"Paint-stripping figures to start again!" Topic

I'm planning on removing the paint from some figures I had painted a few years ago that I've never been happy with, so that I can start again and retain the metal detail. Clearly, I want a cheap, quick, thorough and effective method without destroying the casting. Any recommendations?!

Simple Green or Pinesol. I've used both and both work well. Pine Sole is a bit more stinky and is rough on the skin. I use simple green now. You might have to let the subject miniatures soak overnight but the paint scrubs right off with a tooth brush.

John

I do this all the time. I use a relatively powerful paint stripper (don't remember the name off hand) but it is a pinkish gel like mixture. Put all your figures in a container and make certain all surfaces are covered with the gel(wear gloves…it will not burn your skin, but will irritate it, and it is best to do this outside, or at least in a well ventalated area.) I then let them sit in the mixture for several minutes, then use an old toothbrush to remove the paint. Even with a enamal finish I find the paint to come off very easily. Then place the figures in an old collender you plan to never drain pasta with again, and rince off the stripping gel.

(BTW, I have never found it to distort lead figures…as for plastic minis, I cannot comment on that.)

ilodic.

Castrol Super Clean is the paint stripper of choice for me!
link

Love the stuff!
Get a tuperware cassarole-sized container, fill it about half full, toss in the minis, cover and let sit for about a day… can go longer without degradation to plastics ((had minis in there for weeks without trouble)). Wear gloves when pulling the minis out of their bath and hit 'em with water and a toothbrush.
Done!

Best of luck to you!

Any cleaner with the active ingredient "2-butoxyethanol" will get acrylic paint off, and probably the primer, too. You're unlikely to get it all out of the deep crevices without a lot of work with a needle or a pin, but it should be good enough for tabletop repainting.

Simple Green does an excellent job with acrylics and primer – less so with enamel. I'm letting them soak longer to see if it helps, but I have some paint stripper handy just in case.

Interesting Ideas, I'll have to look into that Castrol product.

Forget castrol, break fluid, simple green, paint stripper or any other bizarre, enviromentally unfriendly, life threatening liquid.

Use Dettol.

Doesnt kill you, dirt cheap, available everywhere, cleans everything spotless, metals, plastics, enamel, acrylic, prefectly safe will never harm your mini.

Also this subject was covered in depth a couple of days ago:
TMP link

Noticed that you're based in the UK – Dettol Antiseptic 750ml should set you back £3-£4 I only recently started using it based on this thread

TMP link

Just done a batch of these just to see if it would get paint out of the engraved panel lines etc

link

minis were previously painted in acrylics and varnished

a 48 hour soak then scrubbed with a toothbrush dipped in the stuff i soaked the figures in and they came up like new – 100% of the paint removed and none in the panel lines etc (even the fine ones on the top!)

Apparently its OK on plastics too…

Forget castrol, break fluid, simple green, paint stripper or any other bizarre, enviromentally unfriendly, life threatening liquid.

Simple green is non-toxic and bio-degradable. That's the reason I use it!

Well I read that there is now concern over it containing 2-butoxyethanol (EGBE), and at 4x the price of Dettol its definitely unfriendly to my pocket

There are many Simple Green products out there. Which do you recommend? Is it the Original Simple Green cleaner?

for those about to strip – we salute you

(sorry – just been showing my daughters AC/DC Vids on Youtube after they were watching School of Rock 'That sounds like…. – Who wrote this? ahhh… angus.')

Dettol gets my vote for those in the UK. strips, does not eat human flesh, no toxic fumes, can even be used on most Plastics. However is struggles with some paints, so I use a two-step system nowadays – Nitromors, rinse then dettol.

Warning. Nitromors may melt off your face.

Pat

"There are many Simple Green products out there. Which do you recommend? Is it the Original Simple Green cleaner?"

Yes, Don: Simple Green All-Purpose Cleaner (concentrate).

*Anything* is toxic in sufficient quantity, even Dettol:

link

You might want to go easy on the Zatarain's, too:

link

Allen

A great and informative thread. I've used Bots Nail Varnish Remover (the cheap 99p bottle) then once the bulk of the paint is stripped, I've soaked the miniature in either white vinegar or Coca Cola!

I'll now try the Dettol stripper and see how this goes.

Tony
dampfpanzerwagon.blogspot.com

PS.
My wife and daughter will always complain if I bring my varnished figures into the house before they are fully cured, however the worse smelling nail varnish remover doesn't get a comment!

PS.
My wife and daughter will always complain if I bring my varnished figures into the house before they are fully cured, however the worse smelling nail varnish remover doesn't get a comment!

On a related note, my wife always leaves doing her nails until we get into the car to got to our evening out. The stuff stinks and makes me ill, but of course I can't open the window as the wind would ruin my wife's hair…

Steve P

Dettol?

Wire brush and dettol?

Had the privilege of seeing Billy Connoly do the joke live

link

An amazing response guys, thank you very much. I'm almost excited about such a retrograde, un-exciting step of the modelling process!

I have read that the oven cleaner, Easy Off, is very good at stripping miniatures. Haven't tried it though.

If you do a google, you will find a number of comparison tests for stripping paint from miniatures.