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Hey there P&M experts!

So I have a riptide and hammerhead I bought off Ebay and planned on stripping the paint...I let it sit in Simple Green for about 2 days now and does not feel like the primer/paint is wanting to come off. IS there another way? Im having a hard time getting rid of the paint/primer.

DOT-3 brake fluid will remove anything, but it isn't the best stuff to mess around with. Personally, I've had better luck stripping paint with Super Clean (in the purple bottle) than I did with Simple Green.

Super Clean is the way to go. Be sure to use gloves when handling the stuff as it will dry out your hands something fierce. DO NOT use brake fluid!! That stuff is a nasty neurotoxin and CANNOT be put down the drain.

Also fairly sure brake fluid will melt plastic... Any idea what sort of paint it is? could it be enamel?

 goblinzz wrote:
Also fairly sure brake fluid will melt plastic... Any idea what sort of paint it is? could it be enamel?

DOT-3 brake fluid will not melt plastic. As noted, there is risk in using brake fluid to strip paint, but it works and works well. It can be reused multiple times especially if filter in a coffee filter between uses. Yes, it must be disposed of properly and cannot be flushed down the drain (neither should Super Clean either, depending on you locality).

We have a store near us called Marcs and they occasionally have a product there that I just absolutely love (and I believe you can find it on Amazon as well, but a little more expensive)

At Marcs it's like $2 USD for 32 or sometimes even 64 fluid oz and it's called Pawls urine remover.

It's got a pretty strong smell but the smell doesn't stay on the minis. The enzymes in the urine remover break down organic material but is completely safe on plastic and metal minis.

I leave it soak for 24 hrs, then a light scrubbing with a toothbrush takes off most paint easily. (in fact some paint peels right off while it's soaking)

I'm not sure how it would react to green stuff minis though and if there's paint between joints (such as painting a model, then gluing it together) then the joint will separate when the paint comes off the model as that's where the glue is as well.

On occasion you get a stubborn model that needs a couple overnight soakings, don't worry. I've left models soaking for days as a test with no damage to the models at all.

99.9% isoproyl alcohol. submerge the thing for as long as you want (ive had a drop pod in some for 8 months inside an icecream tub.. not worried about it atall just havent got around to it lol). Paint will start dissolving in as little as 5 mins and can start to be scrubbed away.
Will soften resin, but plastics and metals are fine.

Removes most of the primers that people believe to fuse with the plastic (they dont) ~wear some heavy duty rubber gloves as solvents dry skin really badly.

I use Dettol antiseptic. It's cheap, a lot less dangerous than break fluid plus I always have a bottle in the house to add to my after gym laundry.

http://www.csl.com.sg/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/dettol_antiseptic_01.png

1. Let the minis soak for a day (sometimes 4 - 6 hours is enough).
2. The paint will be gooey and very loose, most glued parts will come off easily too.
3. Put on Vinyl gloves.
4. Rub the loose paint of with kitchen towel or the likes.
5. Take an old toothbrush to clear the cracks.
6. Rinse and let dry.

You can re-use the liquid many times. I have stripped lots of Citadel and Vallejo primer, paint, varnish and even basing texture with this method, works like a charm.

Klaus von Groehm wrote:
I use Dettol antiseptic. It's cheap, a lot less dangerous than break fluid plus I always have a bottle in the house to add to my after gym laundry.

http://www.csl.com.sg/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/dettol_antiseptic_01.png

1. Let the minis soak for a day (sometimes 4 - 6 hours is enough).
2. The paint will be gooey and very loose, most glued parts will come off easily too.
3. Put on Vinyl gloves.
4. Rub the loose paint of with kitchen towel or the likes.
5. Take an old toothbrush to clear the cracks.
6. Rinse and let dry.

You can re-use the liquid many times. I have stripped lots of Citadel and Vallejo primer, paint, varnish and even basing texture with this method, works like a charm.

I'm intrigued. I usually use acetone-free nail polish remover on plastic but if there is something better I am all ears. Do you have any images of the results on plastic?

 Bottle wrote:


I'm intrigued. I usually use acetone-free nail polish remover on plastic but if there is something better I am all ears. Do you have any images of the results on plastic?

I'll post some next week when I get home. I got some Termies waiting for me that I stripped for the third or fourth time of their paint!

PS: I should mention: It ONLY works on plastic. Finecast turns in to soft rubber when it soaks in Dettol and never gets stiff again.

 Todosi wrote:
Super Clean is the way to go. Be sure to use gloves when handling the stuff as it will dry out your hands something fierce. DO NOT use brake fluid!! That stuff is a nasty neurotoxin and CANNOT be put down the drain.

I use this. It won't harm the plastic in any way and does a great job of debonding the paint from the surface. Not nearly so toxic as many other options, though still gloves are a good idea.

