinks.

=====Begin Dakka Geek Code=====
DC:80-S--G+MB+I+Pw40k95+D++A+++/sWD144R+T(S)DM+
======End Dakka Geek Code======

Click here for retro Nintendo reviews

My Project Logs:
30K Death Guard, 30K Imperial Fists

Completed Armies so far (click to view Army Profile):
 
   
Made in au
Scarred Ultramarine Tyrannic War Veteran






Melbourne, Australia

Does it work with plactic (dettol)?
EDIT: Just read now that it does. Thanks for the tut before this I couldn't find any other paint stripper that I can get in Australia.

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2010/10/16 06:41:42


"Whilst we stand, we fight. Whilst we fight, we prevail. Nothing shall stay our wrath"
Guilliman and the Ultramarines are like Manchester United, everyone hates them because they are so awesome!

 
   
Made in us
Hungry Little Ripper




Alabama

This is something that I heard from a friend. But apparently vehicle Brake Fluid, is supposed to work about the same as this Dettol stuff. *never heard of dettol* Anyone know of this as well?

Behemoth= 2500


95% of teens would cry if they saw the Jonas Brothers at the top of a skyscraper about to jump. Copy and paste this if you are part of the 5% that would yell "DO A FLIP!!!"


 
   
Made in gb
Grey Knight Purgator firing around corners





Edinburgh, Scotland

Brake fluid will indeed work, however it is a rather nasty collection of chemicals, and cannot be disposed of at home, you are required (i believe by law in a lot of countries) to have it safely disposed of, possibly a local garage will take it.

You're in the US i see, so you should be able to find yourself some Simple Green, basically the same stuff as Dettol.

Us Brits can't get it here unless we import it, but we've got Dettol here which is far easier to get.
   
Made in au
Stalwart Ultramarine Tactical Marine





Australia, Victoria, Ringwood

This works perfectly. But it leaves a smell of Dettol on the guys though..

DukeRustfield wrote:You can't get a more different set of armies than Skaven and Ogres.

If your family is mad at you, Ogres are the way to go. No one could be mad at Ogres. But if you come out and they demand to know what you're wasting your time on and you hold up a rat, you're not going to make any friends.

 
   
Made in us
Dakka Veteran





Los Angeles

That's the smell of purity!

DR:60-S+GM+B+IPw40k96#-D++A+/fWD001R++T(M)DM+++

 
   
Made in us
Hungry Little Ripper




Alabama

Lol well thanks.

Behemoth= 2500


95% of teens would cry if they saw the Jonas Brothers at the top of a skyscraper about to jump. Copy and paste this if you are part of the 5% that would yell "DO A FLIP!!!"


 
   
Made in au
Stalwart Ultramarine Tactical Marine





Australia, Victoria, Ringwood

Purity with a capital "Stink".

DukeRustfield wrote:You can't get a more different set of armies than Skaven and Ogres.

If your family is mad at you, Ogres are the way to go. No one could be mad at Ogres. But if you come out and they demand to know what you're wasting your time on and you hold up a rat, you're not going to make any friends.

 
   
Made in gb
Death-Dealing Dark Angels Devastator





England..

Great tut, i use Dettol all the time..

I use it neat tho and usually leave it a good 12 hours,

But you dont waste it when you use in neat when your done just pour the dettol back in the bottle and it can be used over and over again, if you mix it with water like you did it can not be used again really unless you can store it mixed..

Just make sure if you do like me and use neat dettol and then put it back in bottle, that you label the bottle so your wife/mum dont use it on her kitchen floor like my wife did..

jim



"Only the DEAD have seen an End to WAR" - Plato


2010 W:3 L:4 T:5
2011 W:3 L:4 T:3 
   
Made in gb
Grey Knight Purgator firing around corners





Edinburgh, Scotland

Haha jim, I usually keep a jam jar or tupperware box around for it, usually looks weird enough to avoid accidental usage.

The smell will get covered up by the first coat of paint, I've got about 20 or so bloodletters and 10 space marines that were once or twice even stripped, once they're primed, no smell.
   
Made in nz
Confident Halberdier




New Zealand

Finally my germophobic ways have yielded fruit! I always have a bottle of that brown Dettol lying around to scrub stuff with so I now have a readily available paint stripper!

