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What is the best solution to use in an ultrasonic cleaner for stripping paint from minis?

Dettol, simple green or something else?

Australian Simple Green is pretty crap.

Dettol will do it, but the active ingredient in that for us is Isopropyl Alcohol, which is better (imho)

I have 1 litre of isopropyl alcohol... maybe I'll try that in a bag or something and go from there. Thanks.

What I ended up doing was filling the ultrasonic with water, then getting one of these, filling it with iso, then putting the lid on and letting it go.

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Bain-Marie-Tray-Steam-Pan-Gastronorm-Pan-1-9-65mm-Stainless-Steel-/300911621474?hash=item460fbaf562:g:jWUAAOSwnDZUBAop (not sure that has a lid)

It can get really hot though, even without the heater on.

Does the iso evaporate? Should I mix iso and water? What proportions? The ultra cleaner that I have is a $40 cheap ebay toy. Its 50W & 42KHz. But it fits a squad of termies so it's all good!

Yes it evaporates, but that is why I have a lid on it - generally it gets dirty long before evaporation is a problem.

Don't mix it

I had one of those horrid things, then I got a slightly not so cheapy one from ebay (was like $120) - the key thing this does is runs for up to 99 minutes instead of 8 minutes - the extended time makes a huge difference.

Mine works for 30 mins per cycle max. What I think I'll do is run it until it dies and then buy something decent if I'm happy. Possibly something big enough to fit a predator/rhino etc.

Thanks to everyone for their advice thus far.


Automatically Appended Next Post:
Oh! I didnt understand. You put water in your cleaner, then create a compartment with iso... I get ya now. I think my cleaner is small enough to run it with only iso. I think mine is 600ml, so I could 2/3 fill it.



Automatically Appended Next Post:
If the iso evaporates is that a problem with regard to my health? I know drinking it is very very dangerous and I'm scared of breathing it too if I leave 600ml of it lying around even with the flimsy lid down (which will do little to nothing).

I wouldn't breath it in if I were you....
http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/docs/81-123/pdfs/0359.pdf

How well do ultrasonic cleaners work? I just soak and toothbrush. Do you still need to scrub the figs afterwards or does the paint just slough off?

 Inflatable love badger wrote:
I wouldn't breath it in if I were you....
http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/docs/81-123/pdfs/0359.pdf

How well do ultrasonic cleaners work? I just soak and toothbrush. Do you still need to scrub the figs afterwards or does the paint just slough off?

I too would like to know the answer to this as I've left some painted models in dettol and water for the last couple of days. Wondering how much longer I need to leave them in for and if I will need to be scrubbing them loads with old toothbrushes...

Dettol does the trick, but keep an eye on it if you use it undiluted. It'll work well but too long in it and it starts to effect the plastic.

I leave stuff in for at least a day to a week maximum (usually from forgetting ). Then you want an old toothbrush, warm soapy water and to gently scrape it off rather than scrubbing. The paint should just lift off and not need the scrubbing anyway.

 Inflatable love badger wrote:
I wouldn't breath it in if I were you....
http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/docs/81-123/pdfs/0359.pdf

How well do ultrasonic cleaners work? I just soak and toothbrush. Do you still need to scrub the figs afterwards or does the paint just slough off?

That CDC guide isn't terribly terrifying, just says you'll get drunk if you boil it and sit your face over the pot.

Ultrasonics are meh, at least in my experience. I was hoping to drop something in, come back in a few hours, pull out something perfectly clean. Doesn't happen.

I've left my blood angels in iso alcohol for over a year.

The plastic seems fine to me. Kills resin though

I use LA's totally awesome. Its super cheap and can be found at dollar stores. I used simple green for years and this is way better. Totally safe for all model types. Leave in in a few days and go at it with a tooth brush.

http://www.amazon.com/Totally-Awesome-Purpose-Concentrated-Cleaner/dp/B00579Z6Q2/ref=sr_1_15?ie=UTF8&qid=1452715013&sr=8-15&keywords=la%27s+totally+awesome

That is more expensive on amazon than in the dollar store but still great.

Literally won't ship to Australia.

If you're importing and scared of chemicals, I'd go for biostrip

If you can get Fuze biostrip 20 in Oz, it is far better than Dettol.

 n0t_u wrote:
Dettol does the trick, but keep an eye on it if you use it undiluted. It'll work well but too long in it and it starts to effect the plastic.

I leave stuff in for at least a day to a week maximum (usually from forgetting ). Then you want an old toothbrush, warm soapy water and to gently scrape it off rather than scrubbing. The paint should just lift off and not need the scrubbing anyway.

QFT. My S/H termies didn't like dettol + ultrasonic cleaning for too long. The dark grey plastic began to turn light grey and ever since they've been a little soft and extremely easy to trim with a blade. I'm worried it won't paint well now, but I guess I'll see...

The only problem with Dettol is getting the smell off post cleaning.

Just bought some Dettol stripped figs on ebay, had to soak them in soapy water for a few days and pick off the last remnants of paint to stop them smelling.....

Have been recommended to use Biostrip...

K.