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.
2013/10/08 21:12:22
Subject: Is there a way to strip paint from plastic models without having to scrub them?
I've been trying to strip plastic models by soaking them in dettol, but when it gets to the bit where I scrub it off, it gets really messy, unpleasant and generally doesn't go great, even if I let it soak for a week. A lot of gooey stuff on the brush that doesn't come off easily.
Is there any kind of product where I can just dunk it in, leave it for X amount of time (eg. a month) and when I take it out, it'll be paint free, or very close to?
2013/10/08 21:14:33
Subject: Is there a way to strip paint from plastic models without having to scrub them?
Sand blasting. Mini sand blaster/air eraser. Shoots aluminium oxide powder. Will work like a charm. Should clean off any model within minutes, dry start, dry finish, no messy checmicals.... just aluminium oxide abrasive powder to clean up... shoot it into a box to collect and reuse it
Better than dettol (but still needing scrubbing) is Fairy Power Spray. Spray on, wait 15mins, scrub, rinse, repeat if needed. Job done. Also nicely no stink that is associated with dettol liquid.
This message was edited 3 times. Last update was at 2013/10/08 21:35:05
'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!!
2013/10/08 21:33:41
Subject: Is there a way to strip paint from plastic models without having to scrub them?
Spraying water is probably safer for the mini. I soak for a day, then blast it with the little sprayer on the sink. Takes the paint right off.
Looking for great deals on miniatures or have a large pile you are looking to sell off? Checkout Mindtaker Miniatures.
Live in the Pacific NW? Check out http://ordofanaticus.com
2013/10/08 22:21:38
Subject: Is there a way to strip paint from plastic models without having to scrub them?
Electric toothbrushes work great. Don't really need to "scrub" per-se. Just let the brush do the work. I use it after soaking in LA's Awesome Cleaner for 24 hours - child's play.
2013/10/09 00:10:00
Subject: Is there a way to strip paint from plastic models without having to scrub them?
Longer answer....occasionally plastic models I have soaking in purple power in my sonic cleaner do indeed come off just running under water.
But the majority of them....take scrubbing...it think it just depends upon the quality of primer that was used on the models.
DavePak
"Remember, in life, the only thing you absolutely control is your own attitude - do not squander that power."
Fully Painted armies:
TAU: 10k Nids: 9600 Marines: 4000 Crons: 7600
Actor, Gamer, Comic, Corporate Nerd
2013/10/10 04:02:23
Subject: Is there a way to strip paint from plastic models without having to scrub them?
It left a little paint in the cracks, but I've used 93% isopropyl alcohol (NOT 73%) and an electric toothbrush. Best part is that most of the paint comes off with little or no soaking, and the IPA evaporates cleanly. If there's still paint left, *then* I try out the usual stuff. I haven't had as good results with Simple Green.
This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2013/10/10 04:02:48
ced1106 wrote: It left a little paint in the cracks, but I've used 93% isopropyl alcohol (NOT 73%) and an electric toothbrush. Best part is that most of the paint comes off with little or no soaking, and the IPA evaporates cleanly. If there's still paint left, *then* I try out the usual stuff. I haven't had as good results with Simple Green.
Ced,
I have heard of using 93% alcohol before, but have not tried it myself (I can't seem to find 93%...best I could find at the store was 91%).
Can you share a little bit more of your method;
* where did you get it?
* how long did you need to let it soak
* were these plastic, resin, or metal minis in the tests
thank you very much for any info....
DavePak
"Remember, in life, the only thing you absolutely control is your own attitude - do not squander that power."
Fully Painted armies:
TAU: 10k Nids: 9600 Marines: 4000 Crons: 7600
Actor, Gamer, Comic, Corporate Nerd
2013/10/10 07:46:09
Subject: Is there a way to strip paint from plastic models without having to scrub them?
Shhhh! hehe,
Yes there is totally a way to do this, As usual the wargaming hobbyists are slow to pick up on things that other model makers have been doing for a long time.
your not quite getting the dettol method right? or atleast it sounds like your using water in the cleaning process.
With dettol you cant use water in any stage other than the very very very final rinse off, and even then fairy up liquid will work much better.
