Forum adverts like this one are shown to any user who is not logged in. Join us by filling out a tiny 3 field form and you will get your own, free, dakka user account which gives a good range of benefits to you: No adverts like this in the forums anymore. Times and dates in your local timezone. Full tracking of what you have read so you can skip to your first unread post, easily see what has changed since you last logged in, and easily see what is new at a glance. Email notifications for threads you want to watch closely. Being a part of the oldest wargaming community on the net. If you are already a member then feel free to login now.

thanks onionlord. dont forget to subscribe

Don't use this method on Plastic and maybe Resin!
Acetone melts Plastic, I didn't remember if he mentioned it or not in the video, but DON'T USE ACETONE WITH PLASTIC.

 Makutsu wrote:
Don't use this method on Plastic and maybe Resin!
Acetone melts Plastic, I didn't remember if he mentioned it or not in the video, but DON'T USE ACETONE WITH PLASTIC.

I think the key was that this was NON-acetone nail polish remover. I still ended up with melting/detail softening and it just made a big mess and destroyed my stripping toothbrush.

Yes guys its Acetone FREE stuff.
The normal stuff WILL will you plastic

I tried this technique out on my old Tau crisis suit with the broadside upgrade kit on. So a mix of resin and plastic, i'd say around 2+ years old.

Anyway i raided the other halfs accessories, found some nail polish remover, and cheered because it was Acetone free. the stuff ended up making the resin very brittle and the plastic had gotten weak enough around the joints that the arms snapped off with little effort. Not sure if it was the brand of remover i used, or that it was the old type of resin and plastic.

I will be popping to Superdrug today, to get the brand mentioned.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

After buying the superdrug branded stuff, it works like a charm. Though, i had real trouble removing Humbrol Matt black http://www.modelzone.co.uk/150ml-spray-no-33-matt-black.html even after soaking it for well over half a day, it just didnt want to shift it :/

Still, if your base coat is good. it removes citidel paint with no trouble.

I've always used straight 'Dettol', it stinks but does all mediums with no corrosion, it also turns glue to jelly so my bits get the full clean before I put models back together...

It defo works guys. I did the video on models that are made from finecast,forgeworld and plastics and mine are fine. And I used it plenty of time. Some guy message me and said it melted his models.
I ask '' HOW LONG YOU LEAVE THEM IN''
he said: ''2 HOURS''

So obvisley this guy didnt listen propley

major_payne wrote:
I've always used straight 'Dettol', it stinks but does all mediums with no corrosion, it also turns glue to jelly so my bits get the full clean before I put models back together...

Mr Payne here has it down to a T!

I bought some dettol disinfectant last weekend (Basically its the surgical alcohol within thats the cleaning agent).
I used the stuff straight, soaking my models, metal, plastic both old and new with some being rogue era with large amounts of paint covering details. The stuff removed them all! zero detail loss on both finecast and plastic, only thing is don't use water to wash them off as you scrub them down, as it forms a sticky substance which then is just more effort to scrub off with hot soapy water. Just use the dettol to clean it off in a smaller dip jar.

I worked using a sort of leave in for an hour-2hours, srub with a toothbrush and dip away the scrubbed off paint, put back into dettol for another 30 mins and scrub off the rest. Some of the really overpainted stuff took a few extra dips but overall I think yesterday I stripped atleast 30 minatures for about £3 (price of dettol bottle). Highly impressed. Just wear gloves! seriously wear gloves. I had the thumb split and i didnt notice I was putting my thumb in neat dettol until it had gone so old man wrinkle like, I thought it had died my thumb looked like the grand cannon for a few hours.

But use this !

Tried the acetone free nail polish method on a unit of cold one knights, worked brilliantly. Didn't soak any models for any longer than 5-10 minutes and had no detail loss. I did notice a slight softening of the plastic on a few peices i left in for closer to the 10 minute side, but nothing that couldnt be fixed by gently bending the plastic back into position before drying. If you are gonna go with this method just be sure to soak for less than 5min imho.

