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Just a quick thread as I've had some issues recently while trying to strip some models for repainting and wanted to see if anyone else had experienced anything similar. In particular with newer GW plastics.

So I go to strip some Kasrkin with acetone free nail varnish remover, importantly it's the same brand I've used for about 12 years with no issues. I chuck all my models in the bowl of forbidden soup and I go to make myself a drink. I come back 5 minutes later to make sure they're all still submerged and notice that there's models warping and deforming. My sergeant's ankle even starting fusing to the plasma gunner's face!

Now hopefully these are salvageable, but it's lucky I didn't leave them to soak for ages like I've done in the past, otherwise I would have just had sludge to come back to.

Before I go complaining to a certain company about their nail varnish remover being mislabelled, has anyone had any similar issues with stripping newer GW plastics? Just in case they've changed the formula for their plastics and not advertised the fact.

I've always heard that you have to be careful with nail varnish remover when it comes to plastic models. Use acetone free, don't leave it in too long, etc... It's weird that you are having issues when previously you weren't though.

I've always used Dettol, leaving models in there for 24 hours or so. Always worked fine for me. Most of my experience comes from metal models though. I have stripped some plastics but nothing made in the last couple of years. I know that it's not easy to get a hold of Dettol outside of the UK.

My guess is that the bottle of nail varnish remover you bought was mislabelled. Would be interesting to hear if others have had a similar experience though.

I've never had such issues.

You've definitely got to be careful with any product that you don't know what's in it. "acetone free nail varnish remover" or even "dettol" is pretty much meaningless in terms of describing what's actually in the bottle. Companies are always changing blends on their products - sometimes even seasonally - and you never know what's going to happen if you aren't using it for it's intended purpose.

You might have been using the same product and brand for 12 years, but I would bet money on the chemical make up of that product has changed multiple times in that timeframe.

Everyone has their own favourite poisonous paint stripping potion, but I don't think you can go wrong with 99% Isopropyl Alcohol. It's readily available everywhere, and you know exactly what's in the bottle.

The only foolproof method for resin, metal, plastic, really anything, is submerging the model in isopropyl alcohol (Ideally something in the 90% zone, the higher the better), leave it for 15 minutes, take it out, brush/toothpick as needed, repeat as needed. Has worked on every bought/printed model I've ever used it on with no issue.

I've even left minis in it for far longer than just 15 minutes and it was fine.

Thanks for the replies guys. It's likely an issue with the manufacturer, so it looks like I'll be declaring war on Tesco rather than GW

Years of trust in their nail varnish remover down the pan!

isopropyl is the way to go. It is quite cheap when buying in bulk and works double duty for cleaning up other things as well.

I have 2 glass containers with old minis that are soaking in it right now. One more "dirty" container and one container that is more "clean". I first put any second hand bought model in the dirty container and let it soak until I 15 min or 15 months later decide to do a quick strip with a tooth brush, rinse it under water, dry on a paper towel and then get put back in the "clean" container for a second soak and then repeat the previous actions but this time I make sure all the paint is removed. What I fully strip is what I next intend to sell or paint and the other minis I just let soak in there. Some stuff have been in there for over a year without problem.

These days I'm using AK Interactive Paint Stripper and I swear by it.

I reckon Isopropyl alcohol would do as well and would be cheaper in bulk though

 Afrodactyl wrote:
Years of trust in their nail varnish remover down the pan!

washed away like yesterday's nail polish

Dettol is something like 95% isopropyl alcohol anyway - and since you'll have to rinse the dettol off with iso, may as well just go with the pure stuff (adding water to dettol will turn any half-stripped paint into sticky gunge that is one part goo, 2 parts babygak - and it sticks to EVERYTHING.)

Just use the iso. That way you don't get the stench of Eucalyptus oil and other anti-bacterial crap they put into it (and plastics absorb that smell, and your figs will smell like a koala's buttcrack for months.

Yeah, I'll probably be moving to high% iso going forward. Thanks for the recommendations, I'll take a look at them all

In the past, I've soaked overnight with Pink Soap. It's for fine art oil painters- but will get dried-on oil paints off of brushes, without harming them too much. I've also used lysol, pine sol, and ammonia (sometimes all at once) and only thing I noticed was a slight bleaching to the color of the plastic- but no warping.

 Afrodactyl wrote:
Thanks for the replies guys. It's likely an issue with the manufacturer, so it looks like I'll be declaring war on Tesco rather than GW

Years of trust in their nail varnish remover down the pan!

For what it's worth, I've had acetone-free nail polish remover eat models in the past as well, so generally avoid it. It's frustrating when a product that used to work suddenly doesn't, though... Some years back, my go-to paint stripper was a particular brand of oven cleaner that was available down here, until they changed the formula without warning and it didn't work any more. Switched to brake fluid, as was the fashion at the time, and had the same thing happen.

It's unfortunately a risk of using a product intended for something completely different. Because what you're using it for isn't the intended purpose, there's no telling when a change has unwelcome side effects, and they don't necessarily have to tell anyone when they do it if it doesn't affect the product's actual purpose.. so you find out the hard way.


My go to at the moment is IPA and a sonic bath. It's a bit more work for stubborn paint, but easier and cleaner than dealing with oven cleaner or brake fluid...

 insaniak wrote:

 Afrodactyl wrote:
Thanks for the replies guys. It's likely an issue with the manufacturer, so it looks like I'll be declaring war on Tesco rather than GW

Years of trust in their nail varnish remover down the pan!

For what it's worth, I've had acetone-free nail polish remover eat models in the past as well, so generally avoid it. It's frustrating when a product that used to work suddenly doesn't, though... Some years back, my go-to paint stripper was a particular brand of oven cleaner that was available down here, until they changed the formula without warning and it didn't work any more. Switched to brake fluid, as was the fashion at the time, and had the same thing happen.

It's unfortunately a risk of using a product intended for something completely different. Because what you're using it for isn't the intended purpose, there's no telling when a change has unwelcome side effects, and they don't necessarily have to tell anyone when they do it if it doesn't affect the product's actual purpose.. so you find out the hard way.


My go to at the moment is IPA and a sonic bath. It's a bit more work for stubborn paint, but easier and cleaner than dealing with oven cleaner or brake fluid...

Oh, you're absolutely right about the frustration regarding DIY solutions.. This is why I use the AK Paint stripper, its purposefully formulated to remove acrylic/enamel/oil paints from plastic/resin/metal models. For me, the peace of mind and reliability of the product make the cost worth it