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So I've recently given a whole bunch of my old Space Marine minis a bath in Super Clean, and for some of them, the paint comes off beautifully. Unfortunately, some of the others are having a bit of a problem. Even after soaking it for 2-3 days, the paint on some minis still won't brush off, and I've resorted to scraping away at them with a dull hobby knife (that's how bad it is...). I'm probably going to try some Easy Off Oven Cleaner on these more stubborn ones.

My guess is the difference in paint stripping ease is caused by the primer I used. I don't remember what brand I've used, but I know it's always been the cheap ones from Walmart (either Krylon, Rustoleum, or Duplicolor). Has anyone else experienced something like this? Would the more expensive GW and Army Painter primers not cause these problems?

GW skull white and CB come off with simple green.
They aren't even a proper primer - just a middling spray paint.

Auto primer raises its middle digit and says "Ain't happenin', move along, sunshine." and requires something with more 'oomph' - like brake fluid (which will strip duco off a car).

(Yes, I am well aware of Brake fluid's toxicity and hazards. see my sig. It works, and unlike SG or CSC, I can get it without travelling more than 3 blocks).

I have used Brake Fluid with much success over the years, especially for metal models. I actually just keep reusing the same old brake fluid for new models, in a wide mouth jar with a tight sealing lid (I think I'm reusing an old salsa/nacho cheese jar). Soak for 24-48 hours seems to be adequate for most jobs, except for some Tyranids I'd acquired that were dipped in a minwax type varnish - I let it soak for a week, scrubbed it and washed it with soap/toothbrush, than soaked it again, to let it get at the actually paint.

I left some plastic hormagaunts in the fluid for a few months, and the plastic became permanently stained by the green and purple paint colors, even after washing. The plastic's integrity didn't seem to be lost, though.

I am always careful to fully wash up, and grab the minis with a tool out of the fluid, if possible.

I had exactly this happen to me recently. The primer/paint was so old that it had hardened to a crust on a lot of parts of the mini. I had to chip it off in chunks with a hobby knife.

evildrspock wrote:
I am always careful to fully wash up, and grab the minis with a tool out of the fluid, if possible.

Yep. Tongs (chemistry set, metal, like funny looking scissors), gloves, and a face shield (you DO NOT want this stuff in your eyes).
I use a filter funnel lined with a coffee filter to filter out the paint crud every so often and reuse the fluid. 500ml generally lasts me around 150 figures (I only buy metals second hand, and they strip down to bare metal in a 30 minute dunk and 3 minute scrub with an old toothbrush).

I'm thinking Enamel paints and Floor Wax Dips are your most likely issues, but honestly I haven't had anthing that Super Clean wouldn't take off yet.

Out of curiosity (sp?) when did you buy your Super Clean, and is it all from the same bottle? I suspect they've changed formulas in the last 4-6 months.

I bough the Super Clean a few days ago, and it's the same bottle. All my minis have been primed with the cheap Walmart Krylon/Rustoleum/Duplon stuff, and painted with VGC or Citadel Paints, and covered with Armory Matte Sealer. At least 90% of the paint comes off, but I'm just wondering why for some minis, it just slides off whereas others require a mad scrubbing. The worst part is my dreadnought's legs and arms stripped pretty easily, but the for some reason I've had to scrape the sarcophagus part to get the paint off of there. The other reason why I think it's the primer is because some of the plastic has been dyed black after stripping off the paint.

So it seems GW "primers" aren't really primers at all? What about The Army Painter's stuff? Would that strip off easily too? I hope I'll never have to mass strip my minis again, but if I do I definitely wouldn't want to go through this again!

Yeah, I'm betting it's an Enamel Primer. I know my .98 can from Walmart is. Not that I care, as I Prime them to STAY PRIMED !