Thanks Marushi!

DR:80+SGM--B--I+Pwhfb10#+D+A+/cWD366R++T(T)DM+

Averland 13th Expeditionary Brigade - 2250 points (under construction) 
   
Made in us
Drop Trooper with Demo Charge






Do you have any examples of plastic models you have striped because im having issues getting paint of of mine.

As for metal models GP takes it off in about 8 hours..

2200+ points guard
WIP 3000+ point praetorian renegade army.
500+ points tyranid all OOP and wip

For more artwork like my avatar check out deviantart http://sharpwriter.deviantart.com  
   
Made in us
Dakka Veteran





Los Angeles

I've always used Pinesol in the past, but just picked up some 91% Isopropyl Alcohol for the airbrush and it's scary how good that is on fresh paint...

Haven't tried it on an old mini yet though, or tested the effect of leaving plastics in it for an extended period.

DR:60-S+GM+B+IPw40k96#-D++A+/fWD001R++T(M)DM+++

 
   
Made in gb
Adolescent Youth with Potential



UK

Sorry to Necro thread,m but it seemed more sensible than starting a new thread, I've got a couple of tips based on the original post, having tried dettol myself today

#1 They aren't kidding, use gloves, you can probably skip em if you're only doing a couple of minis, but what essentially happened with me was I did a large number of minis and my left hand ended up covered in a grey mulch, this partially dried and wrecked the skin on my hand (ouch :()

#2 I found that my dettol has never lost effectiveness even after turning grey/brown, but it becomes so dirty that scrubbing the paint off the minis leaves them covered in grey/brown crap, what I'm now doing is using a large amount of 1:1 dettol and water as a long soak bath, giving em a scrub and then putting em into neat dettol for about 20 minutes and using a different scrubbing brush.

#3 Use gloves

#4 a good method for scrubbing is instead of a tooth brush using two nail brushes, they're generally more coarse bridstled than toothbrushes are. Placing the mini on one then rubbing them in opposite directions tends to get most of the paint off, also solves the problem of trying to keep a grip on small parts.

#5 for getting paint out of little crevices on metal minis a mini drill (the kind you'd use for drilling holes for pinning) with a fine wire wool bit is fantastic, you can press it into cracks and it will generally work just about anywhere and a lot faster than scraping away with a toothpick

edit: this works fine on extremely old paint by the way, I've some things that were painted over 6 years ago (with citadel black screw on caps and the old citadel white pop caps, primed with white citadel spray primer).

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2011/10/17 23:40:43


 
   
Made in za
Thunderhawk Pilot Dropping From Orbit





South Africa

Thanks for this, my vanguard vets will finally look nice

Shadow Legion's lost warmachine http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/382008.page

2750 point - Space marine
750 point - Ork
1250 point - Wood Elves
750 point Brettonia
 
   
Made in us
Agile Revenant Titan






Oregon

3 words. Use LA Awesome.

Eldar -5000 points 
   
Made in us
Fixture of Dakka





I'll never understand why people continue to think brake fluid is a good idea for stripping. There are plenty of products that are far less toxic and actually designed to clean things.

"'players must agree how they are going to select their armies, and if any restrictions apply to the number and type of models they can use."

This is an actual rule in the actual rulebook. Quit whining about how you can imagine someone's army touching you in a bad place and play by the actual rules.


Freelance Ontologist

When people ask, "What's the point in understanding everything?" they've just disqualified themselves from using questions and should disappear in a puff of paradox. But they don't understand and just continue existing, which are also their only two strategies for life. 
   
Made in gb
Lit By the Flames of Prospero





Rampton, UK

Ogryn wrote:3 words. Use LA Awesome.



6 words.
Kind of hard in the UK
   
Made in gb
Adolescent Youth on Ultramar



Epsom

 Marushi wrote:
Howdy folks!

Just recently bought a couple models from eBay for my latest project, and I often see posts about stripping paint so I thought I'd share my method here. Often I see SimpleGreen or oven cleaner or even brake fluid mentioned, some of the products mentioned aren't always available for everyone, but at least in the UK you can find Dettol, so here's my step by step guide.




Hey all, today I've tried using a budget all-purpose (brown liquid) that you can get from Poundland at 2 x 500ml for £1. It's massively cheaper than Dettol so will let you all know if this works. Hopefully, it'll strip my Repulsor that I got off eBay for a bargain.
   
