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Hi all. I just got started in the 40K world (and painting miniatures in general) with a box of the new Ultramarines assault squad. Having primed them in Army Painter black spray primer, I then sprayed them with GW Macragge Blue spray. Unfortunately the finish was terrible with lots of texture. From searching the forums I realize now that I was spraying from too far away and in conditions that were too warm. (I had sprayed the rest of the squad a few days earlier with no issues). So it was time for some paint stripping! I went to buy some Fairy Power Spray (a forum recommendation) but couldn't find any. I could however find Sally Hansen acetone free nail polish remover (in Tesco) and here are my results.

Before:






For the Emperor!






Results








Comments:

I submerged the figures for 5 mins then took them out for a light scrubbing with the cheapest toothbrush I could find. 95% of the paint came off at this stage. I put them back in for 5 more minutes and repeated the scrubbing before washing under the tap. I tested submerging one of the figures for around 20 minutes but it doesn't seem to have any extra positive or negative effects. Long term dipping is something I did not try and may have different results. There are still little bits of blue paint left that most likely would have come off with a bit more scrubbing, but I'm satisfied for my first attempt. The primer coat is partially worn away all over the models (hence the greyish look), but that's no issue as I will simply re-prime them.

The models were assembled with Revell Contacta and have 2p coins superglued in the bases. No adhesive bonds seem to have been affected. The models themselves seem to survived 100% intact with no melting, softening or loss of detail etc.

So, in my very newbie view, this seems to be a great way to remove paint without any collateral damage,

Hopefully some of you will find this useful!

since you showed the bottle.... mind showing us the backside too... so that we can look into the ingredients?

i say this is quite a good result... had a look at shops that sell something similar here in germany... it all depends on the ingredients i think...

Glad to see you have good results. However, I used the same liquid on a plastic dreadnought and it seems to have gone strange. At present, it has a layer of bumpiness that I can't shift. I wonder if it's an unusual primer but I have no way of knowning as I didn't paint it. I suppose what I'm saying is it doesn't work on every plastic model!

Appears to be a rousing success story here.

Figuring out the ingredients will help everyone

Primer Layers are much harder to remove.

The GW macrag blue is not a primer so is not surprising to have come off.

If the Primer layer you used was Enamel its gonna be nearly impossible to shift IIRC

Ah, sorry, here's a shot of the back...



I guess the Isopropyl Alcohol is what did most of the work?

Edit: Here's a place to buy it online (UK) at £2.99 with free delivery.
Nail Polish Direct

I have used Acetone free nail polish remover as well....got a few bottles from Superdrug.

Alcohol and the Glycols.

They are the same things no in Brake Fluids that allow them to be used as paint-stripper.

Glycols are actually a sugar, but most people don't think of sugars as being hydrocarbons, which is what most volatiles such as alcohols are.

I cannot recall all of the chemistry, exactly, but they break the long-chain polymers in a paint, leaving it unable to grip the surface.

Off they come at that point.

If it is metal miniatures, you can use Weldene or Bondene Plastic Glue, and it will take off the paint in nearly one big sheet (I had a model I primed that needed to be stripped because of cat-hair glomming up half the figure.

The primer came off it two whole pieces, right at the mold-lines, which were nearly invisible.

But nail-polish remover is a great paint-remover for MOST plastics (beware, even acetone-free nail-polish remover can melt some plastics).

MB

i saw on the stuff available here that it contains alcohol and ethyl and acetat too... and was worried... i guess for every new bottle (brand) you need to make a new test... but it is a start...

may ask about the smell? is it in a way offensive? my wife has a very sensitive sense of smell...^^

and thanks for the new pic of the ingredients!!!

It has a strong smell when you're up close, but the smell definitely doesn't fill the room. Keep a window open and you'll be fine. Covering the container while the model is soaking would help too.

ah thanks....i bet you can´t have that outcome without a little smell...