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So I got some trolls from a buddy, from Privateer Press. Mulg the Ancient, and a Dire Troll Mauler. I had previously used this same batch of Simple Green to strip some Praetorian Ferox, but it was still pretty green so it seemed fine. Indeed, it stripped the outer layers of paint with a weeklong bath with ease! Mulg was mostly stripped from that first bath, with just a few bits of paint stuck in his (many) recesses, but the Mauler... Well my buddy used this guy as a litmus test for his trolls. After the weeklong bath I ran him under the sink and watched like 5 layers of paint wash away in moments!

But the bottom layer was stubborn and wouldn't come away. I stuck both of them back in the bath for a few days, and tried again. The paint was coming off the Mauler slowly, and I still couldn't get the paint out of the Mulg cracks easily. I stuck them back in AGAIN for a few more days. At this point the simple green was really dark, so I added in a splash more of the stuff to the soup, and came back a few days later. Mulg now has some black discoloration on his one arm. Only on the one arm though, which seems really strange, but it was the arm that was most deeply submerged. This is bare metal that has discoloured from the whiteish colour of pewter, to a dark gray colour. The area around the stripped parts that still had paint were still as red as ever, and the paint STILL doesn't come off. No discolouration on the Mauler, but the paint is still being stubborn.

So, does anyone have any tips or tricks with simple green and stripping? Should I go out and buy a pick? I've been trying to use the end of a screw to pick out the pieces in Mulg's recesses but the tip isn't narrow enough in those annoying little cracks. I'm also planning on freezing Mulg and possibly the Mauler too, to remove some pieces. I want to mod Mulg, because his base overhang is ludicrous and impractical as sin, and I want to magnetize the Mauler's arms like I've done with another Mauler I have. Freezing helps make the glue brittle and snap off more easily.

SO, to make a long post short, does anyone have any tips for using simple green, or have any experience with it discolouring metal models? I'd honestly like to just hit these things with some black basecoat as they are, I feel like if the toothbrush I'm using isn't gonna take this stuff off without significant effort, bumping it and handling them won't either. Do you think the Primer will stick to the simple-greened and brushed paint? Will it stick to the Discoloured metal? Also, does anyone know where to get a fine-pointed pick in Ontario on the cheap? I can post some pics if it will help the diagnosis, but my camera phone sucks so I won't bother unless someone asks. Oh, btw, best way to remove glue? Mulg is glued to HELL so I'm gonna need to remove at least a bit of that stuff before I start using the green stuff on him.

I use this method, its much faster, and you get all the paint off, so you shouldn't have to worry about the new primer sticking to the old paint.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7SsWOYMialA

Stick a metal model in acetone rather than simple green. Simple green works great on plastic and resin models (a 2-hour bath and I had my FW Deimos Rhino back to primer) but you can use something harsh like acetone because it won’t damage metal like how it would anything else.

Re a pick - just go buy toothpicks.

Simple Green changed formula and it isn't what it used to be. Try Super Clean/Purple Power (Walmart).

Purple Power won't damage plastic or pewter? Thanks for the tips guys

Don't know if Simple Green changed their formula, I still have the same bottle from over 10 years ago and it never held a candle to the stripping ability of Super Clean. With my jug of Super Clean getting low, I had been using the Simple Green and I was getting the exact same results as what you have described. Seems it discolors bare metal a bit. Also I believe that Simple Green loses efficacy rather quickly and needs to be changed out for a fresh batch.

After a week long bath in a once used jar of SG, I had a very heavily painted model that had barely started to come clean. I dropped it in a fresh bath of Super Clean and the paint fell off by the next day.

Oh, yes, Super Clean is safe for plastics. I had some bits submerged for months after forgetting about them, and they were fine.

So I went to my local Wal Mart and they didn't have Super Clean :/ is there another name for it or something similar that works?

 Nalydyn wrote:
So I went to my local Wal Mart and they didn't have Super Clean :/ is there another name for it or something similar that works?

Really? It's in the automotive section usually. If you only check the household cleaner section you might not find it.

 Nalydyn wrote:
So I went to my local Wal Mart and they didn't have Super Clean :/ is there another name for it or something similar that works?

Purple Power.

Purple Power and Super Clean are nearly identical products Wallmart carries. I was able to find Purple Power on the Wallmart CA website.

