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Hi all. I put some space marines that I had bought on ebay in a container of Simple Green. Only 2 were clean when they came out. Did the original painter use a strong sealant? Is there a way to strip them? They're pretty over-painted (maybe used model paint) or the paint is fairly thick. Anyway, it's not going to make it easy to make them look good when I repaint them.

Ideas welcome.

-Bill

easy off oven cleaner spray and soak for about 40 minutes scrub under tap water with a stiff toothbrush.

I haven't used it on finecast but metal and plastic it works like a charm.

The base plastic will still be stained by the primer so I know it's not eating any of the actual plastic off.

Indeed, primer stains the plastic, but Simple Green will easily strip paint (and the primer in my experience) off of metal. If the paint is stubborn in either case, simply soak again overnight, scrub with a stiff/old toothbrush, rinse, repeat until you're happy.

If you have some stubborn paint on figures, you can try picking out the recessed paint with a toothpick or corner of your hobby knife. Just be careful you don't cut yourself or damage the model.

I have a few old tanks that I painted 10+ years ago that I'm currently stripping and some of the paint is quite stubborn in recessed areas, but with time and repeat attempts it will all come off.

There is plenty of info archived on the site specifically dedicated to stripping paint. I think there's even an article that suggests using brake fluid or some other chemical that is so toxic that it burns your skin if you come into direct contact with it, but it gets rid of EVERYTHING on the figure.

Thank you. I'll try the oven cleaner. As I recall, that stuff can be pretty toxic as well. I won't move on to brake fluid unless I absolutely need to - but I'll let you know.

-Bill

cpt_safety wrote:
Thank you. I'll try the oven cleaner. As I recall, that stuff can be pretty toxic as well. I won't move on to brake fluid unless I absolutely need to - but I'll let you know.

-Bill

NOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!


Try this stuff first, less harmfull, cheeper, smells.....ok



You can get it in a spray bottle at any dollar store.

Or try any industrial degreaser. Typically purple stuff.

Or alcohol Dunno about the US, but here in Germany you can get a bottle of alc (don't try to take a sip.. galling chemicals in there) with 98% vol for like 3$. Put in, let soak for 5-10 minutes and it comes right of with slight brushing.

LA's simply awesome worked for me (Ma55ter_fett's image).

I had a few plastic marines and a couple land speeders that had been absolutely coated in paint. I put them in a bath of that stuff for a few days, then used a tooth brush to get all the gunk off.

The primer used stained the plastic, but that's really not much of a concern as a new coat of primer will take care of it... Especially if you prime black anyways.

Just bear in mind that you should wash the models with soap afterwards to get all of the cleaner off. Also, it took about a month for the smell of the cleaner to go away.

My paint stripping senses we're tingling.


Click my banner o ork..... you'll see how well and easy LATA works.

DEpending on how long your simple green soak was, you may need a stiffer brush than a plain tooth brush. Look into one with brass or perhaps steel bristles. I picked up on of each for a couple bucks at my local hardware store. Just be careful not to damage the models with heavy duty scrubbing. Oh, and watch your fingers too. Bristles can be a bit stabby.

FM Argos