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I have some plastic models I need to strip of paint and wanted to know the best and especially safest way to strip them with hopefully no damage. All models have been primed and painted using Games Workshop paints. Currently the two I've read the most about is simple green (I live in the US so shipping and cost isn't and issue) and acetone-free nail polish.
What have people had the most success with and any links would be great! I'm not really looking to get all the primer off; just the paint. I've seen some tutorials, but they don't really address damages and safety of models. Any help/advice would be wonderful! Thanks!
This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2013/05/10 15:06:56
I always use simple green, best to use gloves with it but I never do (cause im a MAN!) you can leave models in there for weeks and they'll be fine (plastic gets a little soft after a few days but that just means dont poke it with metal )
I have half a mind to kill you, and the other half agrees
I just stripped 15 or so plastic models from GW last week. I used 'Super Clean', it comes in a purple bottle and I think you can get it at Wal-Mart in the US. I just put them in a plastic container, submerged them and left them for a couple days. Although it should only really take one day i was just busy. All in all I think about 4 days went by, zero damage to the minis and the paint rubbed off really easy with a toothbrush. But you have to use gloves as it will irritate skin after several minutes.
Heads up it will take the primer off too.
This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2013/05/10 20:47:45
LA Awesome General Purpose detergent at full str (The yellow liquid not the orange liquid degreaser) ..soak over night does not harm plastic, resin, or metal .then use a SOFT bristled toothbrush to get the stuff out of the crevices ..and resoak if needed after rinse..(Dollar General or Dollar tree 1 buck for a quart or 3 bucks for a gallon) a cupfull in a plasitc container with lid (cheapo ziplock or knock off) works well and can strip up to 40 minatures before needing to replace the fluid ..may do more but by then the liquid is black and the bottom covered in old paint ...
Automatically Appended Next Post: I use Vynal gloves to keep my hands from becomming stained with the paint..
This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2013/05/10 20:56:22
For metal miniatures, I would say Simple Green is just fine, but what I have found works best on plastic minis is that Dawn Power Dissolver works wonders. The paint will come right off in 12 hours or so. Plus, I left a model in it for 6 months with no damage to the detail. It comes in a blue spray bottle, but you can just dump it into any old container. And if it comes chunky, that's normal.
If you'e used GW products only, then everything on that model is acrylic and will be a cinch to strip. Super Clean is my favorite, but any of the following will work just fine. I've used them all and stripped hundreds of figures over the years.
-Simple green (safe and completely non-toxic),
-Purple Power or Super Clean. Virtually the same product from different companies. Same main ingredient as Green, but with some added cleaners so you have to wear gloves.
-LA Totaly awesome. Available in small quantities, which is nice when you don't need a gallon of cleaner.
Acetone, MEK, Some Brake fluids and Oven cleaners will work wonders on metal, but will melt your plastic minaitures.
This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2013/05/16 14:38:54
Acetone, MEK, Some Brake fluids and Oven cleaners will work wonders on metal, but will melt your plastic minaitures.
Be sure to remember this! I have never had a problem with generic Dot 3 synthetic brake fluid, but you always want to check (especially if you are like me) with anything just to make sure.
If you have any bits of sprue left you could always leave it in the chemical and see if it melts any of the numbers away. I've left my BA in brake fluid for a few days at a time with no issue in losing detail.
Eilif wrote: If you'e used GW products only, then everything on that model is acrylic and will be a cinch to strip. Super Clean is my favorite, but any of the following will work just fine. I've used them all and stripped hundreds of figures over the years.
-Simple green (safe and completely non-toxic),
-Purple Power or Super Clean. Virtually the same product from different companies. Same main ingredient as Green, but with some added cleaners so you have to wear gloves.
-LA Totaly awesome. Available in small quantities, which is nice when you don't need a gallon of cleaner.
Acetone, MEK, Some Brake fluids and Oven cleaners will work wonders on metal, but will melt your plastic minaitures.
+3
-Simple Green is Good, use the normal stuff not the super-concentrated. Haven't tested the concentrated formula yet. Any grocery store and most hardware stores.
-LA's Totally Awesome, a little quicker to strip paint (in my experiences). Dollar General!
-Purple Power, probably the quickest I've seen yet, so it's my personal favorite. Also Dollar General!
If, for some unknown reason, the above 3 aren't available (nuclear crisis, zombie outbreak, etc), I've also tested Clorox Greenworks Multipurpose, and it works just as well as Simple Green (with a slightly nicer smell, if I do say so myself XD)
Drop your guys in a mason jar, dump some stripper juice inside with them, give them a gentle shake to loose any airpockets, and wait overnight. Next day, grab an old toothbrush, sit by the faucet, and go to town. Paint ought to slop right off. If you can't get 100% off, soak 'em again. Barring that, grab a pick, and start chipping out the nooks and crannies (gently, of course).
Even if it's Acetone free, any nail polish remover will still eat your miniatures as it's designed to remove enamels.
Why is it that only those who have never fought in a battle are so eager to be in one?
I've used most of the stuff mentioned above and my favorite is LA's Totally Awesome General Purpose Cleaner, its a yellow liquid in a clear bottle with red lettering. Its also the cheapest. You can by 32 FL OZ bottles at Dollar Tree and other dollar stores. It will not harm your plastic or resin models and I used it on models that other cleaners couldn't clean and it worked a lot better. Its also pretty quick. If you don't use gloves (which I don't) then your hands will be dried out pretty badly so use some of your woman's non-girl smelly lotion and you'll be fine.
-Simple Green is Good, use the normal stuff not the super-concentrated. Haven't tested the concentrated formula yet. Any grocery store and most hardware store....
I use the concentrated formula. It works really well and in the gallon jug is actually cheaper per-oz than the watered down formulas that come in smaller containers and spray bottles. For stripping minis, use it full strength.
The Super concentrate also works great (when mixed as directed) for all kinds of household cleaning jobs. As a pre-soak I've used it on tough laundry stains fairly often.
This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2013/05/16 15:08:25
I've got a big jug of the Simple Green Industrial Sanitizer right now, I think I'll go do a test to see how that works. It's technically not a degreaser (works well on the stove top tho), but we'll see what kind of stripping power it's got.
Why is it that only those who have never fought in a battle are so eager to be in one?
I've got a big jug of the Simple Green Industrial Sanitizer right now, I think I'll go do a test to see how that works. It's technically not a degreaser (works well on the stove top tho), but we'll see what kind of stripping power it's got.
Look up the MSDS for it and see if it has butoxethanol-2, the active ingredient in green and one of the main active ingredients in Purple Power and Super Clean. If it does, then it will probably work good. If not, then it might work ok, but probably not much better than any other cleaner.
I'm not sure exactly which product you're looking at, but the SImple Green MSDS's are all here:
http://industrial.simplegreen.com/ind_products_msds.php
Over in the Uk Fairy Power Spray is the one Its an oven cleaner/ degreasing product, quite likely is a copy of, or has a copy of available in the states, we just need to work out what that might be Itle have your minis looking pretty new in just 30minutes with no damage to the details and not much of a smell compared to many of these other suggestions.
With how often this comes up, theres 2 paint stripping threads on the first page of p&m right now.. an article on this subject really ought to be in a
sticky or something.
'Ain't nothing crazy about me but my brain. Right brain? Riight! No not you right brain! Right left brain? Right!... Okay then lets do this!!
(plastic gets a little soft after a few days but that just means dont poke it with metal 
' ~9000pts
' ~1500
" ~3000
" ~2500 
Its an oven cleaner/ degreasing product, quite likely is a copy of, or has a copy of available in the states, we just need to work out what that might be 