"Removing Paint" Topic

I have been to Halfords (uk car bits chain) and Sainsburys in the search for "castrol super clean" or "simple green" as these look to be the best paint removers out there as far as i can see. I want to be able to strip plastic and metal using the dunk method.

I believe they are both sold as de-greasers and the only thing i could find that fit this billing was a product called "Muk off". Has anyone tried this for stripping paint? it warns that you should not leave on bike paintwork for prolonged periods of more than a couple of minutes which sounds promising.

Alternatively can anyone sugest where i can get either of the other two products from? I can not find castrol super clean as a product on the net through google. I have found simple clean but that is mail order only, i was hoping to just buy some from a shop (but appreciate i may have to bite the bullet).

Thanks in advance you lovely people.

Did you try the "Where to buy" inquiry on the Simple Green UK Web site?

simplegreen.co.uk

Or did they tell you it's mail order only?

Anyway, that's what I use, so I could recommend it. Safe t work with at the kitchen sink, no skin irritation, yada, yada. But…

Simple Green won't take off CA adhesive, or any paint covered by CA. And it doesn't always get out the paint in deep crevices.

So the other day, I soaked some figures (previously run through Simple Green) in acetone-based nail polish remover to cut through the CA, and voila! The rest of the paint dropped right off, and the figures looked cleaner than new.

I'd never considered acetone as a stripper before, and it isn't the nicest stuff. But it sure works as a follow up.

Allen

I wouldn't try acetone on plastic though.

Did I understand correctly that the UK equivalent to Simple Green was Dettol ?

Why does the name of a product have to change from one part of the world to another? I can't stand that! We will probably now find that "Muck Off" is the equavalent of Castrol SuperClean!

I wouldn't use acetone on plastic either; and I still need to test it on resin for disassembling Battlefrotn vehicles.

Dettol is poisonous, so it's not an exact equivalent. Simple Green is sold in the UK as Simple Green. The question is: where?

Allen

Could I use Dettol as a stripper ? I promise not to drink it.

I use acetone to strip metals. And I used the stuff straight -- not nail polish remover. It will melt plastics -- it turned the bases into a gooey mess. And it will dissolve super glue. And nail polish. Along with the finish on your table, countertop and anything else you wish to keep nice.

Don't use acetone in plastic containers either. I use an old glass mixing bowl. The fumes are bad -- so ventilate well.

Car modelers in the UK use Dettol as a stripper. Just be careful.

The El Cheapo nail polish remover I have just has N-Methyl-2-Pyrrolidone (another solvent, not awfully hazardous), castor oil, and fragrance added to the acetone. But yes, take care with it.

Allen

Dettol is only poisonous if you quaff it in large quantities.

I have used it very successfully on hard plastics and metal figures. The important ingredient is Pine Oil. I wish I could find a cheap source of that stuff neat. It must be awesomely good as a metal stripper.

Pat

I use Dettol,

Sane Max is right, nothing wrong in using it to
Removing Paint, just do not drink it.

Toll

Dettol is similar to Pine Sol, so yes, it will strip. But there are oter phenols in those sorts of products, so I wouldn't go splashing it everytwhere.

Allen

Yes, I stripped a bunch of miniatures with Dettol not so long ago. It was very effective – it took off GW-type paint, primer, enamel… Even softened up glue, so I was able to pull multi-part minis to bits really easily and get them back to their pristine state. Made them much easier to sell on Ebay!

I left the minis immersed for 24 hours – less time might work just as well, but I've only done this the once. And, like an idiot, spent an hour with the stuff all over my hands while I was cleaning the paint residue off with a toothbrush. It hurt, a lot, and took the top layer of skin off both hands over the next couple of days, so wear rubber gloves or at least be a bit more careful than I was!

But yes, it's a very effective stripper.

Sweet, i read that dettol was good for this somewhere on TMP after i posted this, i will give it a go…

I recommend Dettol, but use the cheap disposable plastic gloves (I've stripped hundreds of figures using it). However Dettol will melt plastic if left in it for very long.

Simon

Is Dettol ok for use on the plastic figs that came with the original MB Heroquest?

I got complete package with a poorly painted set of minis and fancy jazzing them up a little. They have been painted in a globular fashion so just painting over would not work too well.

I suspect it would work. The key is to work out how long the plastic can cope with immersion, by testing one figure 9or a bit of the sprue if you have some) to destruction!

Pat

Maybe i will just order a couple of bottles of simple green as that seems to be considered "safe"

Simple green works just fine, but you need to soak some things for a few days. What I do is wait till I have a bunch to do, then start off with as many as I can fit in a large coffee cup. As soon as I'm done with the first batch, I dump more into the same solution, wait a few more days and have at them with a soft metal brush and pick scraper ( I use a toothpick, safty pin, and unbent paper clip). When the solution gets too murky, I paint what I have done, then start over with new simple green.