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Newer to the hobby, I recently got a bag of odds and ends and had a few models and bits that were metal, was wondering what the best way to clean them was, they look worn is the best way to describe it. I will try to send a picture when I get back home.

Are you talking about removing paint? Or cleaning up mold lines in metal minis.. and those little sharp-ass tags that they had millions of on every model.

For cleaning paint off. Anything will do but some of the stronger cleaners will react with the tin and etch the surface if left in too long. Like Purple Stuff will etc the surface. Gives some texture but, not ideal.

Other than that any standard paint removal method works.

For cleaning up lines and those bleed-you-good metal fishhooks.. files and an exacto. Yup, metal is a pain to clean up. Was easier when it was leaded. The lead-tin alloy was softer and easier to cut and file and clean. The later white-metal minis from the mid-90s or so are rock hard and you need to use good pressure to clean up.

Being honest, my usual tool for cleaning mold lines on metal is the back of an exacto knife dragged along it. Gates (the tabs) get dikes (not plastic snips unless you hate them having sharp edges) for the bulk, and then shaved off with the blade side (and then smoothed with the back)

Edit: "worn" makes it sound like they have pockmarks and other surface texture. Depending on how bad, solution could be a primer with some body, liquid green stuff, or resculpting with actual green stuff/giving it up as a bad job.

With worn I meant more texture on the metal i don't think it has pits just yet, here is a picture of what it kind of looks like. Could also just be the metal being a little older don't have any experience with the metal minis for the most part.

I think it just looks like age discoloration (oxidation of the metal). Light scraping or just prime it I think. If you have more than one, try priming one, and then escalate from there ( or just prime it and paint strip it if you don't like the effect.)

It might just be that its been paint stripped before and you've got some of the black undercoat still clinging or staining the gaps.It might well have no impact once primed, though if you're concerned you can give it another wash and scrub. Simple Green is what I recall many in the USA using - just pop the part into some and leave it for a good while (longer the better, most stripping agents gamers use are not going to harm metals in any way - you can even leave them in them for years without detriment to the metal).

Where you got them from? If 2nd handed then looks a lot like partially done paint strip.

I would suggest a various type of xacto knife blades, a 45 angle degree for normal cleaning as it allows you to use slight force to remove mold lines; a 60 angle degree for armpit areas that are hard to reach.

if its strip paint, soak in a Tupperware container of isopropyl alcohol 91% proof for a day and scrub.

Misfittoy wrote:
With worn I meant more texture on the metal i don't think it has pits just yet, here is a picture of what it kind of looks like. Could also just be the metal being a little older don't have any experience with the metal minis for the most part.

That is just old paint, soak in a cleaner. That design is later, 2000s? So its a rock 'ard white metal. I see a little metal fishhook (gate). Chaos used have metric tons of them which gives rise to Slanneshi leanings in metal chaos painters from all of the pleasure from pain.

Clean and Paint.