Awesome news

How well does this work with removing primers on plastic?
It seems most people haven't had much damage to their models if done quickly. In terms of damaging details or making the plastic brtittle how does this compare to simple green?

Eagleace115 wrote:
How well does this work with removing primers on plastic?
It seems most people haven't had much damage to their models if done quickly. In terms of damaging details or making the plastic brtittle how does this compare to simple green?

To be honest. I cant support the experiences some people had with melting plastic. After being ready with stripping most miniatures ive put a bolter bit into the nail polish remover stuff over night in order to test what happens. It was clean the day after and the plastic wasnt melted at all.

Just try it for the 50cents a bottle costs with a bit you dont really care about to be sure of the results. Perhaps the problems depends on the brand some people are using.

I'm thinking there's something in the formulations that is causing some people to have smashing results, while others (like me) end up with a sticky mess. From limited research, there seems to be 2 different non-acetone solvents used in these products: Ethyl Acetate and Methyl Ethyl Ketone... If everyone could check the ingredients label on your bottle and post here which solvent yours has and what your results were maybe we can figure out what is causing these differing results

The non-acetone remover I have - which melted some details, turned the enamel/gloss paint into a massively sticky mess- is Ethyl Acetate based.

JWMarines wrote:
I'm thinking there's something in the formulations that is causing some people to have smashing results, while others (like me) end up with a sticky mess. From limited research, there seems to be 2 different non-acetone solvents used in these products: Ethyl Acetate and Methyl Ethyl Ketone... If everyone could check the ingredients label on your bottle and post here which solvent yours has and what your results were maybe we can figure out what is causing these differing results

The non-acetone remover I have - which melted some details, turned the enamel/gloss paint into a massively sticky mess- is Ethyl Acetate based.

I purchased the bottle shown in the video from superdrug, left models in less than 10 mins and it turned my forgeworld models to a rubbery bendy compound. I checked the bottle and it was Ethyl Acetate based.

 SneakyMek wrote:
... and i let them soak to at max around 10 minutes and there where already some sign of melting and brittle plastics for me.

I've found that times can vary depending on a number of factors. As with all things I suggest experimenting to find a timescale that suits you but I generally only let plastics soak for about 2 minutes.

pinky1066 wrote:
I purchased the bottle shown in the video from superdrug, left models in less than 10 mins and it turned my forgeworld models to a rubbery bendy compound. I checked the bottle and it was Ethyl Acetate based.

ALWAYS check the labels before you buy - many "own brand" nail polish removers have similar labels for the Acetone based AND Acetone Free products

[quote=ALWAYS check the labels before you buy - many "own brand" nail polish removers have similar labels for the Acetone based AND Acetone Free products

JWMarines wrote:
I'm thinking there's something in the formulations that is causing some people to have smashing results, while others (like me) end up with a sticky mess. From limited research, there seems to be 2 different non-acetone solvents used in these products: Ethyl Acetate and Methyl Ethyl Ketone... If everyone could check the ingredients label on your bottle and post here which solvent yours has and what your results were maybe we can figure out what is causing these differing results

The non-acetone remover I have - which melted some details, turned the enamel/gloss paint into a massively sticky mess- is Ethyl Acetate based.

Similar thing happened to me. Also used a non acetone nail polish remover with Ethyl Acetate. I only soaked the model in their for 2 minutes. Then I used an old toothbrush to remove the paint. I wanted to remove the undercoat but i couldn't do that without damaging the plastic/details.

Thanks pinky. When I finished my models where totally fine.

Hi everyone. I thought I might add some scientific rigour to the discussion.
I tested various solvents on a piece of spruce (bloodletters pack, regular gw plastic, which I think is the cheapest stuff used).

