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Anyone know what could get paint off minis if the regular options don't work? Bought off eBay so not sure what paints were used.

Tried alcohol, LA Awesome, I think they could have possibly been painted with oils but not sure how to confirm this.

Plastic or metal minis?

How long have you tried stripping them? Is the liquid new or used? And are you using an ultrasonic cleaner?

There are "some" friggin' impossible models....but most you can find a way.

Are they metal?

Throw them in some gasoline.

My go-to is Super Clean for an initial wash, followed by 90% Isopropyl for removing the undercoat.

This is the most reliable method I have found. I buy the Super Clean at an auto-parts store and reuse the liquid each time. The bottle I have now has been used a few dozen times over two years.

I get the Isopropyl off eBay. It does evaporate in air, so you lose some each time you use it. The last time I got a case, it was ~$20 for 12 24 ounce bottles.

The only downside I know of is the Isopropyl does screw with plastics. I usually time the Isopropyl bath to about 2 hours to avoid negative side-effects.

This may be it. Superlcean is basically same as LA Awesome so that won't work.

Yes they are metal. Does gas strip oil based paint? How long do you get the gas smell out?

 Adeptus Doritos wrote:
Are they metal?

Throw them in some gasoline.

 amrogers3 wrote:
Yes they are metal. Does gas strip oil based paint? How long do you get the gas smell out?

I would scrub them with some warm soapy water for a while after. Shouldn't take but a dunk for a few hours.

Brake fluid (dot 3 or 4) will strip enamels or acrylics and won't hurt plastics or metal. You still need to scrub them (toothbrush will do) but it doesn't take more than an hour to soak them (it will strip even car enamel back to bare metal).

You WILL need gloves (disposable latex/silicone are fine) and preferably goggles (you can absorb it through your skin and you don't want it in your eyes, either) and it presents some disposal difficulties, since you can't just pour it down the sink, though.
(Many mechanics should have a disposal drum for the stuff, you could try with one of them for disposal. It's what I do).

Dettol can also work (on acrylics) BUT never rinse dettol (or dilute) with water when doing so. It just turns the paint into sticky gunge that won't come off anything (Dettol is mostly isopropyl alcohol with other compounds, and it's those other compounds that do this. ).
Isopropyl alcohol (rubbing alcohol) also works, and unlike dettol doesn't stink to hell and back.

Also, like brake fluid, gloves/goggles and PPE recommended since you don't want ANY of them in your eyes. Neat dettol will also take skin off (You have to use it like this to make it strip paint, so don't hold it in the solution, let them sit).

If they are metal and metal only you could try using Aircraft Stripper. It is really nasty stuff that requires heavy duty rubber gloves, goggles and a paint vapor mask. It does strip anything and is pretty much the go-to for stripping cars of paint and primer.

If they are metal, then leave them in the LA Total Awesome for a while, it won't hurt them a bit. I have forgot models in that suffer for over a month, and not a bit wrong with them. I have had a couple though that nothing you do will take all the paint off. Without getting into dangerous stuff that will hurt you if used wrong, I would soak them longer, and worst case, get a brass bristle brush to gently clean it off after the soak.

Another option would be paint thinner, if you think it was oil or an enamel paint.

La totally awesome in an ultrasonic cleaner. Run it about a dozen cycles and leave it in for 24-48 hours. I just turned mine on Everytime I came in the Kitchener

I had a little issue with finding something that worked recently--I recommend Clean Strip.
The undercoat was Rustoleum Painter's Touch Primer with a coat of Liquitex spray on a Stormtalon.

1. Alcohol didn't work so well for me. Maybe it loosened it up a little. Maybe the campfire fuel stuff from Kleanstrip isn't the best option (it was all I could find).
2. Acetone. That works okay on resin. On GW plastic? Not so much unless effacing detail is the goal (so...no). It makes paint flake off pretty fast though.
3. Spray silicone lubricant (yes, I was getting creative). It works....too well. Paint wrinkles up quickly, but it erodes your plastic. Bad idea.
4. I may have tried LA's Oxygen Orange and some of the Grill cleaner. I probably didn't soak/dip/spray enough, so if those actually work, I'd be interested to know.
5. Super Clean: turned the paint into red liquid. It was like cadmium red milk within 4 hours and all plastic was clean with a little bit in some grooves the next day. I removed this with a toothbrush (soaking for a few hours seems to do the trick)!

Lessons learned. At least I only damaged some test parts!

On all-metal minis, I soak them in Simple Green for days (or even weeks), then use a stiff bristle brush and warm soapy water to dig the paint out of the recesses. Occasionally I get after it with a dental pick, but by that point they'll probably take a spray primer and be good enough.

If its all metal then just acetone it.

 Desubot wrote:
If its all metal then just acetone it.

Yep, I have stripped quite a lot of metal models in acetone. It's very handy. Just take the plastic base off first so you don't end up with a gloopy melted plastic mess.