Yep, Purple Power is the cheaper Wal-Mart version of Super Clean (which is a Castrol product). Both automotive/equipment degreasers and would be in the automotive section.

I've found Super Clean at Auto Zone regularly. Super Clean is about $9 for a large jug - Purple Power is less.

I am doing a test right now with Simple Green, Purple Power (castrol), LA All Purpose cleaner, 91% iso alcohol. So far the Alcohol is the only one to remove the primer, the others are stripping the paint only.

Let me know how the LA Totally Awesome (or whatever) works - I've heard it's available at local dollar stores and would be intrigued if it's worthwhile.

Are you using an ultrasonic cleaner in your test?

La totally awesome does work though it loses potency fairly quickly after reuse.

but then its dirt cheap so who cares

Purple power was my go too and i could get it easy at the autozone.

now i use 99% iso propal alcohol and it works far faster and is safe on plastic. less so on resin from what i can tell though

 Elbows wrote:
Let me know how the LA Totally Awesome (or whatever) works - I've heard it's available at local dollar stores and would be intrigued if it's worthwhile.

Are you using an ultrasonic cleaner in your test?

No sonic cleaner. Just soaking and toothbrush. I can scrub tonight as its been 24 hours.

LA is only .99 cents at the Dollar Tree.

EXTRA EXTRA READ ALL ABOUT IT!

Ok so my testing is done.
I put a space marine model into its bath and let it soak for 24 hours. I did NOT dilute any of the mixtures. Everything was strait from the bottle. They are all painted the same way about 10 years ago to the same crappy quality by me. They all have a simple PVA and ballast base. Here is a sample pic of my awesome paint job.



I used Simple Green, LA's Totally Awesome, Casterol Purple Power, and 915 Isopropyl Alcohol. I don't live in the UK so no Dettoll. Also, didn't want to bother with Brake Fluid. After duning for 24 hours I took a toothbrush and did a light scrub on the models for about a minute each.

Note: I have stripped models in the past with both Pine Sol and Oven Cleaner, neither of which I recommend. Pine Sol will leave your model smelling like Pine Sol for basically ever. Oven Cleaner has A LOT of fumes and is just a pain.


Simple Green All Purpose Cleaner: $5.99 at Home Depot for 32 oz spray bottle.

Casterol Super Clean (aka Purple Power) $6.49 at Home Depot for 32 oz spray bottle.

LA's Total Awesome was .99 cents at Dollar Tree (only place I could find it locally) for a 32 oz bottle

91% Isopropyl Alcohol $1.29 at Target for 24oz.

Ranking and Results
There are a few areas on all the models that still have paint, that I will go back and scrub some more, but these were scrubbed for a minute to get a base line of what is most effective before I do this to another 40+ miniatures.

4.) Simple Green was actually the worst product. It didn't even strip off the base coats completely. The basing PVA and Ballast remained as well. Also, to me it smells like licorice which I can't stand. It's also one of the more expensive products.



3.) Casterol Super Clean (Purple Power) stipped all the base coat paint off, but did not strip off the primer or the Basing. SO if you want to keep your base, and primer intact, but just repaint the miniature this might be a good choice. Con's, it is the most expensive product and can cause Chemical burns. WEAR GLOVES.



2.) LA Totally Awesome stripped all the base coat and the Basing PVA and Ballast. It did not strip the primer off. So if you want to rebase your miniature and repaint it, but don't want to reprime it, this is the way to go. Smell isn't too strong, and this stuff is cheap as hell.



1.) 91% Isopropyl Alcohol (not the 70% stuff). This stuff was the only one to actually strip the PRIMER off, which apparently is hard to do. So if you primed your miniatures black and want to go white, or in my case try for a Preshading Zenithal prime, this is the way to go. It also stripped off the PVA & Basing Ballast as well. Also, this stuff is cheap. Cons: it smells bad, and it evaporates.



Overall Consensus: If you want to keep the primer intact then Use LA Totally Awesome, if you are really cheap you can take a coffee filter and pour it back into the bottle, but its only .99 so i wouldn't bother.
If you want to go all the way back to plastic, then 91% isopropyl alcohol is simply the best stuff, it also happens to be very cheap. Just make sure your in a well ventilated area.

I may use the LA stuff to keep the primer intact and then just do my Zenithal Priming over my existing coats to save one step, not sure yet.

