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The title says it all. I have heard Americans speak of Simple Green, but can not find it over here.
So please tell me, where can I find a product that will strip plastic minis without damaging my models? Cheers

Check out bunnings mate. I had at look at bunnings Modbury and even though it's not a megastore it still had Simple Green

It's in the cleaning section of bunnings... Easy to find. Grab the green version if possible

I hear a lot of people use "Dettol", a product that is not available in the US. I can't remember if it was the UK or AUS that commonly used it with good result.

Simple Green remains my go-to stripper, though.

Bunnings does indeed carry simple Green. Some stores have it in the household cleaners and some have it in industrial cleaners section. It varies from store to store.

You want this...



Ditch the foaming dealy. It doesn't need to be foamed. This should set you back about $20.

Well, if you have Simple Green, let me add another note. I get mine at Lowes, a big box home store. I discovered, after buying the little spray bottles that are like $12 or whatever, that the giant size gallon jug is literally just a few dollars more. Maybe that's not how it works in Oz but something to look at.

I've just now used Simple Green to strip paint from some metal models

Leave your models soak in it overnight and then in the morning give them a scrub with a stiff brush (I used a cheap super stiff tooth brush). Honestly this stuff didn't work on a plastic model I tried but it didn't ruin the plastic at all so it could just be whatever paint was already on it (second hand mini so it could be anything).

If you can not find Simple Green anywhere, Nail polish remover does take paint straight off metal models but I'd test it on some scrap plastic before I try it on a complete mini.

I find that its better to leave them a few days, just to ensure that the SG has time to soak in. A stiff bristled brush does help too.

 Ouze wrote:
Well, if you have Simple Green, let me add another note. I get mine at Lowes, a big box home store. I discovered, after buying the little spray bottles that are like $12 or whatever, that the giant size gallon jug is literally just a few dollars more. Maybe that's not how it works in Oz but something to look at.

We don't have Lowes so?

If you're talking about the jug, someone already posted it right above you that it could be preferable depending how many you're stripping.

To OP: I tried dettol, didn't work that spectacularly on caked minis. Even though I washed the minis in dettol when cleaning the paint still got stuck like superglue on most of them.

Simple Green is the way to go IF you have a local bunnings or masters, and make sure to get the concentrate stuff. I tried the cleaner that isn't concentrate and the crevices are still caked in paint so I have to go back and get the better stuff.

You can also use brake fluid for metal or engine degreaser for plastic/metal A(apparently works best), as well as isopropyl alcohol (bunnings have this too BUT it's expensive as all hell as it's used to clean many things but is reuseable).

 Ouze wrote:
I hear a lot of people use "Dettol", a product that is not available in the US. I can't remember if it was the UK or AUS that commonly used it with good result.

Simple Green remains my go-to stripper, though.

This is what we use here in Italia to clean in the place of the simple green we usually use back home. It works just as well.

Shaozun wrote:

 Ouze wrote:
Well, if you have Simple Green, let me add another note. I get mine at Lowes, a big box home store. I discovered, after buying the little spray bottles that are like $12 or whatever, that the giant size gallon jug is literally just a few dollars more. Maybe that's not how it works in Oz but something to look at.

We don't have Lowes so?

If you're talking about the jug, someone already posted it right above you that it could be preferable depending how many you're stripping.

1.) I suspected as such, so I referred to it as "Lowes, a big box home store" to get across what sort of store I meant.

2.) Please quote where someone else pointed out that for Simple Green the spray bottle costs nearly as much as the gallon jug prior to my post.

I use brake fluid (dot 3) and I wear gloves while doing so (which you should for SG or dettol, too - as they will both leach oils from your skin and dry it out).

Works on metals and plastics, enamels AND acrylics (hell, takes off enamel primer from metals, and will even remove car duco - that multi-layered baked-on, new-car-fresh-from-factory paint finish).

Doesn't dissolve plastics provided you don't leave them immersed for too long (5 minutes was long enough to remove old enamel paint from RT plastic guardsmen) and scrub with a stiff toothbrush.

"Local" Bunnings doesn't carry SG. Luckily, I have a car accessories mob a couple of blocks away, though.

I prefer isopropyl alcohol. works in my experience better then all the cleaning stuff. the higher the concentration the better.

 Ouze wrote:

Shaozun wrote:

 Ouze wrote:
Well, if you have Simple Green, let me add another note. I get mine at Lowes, a big box home store. I discovered, after buying the little spray bottles that are like $12 or whatever, that the giant size gallon jug is literally just a few dollars more. Maybe that's not how it works in Oz but something to look at.

We don't have Lowes so?

If you're talking about the jug, someone already posted it right above you that it could be preferable depending how many you're stripping.

1.) I suspected as such, so I referred to it as "Lowes, a big box home store" to get across what sort of store I meant.

2.) Please quote where someone else pointed out that for Simple Green the spray bottle costs nearly as much as the gallon jug prior to my post.

What is a 'big box home store'? You could've just said Bunnings or Masters, literally the only 2 hardware stores we have in a retail chain capacity that are any good.

Neither stock Simple green concentrated either that I've seen in store or on their website, and I have tried the non-concentrate on stripping paint, it does SFA. I also don't have much success with dettol either as I recommended the Op, and I'm personally going to be trying dot 3 brake fluid as we don't have purple power, LA's totally awesome, or any engine degreasers outside of koala auto kare to use as we are really limited in Australia which you don't seem to understand.

What is with the 2nd point? Did you read my post?

He said "big box home store" because it covers the "all the stuff for DIY in one big spot" places that Lowes, Home Hardware, Bunnings, Masters, etc.

He didn't use Bunnings or Masters because he's not from Aus and I doubt they have them there - where he is, ie NOT OZ - anyway (just like we don't have Lowes home hardware stuff - Lowes here is a menswear store).