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best paint stripper in australia? note I also wish to use them for plastic miniatures aswell.

Spudkins did a nice tutorial here:

http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/0/516912.page

Somewhere around page two I posted a little review on various other solvents. It boils down to this:

THF (tetrahydrofurane) rocks for metal miniatures, but will utterly destroy any plastics.

Isopropyl alcohol is slower and will require some brushing but is the safest way to go. You can spike it a bit with 5-10 vol-% Acetone bot no more than that to be on the safe side.

As for commercial cleaners, stay clear of nail polisher or paint thinner unless you have tested it on a piece of spruce for at least a day (my suggestion).

Simple green ultrasonic cleaner?

have you tried it?

"Best" stripper depends on what paints were used.

For acrylics, iso alcohol works well (gets under the paint and lifts the skin).
For enamels (this includes spray paint primers), you need something more aggressive. Like a Dot3 brake fluid. HAS TO BE DOT3 as dot4 eats plastic. Will take the model down to bare plastic with a short soak and a scrub with a toothbrush. It does require gloves and probably eye protection (so does iso, though. You don't want any of them in your eyes).

thank you. any idea where I can get dot3 or iso alcohol?

Brake fluids and acetone free acetone. The later will safely strip paint from plastics, finecast, metal and forgeworld resin. Women buy it to remove paint when they are wearing fake (plastic) nails on their hands.

Isopropyl alcohol is just rubbing alcohol and can be found at chemists. Metholated spirits can also work - also available in chemists, supermarkets, etc.

Dot3 brake fluid can be found in car places (supa-cheap/ISP, etc), as well as kmart, bigW, hardware stores - anywhere with an auto section is likely to have it. It's also packaged as "brake and transmission" fluid. It's the stuff that goes IN the brake/transmission lines, not the stuff used for CLEANING brakes.

You WILL need gloves (rubber ones). Eye protection is also mandatory for both and (for brake fluid) disposal can be an issue as you can't just pour it down the sink. It can be reused several times though (and the paint particulates filtered out). I generally have a 500ml bottle last me the better part of a year of stripping stuff.

Supposedly we can get simple green from bunnings which works well. I use the brown dettol which also works well - just keep water away and soak them in soapy water afterwards to get rid of the dettol smell. Can leave minis soaking in it for months with no harm to plastic, though a few hours to a day is enough for it to do it's job.

If I had simple green, I'd use that in my ultrasonic cleaner.

The title was much funnier when I didnt read paint in the it

I've heard that metho works, too, but I've never had any success with it.

Acetone is expensive, but it'll eat paint. Just keep it away from plastics and resin. Go to any chemists and ask them for it. You may be questioned on why you want to buy acetone.

Simple Green Concentrate from Bunnings works best for plastics, but it must be the concentrate.

Thank you. I have a bunch of stuff I need too strip. Off to bunnings it is!

For metal minis there is nothing better than paint thinners. Available at super cheap etc. Put it in a glass jar and soak over night. Then scrub with toothbrush under running water. When all paint is off wash it in soapy water with another toothbrush.

I'll be trying the Dot 3 when it comes time to strip plastics.

I know people want to shy away from serious solvents but most can be used safely without too much drama.

Acetone free nail polish is NOT safe!!!!
Some of it is ethylacetate-based which turns your models into a dispersed slimy goo, more so than even acetone!

Never tried Dot3 but will do it soon.

Also, when scrubbing the soaked models, wait with the water. In my experience it is better to keep the brush moist with the employed solvent and keep the water away as long as possible. Helps with some recesses which become cleanable during the scrubbing.