Acetone: FUBAR, melts everything to a wobbly drop in seconds.
ethyl acetate: guess what? If feths your plastic stuff just as good if not even better. Dissolution of the spruce in 30 minutes.
THF: Same results, after 10 minutes your plastic is almost completely in solution and what's left looks more sad than the remains of a grot beneath a gargant's leg.
Diethyl ether: Melty piece of goo.
Toluene: Dissolution in several minutes.
Xylene, Benzene: Didn't have it on hand but assume the results will be similar to Toluene.

n-Heptane: No noticeable loss of properties in the observed time (~20 minutes).
iso-Propanol: No corrosion even after soaking plastic for days in it (stripped a couple of killa canz that way).

Regarding paint stripping:
I had some metal miniatures I could work on even with the agressive stuff. So here are some figures regarding the pure paint removal abilities:

Acetone:
Sad as it might be, Acetone did not do wonders with paint. It roughed it up, sure enough, but you'll still have to scrub it with a brush from the surface. I ebayed a pack of old chaos terminators, sprayed in some sort of shiny black paint which was probably intended to substitute a primer but would have provided an even worse surface for painting than the naked metal.

iso-Propanol:
Same as with acetone, but without the melty part. My suggestion for paint stripping from all sorts of plastics. Will rough the paint up but will leave your miniatures unharmed otherwise. Be prepared to scrub a little more around the recesses, because paint will be stuck there. I think hand sanitizer is mostly isoprop with a little bit perfume (sometimes), so if you have someone working at a hospital, he may be able to get you a mug or two of the stuff. Or get it from an apothecary or something...

THF:
My choice for metal models. As stated with acetone, I had some nasty paintjob to remove and THF really did dissolve the paint. The others on that list mostly just rough it up so it comes tumbling down in flakes or something, but tetrahydrofurane really dissolves that gak clean off. Much easier job with recesses and suchlike.

Ethyl acetate:
Should work pretty good, but by the time I wanted to try out, THF did such a good job that I had only little pieces of paint left, hidden in deep recesses. As you've seen in the OP video, that stuff must work (if nail polisher doesn't have acetone as active ingredient, it is most likely ethyl acetate). Still it DOES feth up your plastic models, I had a complete dissolution of the GW spruce in 30-35 minutes or so. Dissolution as in "it's gone". Not melted like with DEE or acetone but really disintegrated.

I did not try any chlorinated solvents because that stuff should most definitely not be used for gaks and giggles. The organic solvents are a pest as it is but there is really no need to use the chlorinated stuff for your hobby if you can avoid it. think of the environment, ffs.

As stated, test was done on GW plastic spruce. I don't have access to any forgeworld stuff, so if you want me to test solvents on that, feel free to send me some material. An alpha legion dreadnought would do just fine.

The one in my video Acetone FREE works ok on them all as I show in the video.
Peace Spud

Yes, but some people claimed that ethyl acetate-based nail polisher causes some damage to the miniatures and I wanted to check, whether it can be the cause or some other stuff that may not be mentioned.

I for one do not like to use some special brand of nail polisher for various reasons:

1. I may not get the right brand here.
2. Even if I get the right brand, the substances may vary depending on region. US laws are different to EU laws.
3. Even if I get the right brand and it has the same formulation as oversees, you never know whether they changed the mixtures before your minis start to melt in front of you.

So I wanted to see what substance actually does what. For all of you who fear that one product or the other may damage your miniatures: check with what I tried out. If any substance you see is part of the product you want to use, it MAY damage your stuff. I checked with pure, undiluted solvents, so just because it's part of the formulation, it doesn't necessarily mean it will melt down your stuff. I just say that it MAY do so.

 spudkins wrote:
The one in my video Acetone FREE works ok on them all as I show in the video.
Peace Spud

Spud I tried using the acetone free version on some plastic space marine backpacks and I lost a lot of details myself. I think it was the same brand as the one you used but could have been mislabelled or something.

Personally I use fairy power spray for metal and plastics. I've yet to try it on finecast but I've got a miscast crowe and model so I'll maybe spray him and give it a try

Okay, here is another way to remove both acrylic and enamel paint from plastic GW miniatures, using something you probably have under the sink right now. This method, while somewhat labour intensive, is safe and cheap. If you have sensitive skin you may want to wear gloves. Eye protection is recommended as well.