Good info, though I'd admit you need to strip stuff for longer than 24 hours to see true effect. This can be accelerated with an ultrasonic cleaner (as cheap as $30 on Amazon). I will probably try LA's totally awesome sometime soon. I've only had extensive use with Super Clean but I've had it remove all primer I've encountered (admittedly metal models which are 90% of what I do - strip far easier than plastics - bonus!).

Oh yeah, these are all plastics. Metals strip way easier for sure.

I personally hate metals.

Yeah i think the ultrasonic cleaner agitates them. I may try and get one because scrubbing 40+ minis with a toothrbush doesn't sound fun.

Did the ultrasonic cleaner, and wow! makes it require hardly any scrubbing at all. only fit about 15 marines at a time though, but still. Definitely get one.

Yep, it can really speed up things.

If the paint is hardcore not going away try a tiny amount Paint Thinner in a cup and shake the model inside a little bit.

This will ruin plastic if you leave it in so use very sparingly.

What ultrasonic did you use (and like)?

A couple things about ultrasonic cleaners.

- the more you put in them, the longer they take. Don't overload your cleaner
- they have 'hot spots' where the sonic waves are focused, especially on the cheaper ones. You want your minis to be in those hotspots. Lightweight minis may be pushed away from them by the sound waves to the edges, so securing them in place is a good idea
- the more expensive your cleaner, the longer you can run it. Cheap ones can be overheated (these things do heat up) if you run them too long. Read your manual!

Update.

So i bought a cheap $30 ultrasonic cleaner and used LA Total Awesome and run a run cycles whenever I come into the kitchen. probably about 2 dozen cycles over the course fo 5 days. They are completed stripped to the plastic. Even broke down the super glue on metal figs. They look like they are fresh off the sprue.

In short, use LA totally awesome in an ultrasonic cleaner for about 5 days and run about 2 dozen cycles.

 John Prins wrote:
A couple things about ultrasonic cleaners.

- the more you put in them, the longer they take. Don't overload your cleaner
- they have 'hot spots' where the sonic waves are focused, especially on the cheaper ones. You want your minis to be in those hotspots. Lightweight minis may be pushed away from them by the sound waves to the edges, so securing them in place is a good idea
- the more expensive your cleaner, the longer you can run it. Cheap ones can be overheated (these things do heat up) if you run them too long. Read your manual!

I am really having a hard time believing you have an ultrasonic cleaner because nearly all of this is wrong. This might be true if you are using a cheap ultrasonic cleaner but i have been stripping models for years as well as industrial parts and have never encountered ANY of these problems.

I have stripped entire armies in one shot and have had zero problems. I currently have 3 carnifex, 2 tervigon, 2 hive tyrants and about 20-30 gaunts in mine right now and it only took about 2 hours to strip.

Good ultrasonic cleaners come with baskets to put stuff in to avoid metal to metal contact with the basin, these also prevent things from moving around. Even if you do not have a basket it makes little difference, at most you might have to move or flip floating models around and run a few more cycles.

Good ultrasonic cleaners have built in heaters because the cleaning fluids work better at temp. The ultrasonic cleaning process itself will generate heat. You really only have to worry about plastic melting if it gets too hot, which i have never encountered. Other than that you just have to watch out for burns from steam or splashes of the liquid.

For stripping you just need to make sure that your fluid is clean enough as it will take longer as it gets dirtier. Even saying this i have stripped models with some super dirty fluid i used for half a year and forgot about and used again by accident.

The other thing to keep in mind when stripping is what is on the model. paints, primers and varnishes all change the stripping process. Models i painted in the early 2000's with GW paint & primer will strip to bare plastic but stuff i painted a few years ago has a tougher time with primer. Army painter primers strip pretty well and even Rustoleum car primer can be removed depending on how thick it is.

Enamels and varnishes will slow the process a bit but i have YET to find anything i cannot strip with a few cycles.

I have used industrial ultrasonics with industrial cleaners professionally in the past to clean some of the nastiest crud and gunk you have ever seen.

My personal cleaner is a $300 6L no-name made in china with a built in heater and valve. I can fit a baneblade in it with room to spare. I use Purple Power and Super Clean as my go-to cleaners because they are pretty cheap and i can buy them in larger sizes.

We're talking about $30 jewelry cleaners from Amazon...lol.

Everything i said still applies, the fluid and cleaners are both designed to work at temp.