Made in ie
Norn Queen






Dublin, Ireland

A 6 year bump!
Having said that it is quite a useful article

Dman137 wrote:
goobs is all you guys will ever be

By 1-irt: Still as long as Hissy keeps showing up this is one of the most entertaining threads ever.

"Feelin' goods, good enough". 
   
Made in gb
Fresh-Faced New User




Hi all,

Just to give this a bump as a returning player after a 20 year absence. Dettol worked perfectly with this step by stepfor two models I received and needed to strip.

   
Made in gb
Battleship Captain





Bristol (UK)

I've used 95% Isopropanol for stripping (which is I believe the active ingredient in Dettol).

The stripping worked well, although I noted a few problems.
- Firstly, the fluid became contaminated with the paint, so I was unable to get the models perfectly clean due to the dirty paint. Still clean enough to not be noticeable.
*to solve this I could use a larger bath or use two washes on the models. A 'dirty' wash to get the worse of the paint off, then a 'clean' wash to get the last off.

- Secondly, I struggled to get the really thick paint out of nooks and crannies of the model. This was a really thick primer coat, so maybe I wouldn't have the issue with regular paint?

- Thirdly, and most importantly, the plastic became a little soft and brittle. I broke several long thin components like spear shafts whilst tooth brushing.
After I took the models out they seem to have returned to normal though.

Is the experience of Dettol noticeably different to this? Particularly the latter point.

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2021/02/17 14:41:48


 
   
Made in us
Regular Dakkanaut




For those of us folk in the US I recommend Castrol Super Clean.

It comes in a purple container. Sold at Walmart and other DYI stores across the country.

I used Simple Green for about a decade then one day saw a video on Youtube comparing different cleaners for stripping and the OP recommended Super Clean over Simple Green. I made the switch and have never looked back.

Super Clean strips faster than Simple Green and some people can't stand that pine scent (it is awfully strong). Super Clean has an odor but it's not as prominent as Simple Green. Super Clean is around the same price as well.

It's also non-toxic. Just like Simple Green because it is a degreaser it will dry your skin out if you keep your hands submerged for a long time. Either wear gloves or limit your exposure to short sessions.
   
Made in au
Anti-Armour Swiss Guard






Newcastle, OZ

Remember to wear those gloves.
Neat dettol WILL take your skin off after only a couple of minutes contact.

The resulting wound will sting like the bejaysus for a week or so as the epidermis heals.


I'm OVER 50 (and so far over everyone's BS, too).
Old enough to know better, young enough to not give a ****.

That is not dead which can eternal lie ...

... and yet, with strange aeons, even death may die.
 
   
Made in gb
Sagitarius with a Big F'in Gun





Biostrip 20 is great stuff, I've heard greenstuff world paint stripper is good but expensive so I emailed them to ask for the MSDS and its 100% 2-butoxyethanol which you can buy online cheaply.

Approx armies
9000pts AdMech (Main army)
7000pts Black Templars (original army)
3500pts Death Guard (lazy side project)
2000pts Imperial Knights (extension of AdMech)
2000pts Harlequins (fun side project)
 
   
Made in gb
Grim Dark Angels Interrogator-Chaplain





Cardiff

Step 1: Put the Dettol away and buy some Biostrip 20.

 Stormonu wrote:
For me, the joy is in putting some good-looking models on the board and playing out a fantasy battle - not arguing over the poorly-made rules of some 3rd party who neither has any power over my play nor will be visiting me (and my opponent) to ensure we are "playing by the rules"
 
   
Made in au
Been Around the Block




Not sure if it's just my area (NSW Australia), but a lot of the other paint stripping options are expensive, ineffective or otherwise difficult.

I've stripped 2 armies worth of minis in Dettol and god I wish I knew about the water thing before now. I just thought it was just part of the process and didn't think twice about it!

I've left minis in it for literally months (had a bunch of jars in the shed and misplaced a few...) and the worst issue I came across was some of the older minis became very brittle, but to be honest they may have already been brittle.

Wear gloves though! For my first major recovery project I spent all day working with minis in dettol and my hands were in a very poor state afterwards.
   
 
Forum Index » Painting & Modeling Tutorials
Go to: