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I've got some models in need of 're-setting'. I've heard to use simple green for 24 hrs. and then scrub dry. My questions are:

-Do I need to do this to models that are badly primed with a spray on? Should I just try rubbing it off normally or prime again as an alternate?

-Can you prie models a second time to clear up roughness of a bad first prime?

-How much will simple green damage the models? Is there a better, cheap, fast way?

Thanks in advance for your help!

i soak my models in original dettol (don't know if they have it in the states) for between 2hrs to a day depending on how stubborn the paint is, then scrub under a running tap with a toothbrush dipped in white spirit/turpentine substitute. you need to wear rubber gloves though as it will make your hands itch like crazy. Works great for metal and plastic and wont damage either as long as you don't soak them in the white spirit as it makes plastic models expand and go rubbery.

no idea what simple green is though so i can't comment.

it depends what you mean by badly primed, if it's just patchy then go ahead and spray a bit more on anything else I'd probably strip them.

Better to strip the prime and satrt over, too much detail is lost otherwise.

Simplegreen works for some paints and primers but not all. I have found it quite usefull in stripping testers enamel and testers model primer. However it does jack against walmart spray paint. It will not harm the models no matter if you leave them set for 24hrs or 24days (I have done so). Do not dillute, there is no need. Buy this stuff at a home depot about $5.

Simply Awesome works better IMO, it will strip damn near anything so well that you will seldom need to scrub the model at all. For walmart spraypaint it takes it off nice andclean, same with testers model primer. However there is a slight stain left over afterwards. It doesn't effect detail just the color of the plastic. Works equally good on metal or plastic. I have never left a model in simply awesome for more than a couple days because thats all I needed. It did not harm the model at all. Again do not dillute, it is fine as it. Buy this stuff at a dollar store $1 a bottle.

I would suggest useing simply awesome, its cheeper and it works on everything I have tried it on so far. You can also use the stuff long after it has turned black with flakes of primer.

Alright. I'll use up the simple green that I've got, and then buy some simply awesome.

So the simple green works, but only for a limited period... For the guys with bad priming jobs; I'm trying soaking them in water to see if it helps.

I will concur that Simple Green works awesomely against acrylics. Also it won't harm the model period. I have some soaking that I left for a week when I went on vacation. Models are fine, even though the Simple Green has all but evaporated.

Yeah, I just found that water does nothing to models... however, soaking and simple green for a while and not scrubbing repairs a bad priming job.

Right now, I've been using a black spray with a white basecoat- works better than grey or white primer. I only do this because GW's yellows suck... so I've had a sucessful time stripping the paint, given that I'm using GW or FLGS products.

I'm using brake fluid on plastic mini's and acetone free nailpolish remover on metal mini's.
However, neither of these products result in an really good paint strip. It still requires a lot of work after. Does anyone know of a decent mini stripping product that is sold in Holland?
None of the products mentioned in this thread are on sale here.

Simple green should be sold in holland. I don't know if there's a similar nontoxic cleaning agent; try your local supermarket.

Canary wrote:I'm using brake fluid on plastic mini's and acetone free nailpolish remover on metal mini's.
However, neither of these products result in an really good paint strip. It still requires a lot of work after. Does anyone know of a decent mini stripping product that is sold in Holland?
None of the products mentioned in this thread are on sale here.

There's no reason to use acetone free remover on metal minis, nothing is gonna hurt them. Gasoline even would probably be fine.

But ya, Simple Green is what I use, it's great, and you don't need to worry about leaving plastic to soak too long like with other chemicals, you can leave them for days and they will be fine.

Has anyone ever used a product called GreenWorks. It appears to be Clorox's knockoff of Simple Green. It stripped off the top layer of a REALLY bad priming job with a lot of brushing in 24 hours. I can't get the paint out of the recesses though. For example: back pack vents, tubing grooves, that area in between a marine's head and neck guard, etc, etc. I am afraid it is weakening the plastic, albeit slowly but still I have to leave for six day and I do not want to come back to a clean smelling blob of gray sludge.

General warning to Dutch mini enthousiasts:

Do not use mr. muscle oven cleaner to strip mini's!
It does not work at all. Someone has been trolling this on dutch mini forums so i thought i'd post a warning.
Also mr. muscle is really, really hazardous. "causes serious burns
when in contact with skin, blindness on eye contact, respitory injuries when inhaled". This is even true of the rinse off!
This stuff makes the brake fluid i used before trying this look like lemonade.
So people in Holland or other places where simple green etc. are not sold stick with brake fluid (also caustic but still) as mr. muscle will have you serving Nurgle in real life.

What can I use in the UK, that's like Simple Green? I've got an XV25 Stealth Team that I need to start again on, I've only been painting for 5 weeks, so no idea about this kinda stuff haha

Canary wrote:General warning to Dutch mini enthousiasts:

Do not use mr. muscle oven cleaner to strip mini's!
It does not work at all. Someone has been trolling this on dutch mini forums so i thought i'd post a warning.

Actually, as someone who has used oven cleaners to strip minis in the past, I could not recommend any of them. The non-sodium-hydoxide ones do little to nothing. The sodium hydroxide ones do work, sort of - but it will take a while, will require a lot of scrubbing with a brush, and can only be safely used on metals. Simple Green was more effective then even the best batch of Easy-Off I used... and that's to say nothing of the toxic crap that will start you gagging the instant you spray it. Stay away, stay far away.

I've tried a couple other products since last posting. Simple green is the best, by far. Go online, please, to order it- it works really well.

stubacca wrote:What can I use in the UK, that's like Simple Green? I've got an XV25 Stealth Team that I need to start again on, I've only been painting for 5 weeks, so no idea about this kinda stuff haha

I've used fairy power spray, followed by scrubbing brush. Also I've had varying degrees of success with detol (it will remove top coats but not primed coats after 2 days soak.)

Which kind of dettol soap did you use? There are many kinds.

Thanks,

+1 to fairy powerspray never had any problems with it and cheap as chips! , dettol (you want the original brown looking stuff) seemed to do similar job but with me the paint gunked up and was pain to remove, probably just way i was using it though + it smells reeeaaallly bad lol

T-M

Acetone free nail polish remover with an electric toothbrush.

Wouldn't that damage the plastics?

Divine Comedy wrote:Acetone free nail polish remover with an electric toothbrush.

Iremove paint from tin minis with this but it melts bases.
How can you use that safely on plastic mini's?

Super clean or simple green I know people that swear by that stuff.

Canary wrote:

Divine Comedy wrote:Acetone free nail polish remover with an electric toothbrush.

Iremove paint from tin minis with this but it melts bases.
How can you use that safely on plastic mini's?

And this is why you want to test everything yourself! Just because some guy on the internet says to do it, it may not be such a good idea!

I'm a big fan of using Clorox Greenworks. A bit pricier (I think), but it's still environmentally friendly, and does a wicked job.

For tougher jobs, I go to Mean Green (Local Dollar General). I left some test pieces sit in it overnight and it did good things without damage to the plastic. I don't know about extended use yet though (like a week).

I'm gonna try some Fabuloso (also Dollar General) for my next stripping endeavor, just to get an idea of what I can use if the shelf is empty.

Super Clean. It comes in a big purple bottle. I get mine at wal-mart. This stuff is gold for stripping plastic.

If you are stripping metal models, go with lacquer thinner. This stuff goes through paint like butter in a microwave. You literally let them soak like 5 minutes and the paint just melts off. However, it will turn plastic to swiss cheese (literally it bubbles). Make sure you take the base off, and there aren't any plastic pieces.

sadly, simple green, super green etc. are not sold in europe.
For some reason they do sell mr. muscle which is ultra hazardous and ultra caustic.

simple green WILL work with any primer. You just need to go to your local general store for some elbow grease and headlight fluid.

It does work, just not as well. If you don't want to spend money on more cleaners, I jsut go through two or three sets of cleaning and scrubbing. Depends on the model thought too, I was cleaning off guardsmen for a client, and he wanted the arms hopped off, so I did that, and was able to clean more off than I would have been able to otherwise. Just beware of potential damage when disassembling, and be sure you have a good brush when youre cleaning them off. (i think im going to go out and buy me a toothbrush from some dollar store... too stiff and will tear your gums apart, but about right for the job at hand.)

Yeah, it'll work on primer, just lots-o-scrubbin' involved. Kinda like stripping Quickshade with it. Lather, rinse, repeat until satisfactory. It took me 4 rounds of soaking for 24-48hrs and scrubbing clean in-between to get it all off (well, 95% or so).

Canary wrote:
For some reason they do sell mr. muscle which is ultra hazardous and ultra caustic.

...Mmmm...caustic....

http://www.dakkadakka.com/wiki/en/Dakka_Modeling_FAQ:_How_to_Strip...

the article I read on the best material to use.

I just came from pep Boys last night buying the purple jug of Super Clean. 2.5 gallons of the stuff for $25.... CHEAP!

will be testing it out tonight.

OOooohh. I'm excited. Please let use know how the CSC works, cuz a good, super-quick stripper would be nice.