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Hey,

I'm currently looking to strip some plastic and metal models, but I'm not sure what to use. I know Simple Green is popular in America, but I'm not sure whether it's sold under a different name, or not sold at all. Can anybody point me in the right direction?

Fairy power spray from your local wilkos it's half price a my local one ATM I swear by this stuff nowadays
Also the original detail if your stuck but it stinks and can leave paint gooey

Yep, FPS is excellent.

I tried Dettol, and the I tried FPS to compare.

Both strip effectively, but Dettol smells much more strongly (better or worse I guess is subjective) and has the big drawback that if stripped paint comes into contact with water before you've scrubbed it off the mini, it turns into a horrible, sticky, gunk, whereas FPS has no such issues.

Im not sure why i read UK Panty strippers :/

i hear 3dot brake fluid works well over there though its a lot more dangerous than the aboves.

Having faced the same problem in Germany, I now use Isopropyl Alcohol. Works like a charm, but should be used outdoors.

Simple Green is available in the UK direct from the manufacturer/distributor:

www.simplegreen.co.uk

It's very good and smells nice.

isopropyl alchol 99%

safe on plastics, resins and metals.
Available all over the world.

How do you apply FPS? Do you spray it directly or dilute and leave the models in it?

 BlapBlapBlap wrote:
How do you apply FPS? Do you spray it directly or dilute and leave the models in it?

What I do is put the models in a tub and spray on. Leave for a while (plastic will take longer than metal) then much of it should just fall off.

I would not recommend diluting it, FPS is diluted anyway. Look for the ones with "New stronger formula" on them as these are from an undiluted batch. This is how the cleaning product companies get you [/conspiracyhat]. It still does the job but the stronger stuff can strip metal models in minutes.

I use Dettol for plastic and resin models, leaving them to soak fully submerged for a couple of days, in a closed container so the smell doesn't escape. You will need to wear latex gloves when scrubbing the paint off otherwise the stink will cling to you for days. Dettol will also soften Liquid Green Stuff and remove PVA (and whatever it was used to fix.)

For 100% metal figures I've used cellulose thinners as well; it works very quickly. I've used it to clean old paint off certain areas on a figure while leaving the rest of the paint intact.

If you are stripping metal, go with Dettol and scrub it off, then a quick once over with FPS will remove the smell. For plastic or resin, go with a spray coat of FPS, let the paint sit for a while, then the paint will come off in chunks.

I used to use dettol but FPS is far more pleasant to use.

Go to Superdrug, buy a bottle or 2 of acetone free nail polish remover. You'll pay at most £1.49 per bottle. This stuff works brilliantly and in my experience is better than dettol; and its safer to use.

I have used simple green and purple power to strip paint and it has worked like a charm on everything but the old choas black spray paint GW used to sell back in 1999-2000 when I started playing. I have tried nail polish remover, simple green, purple power concentrate, acetone, even denatured alcohol, it seems nothing works on this black undercoating. It turns into a sticky clumpy mess that does not come off easily. I was trying to repaint my IG army but most of my army is under coated with that black paint and all I have is mess on my hands. Anything coated with white under coat is no problem to strip. Has any one else had results like this? Any advice?

 carlos13th wrote:
I used to use dettol but FPS is far more pleasant to use.

Did I miss it.. What is FPS?

Fairy Power Spray

kb_lock wrote:
Fairy Power Spray

Ah, must have missed it.. Thanks.

i have some plastic minis that have a gloss coat, would the dettol get that off? also anybody know how to get rid of dried superglue off of models. i recently bought a metal model off ebay to convert, but where the head was glued in, theres dried glue all in there and its annoyingly hard to get rid of.

cheers

FPS is excellent and detol also works. Hollow models like tanks can end up smelling of detol for years hence a friends rhino now named 'detolus'

 azreal13 wrote:
Both strip effectively, but Dettol smells much more strongly (better or worse I guess is subjective) and has the big drawback that if stripped paint comes into contact with water before you've scrubbed it off the mini, it turns into a horrible, sticky, gunk, whereas FPS has no such issues.

This, with bells on.

It depends on the paint as well. I've had a lot of success with just non-acetone nail varnish remover. So long as you remember the "non-acetone" part, you should see no or very little plastic degradation. If that doesn't work on the paint you have, Testors ELO works really well on what I think are enamel paints. And don't spare on the elbow grease! I use a cheap firm toothbrush and a test tube cleaner to scrub off the gunk that remains.