What happens is when you mix dettol with water the paint goes that insanely gakky gooey stuff. What you need is two baths/jars of PURE UNDILUTED dettol. You place the models in one and you get a toothbrush, after about a 30 minute soak (or less, ive literally dipped before, but a soak will mean it falls off) simply start to scrub, using the clean dettol as your rinser, with this the paint strips with ease, you dip the model in the clean jar and scrub a little more. repeat with all your models and if there not fully clean leave them in the clean jar and refresh the dirty jar and repeat.
I stress, at no point use water. Wear plastic gloves and dont even rinse your fingers, else the contact will ruin it when you pick a model up.
I did this to strip over 100 mini's and managed it very effectively and quickly (once i had the method down). once your happy, then use water or even better fairy up liquid hot water to rinse the model clean of excess dettol. I was stripping primered mini's, OAP minis with about a billion coats from the 1990's and the dettol ate that gak for breakfast.
Just check for holes in your gloves! I had one very old looking finger by the end! swear it was wrinkly for days!
Favourite Game: When your Warboss on bike wrecks 3 vehicles simply by HoW - especially when his bike is a custom monowheel.
I also use isopryl alcohol as both a stripper and a "finisher" to get the final bits of paint and primer off. It dissolves the paint vs stripping it off in chunks. I use it along with a Rubbermaid Reveal power scrubber I got at Home Depot. Essentially it's a big electric toothbrush but it works great. I recently stripped an 8 man plague marine squad that had heavy greenstuff conversions on it using alcohol and it didn't debond the gs or the super glue. I've used it on plastic and metal.
Most pharmacies carry the 91% which works fine for me.
ced1106 wrote: It left a little paint in the cracks, but I've used 93% isopropyl alcohol (NOT 73%) and an electric toothbrush. Best part is that most of the paint comes off with little or no soaking, and the IPA evaporates cleanly. If there's still paint left, *then* I try out the usual stuff. I haven't had as good results with Simple Green.
Ced,
I have heard of using 93% alcohol before, but have not tried it myself (I can't seem to find 93%...best I could find at the store was 91%).
Can you share a little bit more of your method;
* where did you get it?
* how long did you need to let it soak
* were these plastic, resin, or metal minis in the tests
thank you very much for any info....
2013/10/10 22:25:32
Subject: Is there a way to strip paint from plastic models without having to scrub them?
heavybolter wrote: I also use isopryl alcohol as both a stripper and a "finisher" to get the final bits of paint and primer off. It dissolves the paint vs stripping it off in chunks. I use it along with a Rubbermaid Reveal power scrubber I got at Home Depot. Essentially it's a big electric toothbrush but it works great. I recently stripped an 8 man plague marine squad that had heavy greenstuff conversions on it using alcohol and it didn't debond the gs or the super glue. I've used it on plastic and metal.
Most pharmacies carry the 91% which works fine for me.
ced1106 wrote: It left a little paint in the cracks, but I've used 93% isopropyl alcohol (NOT 73%) and an electric toothbrush. Best part is that most of the paint comes off with little or no soaking, and the IPA evaporates cleanly. If there's still paint left, *then* I try out the usual stuff. I haven't had as good results with Simple Green.
Ced,
I have heard of using 93% alcohol before, but have not tried it myself (I can't seem to find 93%...best I could find at the store was 91%).
Can you share a little bit more of your method;
* where did you get it?
* how long did you need to let it soak
* were these plastic, resin, or metal minis in the tests
thank you very much for any info....
I've got a bottle of 99.9% IPA sat here that is used for airbrush cleaning usualy. Would this be too strong for the mini's? I can make a test if no one can confirm either way?
Automatically Appended Next Post: Okay so I did a quick test for anyone interested;
Spoiler:
This is before; some stuff I found in the bits box; an ollld empire guy with feth knows how many paint jobs caked on :/ , and a beast man and a catachan that have been stripped with dettol many moons ago, this is the remnants of the (most likely Citadel) black primer used on them.
Now im not trying to actually strip these guys clean as Im not doing anything with them now, I poured a dash of the IPA into a pot, chucked them in and without waiting set at it with a toothbrush for 5-10minutes. Nothing more.
With Just 5-10minutes of scrubbing with zero soak time, this is how far I got with 99.9% IPA.