Klaus von Groehm wrote:
I use Dettol antiseptic. It's cheap, a lot less dangerous than break fluid plus I always have a bottle in the house to add to my after gym laundry.

http://www.csl.com.sg/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/dettol_antiseptic_01.png

1. Let the minis soak for a day (sometimes 4 - 6 hours is enough).
2. The paint will be gooey and very loose, most glued parts will come off easily too.
3. Put on Vinyl gloves.
4. Rub the loose paint of with kitchen towel or the likes.
5. Take an old toothbrush to clear the cracks.
6. Rinse and let dry.

You can re-use the liquid many times. I have stripped lots of Citadel and Vallejo primer, paint, varnish and even basing texture with this method, works like a charm.

Dettol works fine, but the smell is too much! (think real strong hospital antisceptic smell ~ it clings to the models too, I had to bath them in alcohol to get rid of it) the hassle of having to get it 100% clean before introducing any water is annoying too.

Fairy Power Spray does as good a job without the lingering pungent odor.
Pure isopropyl alcohol works best for me, has a stink but not as lingering as the dettol.

HairySticks wrote:
Dettol works fine, but the smell is too much! (think real strong hospital antisceptic smell ~ it clings to the models too, I had to bath them in alcohol to get rid of it) the hassle of having to get it 100% clean before introducing any water is annoying too.

100% Agree with this, I use neat Dettol on all my plastics that need stripping and the smell can cling for a long time. It is also worth repeating that you do not want any water to come into contact with the Dettol, it will turn the paint into what I can only describe as glue and becomes near impossible to get off. It takes awhile to clean up the loosened paint, but is an effective safe way of stripping plastics.

I use "LA's Totally Awesome" on my plastic minis. I have left minis soak in there for weeks, no harm done. You can get a 20oz bottle of it at Dollar Tree in the USA. Minimal smell too, which is nice.

 Inspector #264 wrote:

HairySticks wrote:
Dettol works fine, but the smell is too much! (think real strong hospital antisceptic smell ~ it clings to the models too, I had to bath them in alcohol to get rid of it) the hassle of having to get it 100% clean before introducing any water is annoying too.

100% Agree with this, I use neat Dettol on all my plastics that need stripping and the smell can cling for a long time. It is also worth repeating that you do not want any water to come into contact with the Dettol, it will turn the paint into what I can only describe as glue and becomes near impossible to get off. It takes awhile to clean up the loosened paint, but is an effective safe way of stripping plastics.

But as I suggested, the main part of the dettol that makes it work is actually the alcohol content. Use pure IPA and youl have better results, faster I promise.

HairySticks wrote:

 Inspector #264 wrote:

HairySticks wrote:
Dettol works fine, but the smell is too much! (think real strong hospital antisceptic smell ~ it clings to the models too, I had to bath them in alcohol to get rid of it) the hassle of having to get it 100% clean before introducing any water is annoying too.

100% Agree with this, I use neat Dettol on all my plastics that need stripping and the smell can cling for a long time. It is also worth repeating that you do not want any water to come into contact with the Dettol, it will turn the paint into what I can only describe as glue and becomes near impossible to get off. It takes awhile to clean up the loosened paint, but is an effective safe way of stripping plastics.

But as I suggested, the main part of the dettol that makes it work is actually the alcohol content. Use pure IPA and youl have better results, faster I promise.

Sorry, I did not mean for that to sound as if I think Dettol is best, I just wanted to point out that adding water to it is a big no no, as I found out the hard way.

 DaKKaLAnce wrote:
Hey there P&M experts!

So I have a riptide and hammerhead I bought off Ebay and planned on stripping the paint...I let it sit in Simple Green for about 2 days now and does not feel like the primer/paint is wanting to come off. IS there another way? Im having a hard time getting rid of the paint/primer.

If you be in the USA. i find Purple power from Autozone or orielys works very well. iv had issues with simple green not working. and LA Total awesome only works like once for me. but i still have a container full of the stuff and it still strips paint.

Well that explains it..I looked at walmart and couldn't find purple power. Ive been looking in the wrong areas. for the models that I used Simple green on, can I still prime over them? or do I have to fully remove the current paint becfore I can do anything?

You can always paint over painted models. (i do all the time) but you have to accept that details will be slightly loss every time you paint over stuff.

It will get VERY noticeable maybe 3-4 times in. then you may as well strip.

Looks like it was only 1 coat over the primmer, So it shouldn't be too bad. I reprimmed it, and the details still look good.

I'd just let it sit in the simple green for longer.

I normally use dettol. works all the time for me. i tried leaving it for a couple of days and the mini was fine. However, slightly off topic, if you buy stuff on ebay, have a little care, i bought a wolf lord once and dump it in dettol, the model swell up and was ruined. i guess it wasn't an original mini.