1: Mix Pine-Sol and Water in a large mason jar, try for about half and half, but a little more water is okay.
2: Drop in your plastic GW mini and let soak for 3-4 hours.
3: Gently scrub the mini under warm water with a medium or hard bristle brush. Be careful of small details like tassels or chains that could be knocked off by brushing.
4: Repeat steps 2 and 3 until satisfied.
5: Clean off any Pine-Sol residue with warm soapy water. Clean off any soap residue with cold water.
6: Let your mini dry off overnight.


I tested this method thoroughly and even in a stronger solution Pine-Sol still had no effect on GW plastic. Be prepared to reassemble some mini's though as some glues will fail after a few soaks. I discovered that my used mini's had been painted with an enamel paint at one point and this was when most of the details got covered over. However the enamel did not effect the equation at all other than requiring more scrubbing. Models painted with acrylic paint came clean after only 2 soaks.

The only drawback is that your miniatures will smell like a pine cabin...

gilljoy wrote:

 spudkins wrote:
The one in my video Acetone FREE works ok on them all as I show in the video.
Peace Spud

Spud I tried using the acetone free version on some plastic space marine backpacks and I lost a lot of details myself. I think it was the same brand as the one you used but could have been mislabelled or something.

Personally I use fairy power spray for metal and plastics. I've yet to try it on finecast but I've got a miscast crowe and model so I'll maybe spray him and give it a try

The capability to cause damage to your miniatures is based on two things:
* Type of solvent used (ethyl acetate, acetone, ...)
* Concentration of the solvent.

I've posted a variety of common solvents you may find in one formulation or another (paint thinners, nail polish, hand desinfectant...) and their effect on plastics. If any of the dangerous ones are in your mixture, it depends on how undiluted they are and how long your miniatures are in there. Add enough water and even acetone will be pretty tame. The paint stripping capability will diminish as well, though.

Just used it, works perfectly for getting the outer layer of paint off. Some miniatures I couldn't entirely remove the basecoat but I can just spray them again and anyway. Thanks for the tip, who knew it would be so simple?

IM glad it worked for you

I tried the dettol method and frankly hated it, as the poor minis reek for ages afterwards. However, I found a thread here a while ago that mentioned some stuff called Biostrip 20 so figured I'd give that a go.

Picked up a tub for about a tenner, painted it on to a couple of old models last night. It's pretty much odourless and got the consistency of yoghurt.

It's also ace! Rinsed and scrubbed those minis today, and they came out great - no damage to the detail on plastic that I could see. Dipped some more and scrubbed them after an hour today and they're fine too.

Added bonus was that it also un knackered the old drybrushing brush I painted it on with.


Automatically Appended Next Post:
I think it may be a uk only thing though.

Edit: Silly phone autocorrecting I just noticed.

Fairy power spray - used it on plastics and metals, strips acrylics, 20 year old enamels, no issues. My go-to for stripping minis.

I worked for North Americas largest paint/coatings provider for 9 years in the industrial paint field. Sherwin-Williams in case I'm being vague.
DO NOT USE ANYTHING SOLVENT BASED ON PLASTIC. End of story. Acetone free nail polish remover mimics acetone. One of the strongest and fastest drying solvents on this earth. Guess what it does to anything plastic like. Breaks it down. Depending on the type of paint on the mini will influence the time it takes to break it down.
Not only that but you should not breathe this stuff in. The vapors are highly toxic.
Truth be told if you had metal minis that you wanted to get apart this would be perfect. Other then that don't use this. Bad idea.

I tried this using generic brand acetone free nail polish remover on some Finecast Wraithguard and a new Crimson Hunter who's paintjob I was definitely not satisfied with yesterday, and had great results with both. No detail loss, no softening, and highly affordable.

Both mini's had been primed/painted with citadel stuff.