The Empire guy, well his halberd broke, but that was my bad for being a bit heavy with it. But his paint is starting to come up, the innitial layer of whatver that white was, is going. The other two, are cleaner than before (albeit not much), those stubborn bits of left behind primer from the dettol method would probably all come up with a bit more effort, the plastic seems totally fine afterwards, I'm not noticing any loss of details yet.
This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2013/10/11 07:26:50
'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!!
2013/10/11 19:49:54
Subject: Is there a way to strip paint from plastic models without having to scrub them?
Shhhh! hehe,
Yes there is totally a way to do this, As usual the wargaming hobbyists are slow to pick up on things that other model makers have been doing for a long time.
yes yes but that is expensive and aluminum oxide will eat the mini ..now ground corncob on the other hand should not ( I use that as the final polish brass in tumblers for reloading)
'\' ~9000pts
'' ~1500
"" ~3000
"" ~2500
2013/10/11 20:20:38
Subject: Is there a way to strip paint from plastic models without having to scrub them?
yes yes but that is expensive and aluminum oxide will eat the mini ..now ground corncob on the other hand should not ( I use that as the final polish brass in tumblers for reloading)
Did you even watch the video?
It clearly shows this method working just fine, and suggests baking soda as an alternative abrasive instead of buying more aluminium oxide. (Which is a tip from the owner of badger airbrushes)
... I wouldnt say £30 is expensive either The expensive part is the air compressor, which more and more and more of us already have for an airbrush.
This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2013/10/11 20:21:24
'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!!
2013/10/13 12:43:12
Subject: Is there a way to strip paint from plastic models without having to scrub them?
yes yes but that is expensive and aluminum oxide will eat the mini ..now ground corncob on the other hand should not ( I use that as the final polish brass in tumblers for reloading)
Did you even watch the video?
It clearly shows this method working just fine, and suggests baking soda as an alternative abrasive instead of buying more aluminium oxide. (Which is a tip from the owner of badger airbrushes)
... I wouldnt say £30 is expensive either The expensive part is the air compressor, which more and more and more of us already have for an airbrush.
30 isnt bad considering I have a airbrush! I might consider this guess it then all depends on how often you strip mini's, for a once off on a squad you didnt like then it is expensive, but if you reguarly strip stuff I could see it being useful.
I only really strip stuff I buy off ebay, but then I havent been modelling long. Any other uses for a sandblaster? that could help justify the buy?
Favourite Game: When your Warboss on bike wrecks 3 vehicles simply by HoW - especially when his bike is a custom monowheel.
yes yes but that is expensive and aluminum oxide will eat the mini ..now ground corncob on the other hand should not ( I use that as the final polish brass in tumblers for reloading)
Did you even watch the video?
It clearly shows this method working just fine, and suggests baking soda as an alternative abrasive instead of buying more aluminium oxide. (Which is a tip from the owner of badger airbrushes)
... I wouldnt say £30 is expensive either The expensive part is the air compressor, which more and more and more of us already have for an airbrush.
30 isnt bad considering I have a airbrush! I might consider this guess it then all depends on how often you strip mini's, for a once off on a squad you didnt like then it is expensive, but if you reguarly strip stuff I could see it being useful.
I only really strip stuff I buy off ebay, but then I havent been modelling long. Any other uses for a sandblaster? that could help justify the buy?
Pretty much just paint stripping... It might be useful around the home in a DIY setting.Maybe sanding those skirting boards with a billion layers of gloss paint on back to wood?
Airbrush artists use them as a sort of eraser, so they can in a sense, spot-strip areas of work that theyve made mistakes on. Even so much as to gradual undo layers of work one by one. How well it works depends on the paint being stripped, we use a relatively soft acrylic paint so I think itle take it all the way back tbh. Perhaps taking it back to a previous layer of gloss varnish though, could be really useful for practising some advanced techniques without re-doing the whole lot everytime.
Could be useful on tanks, or large pieces of freehand.
Depending on the particular sandblaster, ive seen them with dual action triggers and gravity fed cups, this should give a much more precise spray pattern, and be more useful as an eraser aswell as a solid stripping tool.
This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2013/10/13 15:10:34
'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!!
-3500+
-1850+
-2500+
-3500+
--3500+ 
' ~9000pts
' ~1500
" ~3000
" ~2500 
hehe,
swear it was wrinkly for days!
