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Hey Dakka! I recently scored a very nice deal on some Chaos Terminators (plus assorted miscellany) from eBay. That seller was pretty cool and up front that this was a "rescue" job and that the miniatures would need some attention. Ok. No problem. Right?

Wrong. No one, not even the seller (was a 3rd party collector that picked these up somewhere else apparently) could have known the absolute horror that was the unreality of these miniatures so deeply corrupted by their time in the Warp. When they arrived they looked like polished wax because they were nearly featureless and were very shiny. I dumped them into a pint of uncut Simple Green and put them under the kitchen cabinet.

5 days later I returned. The Simple Green had changed into a cloudy black sludge with thin swirls of metallic flake here and there. I was expecting to see the paint just sloughing off the Terminators like so much rotten flesh from the bones of a skeleton, but upon closer inspection the paint on the vast majority of the miniatures looked remarkably intact. I had added a few old miniatures to the vat when I was doing the Terminator and apparently they were responsible for the paint I saw swirling around. The eBay catastrophe had only yet begun.

I rubbed my thumb against one of the miniatures. Very little paint came off. I grabbed my trusty scrubbing brush (an old toothbrush) and with extreme prejudice assaulted the Terminator in a flurry of scrubbing action that should have produced a bare miniature cleaner than the day it was cast. This was not to be, however. In fact, in the most remote recesses of my mind I could hear a small voice from beyond the Eye of Terror mocking my pathetic efforts.

By the time I was looking to scrape them clean with an xacto blade (and likely lose a quart of blood in the process) it occurred to me that there's probably a more effective way of doing this. And without doubt there is. I turn to you, O' mighty Dakkalites, to assist me in my hour of need.

All humor aside, this is some pretty amazing stuff. There is at least 2 layers of enamel on the miniature (I suspect a "primer" coat of gloss white and a base coat of gloss blue) and some sort of sealant that seems more like a thin coating of plastic but just will not die. I have soaked and scrubbed and scraped to get to this point, which is not very far.

My need is pretty clear by now- something with more muscle than SG because it's not getting the job done.

That said, here's what I'm not going to try:

- Gasoline (or kerosene, or diesel, you may see a pattern forming there)

- Brake Fluid

- Industrial paint stripper

I don't know what else to try because I've never had SG fail me like this. I could go back and try Pine-Sol if anyone thinks it would be worth the effort. What I'm really looking for here is something that is going to make this paint go away without making my miniatures smell like a fuel depot of the next few months.

Ideas? Suggestions? Looking forward to hearing what your experiences have been, and I offer my thanks in advance.

If they are metal, some acetone based nail polish remover.

I reply to every "how can i strip this model" thread with the same response.

KLEEN STRIP
KLEEN STRIP
KLEEN STRIP

http://www.kleanstripgreen.com/

Found at home depot, I have used this product to strip a tau army twice, (all plastic), and a space marine army (plastic/pewter)

It works great.

Gaa. All that and I didn't mention what they are made of. Yes, they are metal.

Yeah, acetone the crap out of those bad boys.

Same thing happened to me - but with Thousand Sons. I left them in the garage in Simple Green for about three months. They are stripped now!

Truth be told I kept forgetting about them. I had to refill the simple green a couple of times... it eventually worked.

I also recognize this isnt the best solution for everyone - I just thought it was funny.

The SG failed as it has next to bugger-all ability to strip your enamel type paints. Acrylics it is good at.

Giving the caking you describe, that sounded like enamels. Unthinned enamels brush painted onto the model (many are formulated purely for spraying and have to be thinned with a mineral thinner).

Do not leave them in the vat for 3 months straight. I did that with a pewter model and while it did indeed clean the paint off, it also dissolved the pewter. Not so much the chemicals, but the water caused the pewter to rust over.

Since it's metal, come down on it like the holy hammer of Malleus and use some of the harsher chemicals. I personally use Goof Off, which has now cleaned off everything from varnish to grease to oil paints. It's a really powerful solvent.

I have a home for those Terminators and I'm not the most patient person in the world. I want them done... a few hours ago. Ha.

Thanks to all that have replied, I read up on the Kleen Strip and that's my next step. If that fails I'll try something more brutal. Am hoping to avoid acetone because the smell makes me gag when my wife does her nails. I literally have to leave that part of the house.

Litterally use paint thinner. It stips paint of my metal mini's in under 5 minutes. Terps also works fantastic.

Not sure how available it is in the States, but I use fairy Power Spray, works a treat on metals and plastics, strips acrylics and enamels.

I agree with you OP, I don't like using break fluid, thinner, or anything along those lines. But I have to say, Acetone or Acetone Free nailpolish remover works great. Try out the Kleen Strip though, I'm intrigued at what will happen.

Go to your local discount store (walmart or equivalent) and look in the paint section for paint strippers. 90% of them seem to be thick paste made to brush on to furniture but I look until I find one that's liquid. Pour a pint into a glass jar (pickle jars are great) add minis, screw on lid and agitate by hand. (don't SHAKE it or your metal minis will break the glass, rock it in a circular motion and your parts will tumble each other)
These chemicals will BURN you, wear rubber gloves. I pour the liquid out in a metal pie pan, pick each part up with needle node pliers and rinse it in the sink (put a screen over your drain here). Sit them on a paper towel to soak up the water and brush them with an old tooth brush or gun cleaning brush.
You can funnel the stripper back into the can and use it again later.

rryannn wrote:I reply to every "how can i strip this model" thread with the same response.

KLEEN STRIP
KLEEN STRIP
KLEEN STRIP

http://www.kleanstripgreen.com/

Found at home depot, I have used this product to strip a tau army twice, (all plastic), and a space marine army (plastic/pewter)

It works great.

Which one do you use? I used the brush cleaner and conditioner a few years ago, and it was the best thing I've ever used. It stripped the paint in like 4 hours. I went to home depot recently, and they had the whole selection minus the brush cleaner.

Simple Green has done the same to me recently. Also I find I have to brush sometimes for almost 10 minutes to get a good amount of the paint off besides the obvious bits that just slide off. Even then I still have some paint chunks in deep recess of the model. I am going to swing by Home Depot on Weds, and see if they have that Kleen Strip stuff, as I am very intrigued to see if it is any tougher than Simply Green.


Automatically Appended Next Post:
Also which Kleen Strip should one use? Are they safe on both plastic and metal? I use the mineral spirits for my dipping with Minwax, but am lost when it comes to stripping.

People use Simple Green and the like because harsher products harm plastic models.

Your Terminators are metal. Use acetone or some other heavy paint thinner. Cleanse their heresy and drown them in the purifying solution.

Aqua wrote:Litterally use paint thinner. It stips paint of my metal mini's in under 5 minutes. Terps also works fantastic.

+1 to Turpentine.
Used it a couple of days ago to strip the paint off of some SoB. Make sure to remove the bases though as it will turn them into sludge.

Enamel paint is way tougher than acrylic paint, your best bet is turpentine and if that fails the nail polish remover.

Nitromors is good for metal, it doesn't smell particularly strong or unpleasant (though I don't recommend inhaling it as it's not that nice either). It's not terrible to get on your hands, but can sting and irritate a bit (much like if you get bleach on your hands). But with gloves and a window open it's fine and melts paint off in literally seconds (just don't use it on plastic).

Pine Sol is also pretty awesome at taking off some enamels. I stripped one of my oldest Space Marines the other week that was painted using enamel and he came out looking seriously new (did a better job that it normally does on acrylic). Also if you substitute brushing with water for brushing with white spirit or methylated spirit, that be a good way to take off other kinds of paint like some sprays and primers.

But seriously, stripping metal shouldn't be a problem. 30 seconds in Nitromors > run under the tap > done.

Maybe they were painted with enamel paints....if thats the case, try soaking them in paint thinner. Best of luck

If they are metal..oven cleaner...make sure it has lye in it.

Put them in a metal pie/baking pan...one you will never use for food again.

Take it out in direct sunlight.

Spray the fark out of them with the oven cleaner.

Let the lye and sunlight do its thing.

When you go to finish them off with a brush, wear heavy rubber cleaning gloves...the lye in the oven cleaner can burn you bad.

You can try this on plastic, but no promises it wont do something bad.

DO NOT DO THIS INDOORS.

I keep a bottle of 100% Acetone around for times like that. You can get it at beauty supply stores, it's used for removing acrylic nails. Only for metal models of course, it will melt plastics with no qualms. I just take it, pour a little in a dish (It very, very quickly evaporates) and take a toothbrush to it and the metal. Eats the paint off of it no problem.

But it's not the best solution since you said the smell gets to you.

i used the brush cleaner variety as well. I swear by its ability to take paint/spraypaint off of both metal and plastic.

I was just reading this thread again because I posted a link to it in another "Simple Green Failed" thread and then saw it was bumped. Cool. I'm going to brave the hordes of zombies and go to Home Depot tomorrow if things go as planned and will post results here.