"Stripping figures" Topic

I have some metal figures that have too much paint on them.

What is the best/most common way to strip them and start over?

Thanks

I use Simple Green, just pour some in a container and let the figs soak in it for a few days. The paint should rub right off. I use an old toothbrush for detailing. Although I haven't tried it, you can use SG for plastics as well.

The most effective method I have found is to use a household paintstripper. In the UK a popular variety is Nitromors. I'm not sure what a US equivalent would be.

Do it in a sealable container, preferably out of the house as it will stink to high heaven as well as being a bit toxic. Keep it away from kids and pets. It should lift most paints and varnish including enamels and polyurethane fairly quickly.

A slightly more environmentally method is to use a household cleaning product like Dettol in the UK, Simple Green in the States. I'm led to believe the key ingredient is Pine Solvent so should be available in the States. It will also stink a bit but at least you can flush the residue down the kitchen sink afterwards. It will lift most paints but may struggle with auto cellulose spray paints. A gentle brush with an old toothbrush will help but keep it away from water until all the paint is loose. It may take several days to work through several layers of paint.

I've also heard that some people use brake fluid or even caustic soda. I've never tried them.

+1 for Simple Green. And it has a pleasing odor!

If it is metal and only metal, with no plastic bases, you can use acetone (nail polish remover). I purchased a large can of it from the paint thinner section of my local home improvement store.

I have used simple green in the past with both plastic and metal, and gotten good results. The place were acetone shines, however, is in dissolving wayward super-glue on multi part metal figures.

Dipping plastic of any kind into acetone will likely ruin your figure, so be absolutely certain you're only interested in retaining the metal parts of your figure.

Listen to SonofThor.
IT works on plastics too.

One question: Metal or plastic figures?

Metal figures – Zip Strip Marine Varnish Remover Gel – works in 5 minutes, handle with care and use safety equipment.

Plastic figures – Castrol Super-Clean for car engines – soak over-night and scrub the next day with a tooth brush. Removes everything safely, every time. Safe for virtually everything plastic and works on metal too, just takes more time.

Thanks everyone!! Simple Green takes me back to my Army days when we would purge/clean our fuel tankers in Iraq. Ahhhh…. memories.

I use Simple Green as well, and it is great at taking off acrylic paint. If you leave the mini in long enough it will even start to attack super-glue. Be careful with Citadel Finecast in it though. My experience is that after too long in Simple Green the Finecast will go all rubbery. Battlefront's hard resin sculpts don't seem to have this problem.

I highly recommend Windsor and Newton Brush Cleaner and Restorer. It is non-toxic, biodegradable, low odor, and will dissolve all the paint on the figure. I use it to recover old paint brushes and had it completely clean years old paint from them. In one case it removed the paint from the handle of a brush. I have had no problem with it stripping old figures I wanted to repaint. Safe and very good at what it does and works even when "dirty".

link

I use methylene chloride, I get it from work and it gets right down to the bare metal!

TUFF STUFF is a spray-can from home depot that deploys a thich foam that smells like pure chemical warefare… that eats all paint on any surface in a few minutes… I use it to de-paint diecasts and remove "lead rot"

another +1 for Simple Green and an old toothbrush.

Simple Green or Pine Sol or Easy Off oven cleaner.

Simple Green.

Thanks to everyone for the feedback. The Simple Green worked great!!

This thread does not live up to it's title!

I've come to find the best thing to use (ONLY on metal) is nail polish remover. I had some figure I wanted to clean, did my normal soak in Simple Green and waited, brushed, but it still left the typical "detail" areas with paint. Took a bottle of nail polish remover out from under my bathroom sink and poured a little onto my brush. Got the models clean within 2 minutes. As said above its the acetone in it that really works and I would keep that stuff away from plastic or resin.

Plus we all have a woman in our life, so just sneek a little from them.

A lot of silly stories and a good sancerre

I like Castrol Super Clean. Works great!