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Can I save my models????

I soaked about 20 plastic assembled SM in brown Dettol (UK) neat in a sealed container for 3 days. On examination they were stripped of most of the red coating, but had some black undercoat remaining. I picked off the remaining red, rinsed them in neat Dettol to remove the residue of red bits and then placed them in warm soapy water to finish off scrubbing. At this point using a toothbrush just repainted the majority of the models and the bases with the residual red paint. They are now in a worse state than I started i.e. sticky red mess with red bases!! what can I do to save them or should I just bin the lot. So far im not very impressed with this technique which I had previously read was pretty easy?

I had the same problem with high elves that only had a bad coat of primer on them.

Stripping did a large amount of work, but the toothbrush phase did nothing.

One mustn't let water touch the models until all the paint residue has been scrubbed off in Dettol, as the residue reacts with the water in the way you've discovered!

I would imagine another soak would probably fix the issue (it certainly won't hurt the models) but this time scrub the models with a brush and neat dettol, and don't go near water until you're satisfied that all paint is gone (gloves are useful for this, as neat dettol is really quite nasty on the skin)

Alternatively, pick up a bottle of Fairy Power Spray, which has no such issues with sticky residue and smells much better!

I had the exact same problem! As said above fairy power spray will sort it or synthetic dot3 brake fluid which is what I used just try a bit in it for 24 hours to check the plastic is ok in it. Got the brake fluid from the range think it was carlube stuff and was less than a fiver

isopropyl alchol will take off what dettol cant usually. Its rare that a mini is painted in something isopropyl cant touch.

HairySticks wrote:
isopropyl alchol will take off what dettol cant usually. Its rare that a mini is painted in something isopropyl cant touch.

You should get a sponsorship deal from an IPA manufacturer.

 azreal13 wrote:

HairySticks wrote:
isopropyl alchol will take off what dettol cant usually. Its rare that a mini is painted in something isopropyl cant touch.

You should get a sponsorship deal from an IPA manufacturer.

I've used these guys before;

http://www.southstarbeauty.co.uk/ipa-isopropanol-isopropyl-999-c-62.html?zenid=acaf0c83f365f60d8d5eaf6fceccbfca

They cater to cosmetics supplies mostly.. but sell what we need in many sizes

1L Will strip so many models I've lost count!

Thanks Azreal!

Could you elaborate on the method for using IPA please?

 brainscan wrote:
Could you elaborate on the method for using IPA please?

Sure

Step one get IPA, I used 99.9%, But I hear 70% works equally well - at worst it might take a little longer I guess.
Find a tub / container, with a lid can be handy - I used an icecream tub last time... but I was stripping a Landraider.
Place model inside tub, and fill it with IPA untill the things submerged. Lots of plastic models float because theyre hollow I guess, weigh them down somehow if you can so they arent part out of the IPA.
Get some gloves, I use thick black rubber ones usually as they last, but if the parts are fiddly and you need something different, latex gloves, but wear a few pairs as the spiky bits of models often rip them.
Get the tooth brush - or whatever your favorite paint stripping brush is. I use toothbrushes combined with some cheap stiff bristled paint brushes (theyle get ruined by the IPA so dont splash out)

I've had models come clean in 5 minutes, and I've had models need to soak for a couple hours. it kinda depends on the paints used , thickness of the coatings and all that.

I've had plastic and finecast parts in overnight with zero ill effect. - actually plastics I had a Landraider in it all week. The things fine

Leave it aside to dry, or my preferred approach ; blow it dry with compressed air, perhaps from an airbrush if theres no air blower tool around.


Between Fairy Powerspray and IPA I generally find models get 95% paint removed with ease, often 100%, sometimes theres something you just cant reach to scub, or a bit of primer stains, using old dirty IPA can leave a thin film of all the dissolved colours, but no biggie, rinse in fresh IPA if you need.

This is also an excelent degreasing method going far beyond the usual soapy water to get rid of the mold release.

And it will take that Dettol smell off the models

Oh and the fumes can be quite strong, especially if you do what I did last and pour 1.5 L of IPA onto a Landraider and forget about the lid for 30minutes
Maybe do it outside if your dealing with a larger quantity like that. Defo open the window