"Stripping Paint " Topic

I bought some African infantry that someone had primed with black paint. Some of the figures were partially painted. Worst paint job I've ever seen so I decided to strip the paint off.

I soaked them in Simple Green for 2 days and then used an electric toothbrush and running water to clean them. I was surprised (and disappointed) at how much paint remained.

I need to do a second soaking. Is there something better to use than Simple Green?

I live in California so products availabe only in the UK won't do me any good.

Thanks.

If the figures are metal, or even plastic, you might try spraying them with Easy Off Oven Cleaner. Back in the '80s I used this method to strip paint off plastic model railroad cars. Worked for me.

Dettol disinfectant works for me on most metal figures painted with enamel or acrylic. Leave to soak for a week. Don't use water when brushing the remains off or it will turn into a sticky mess. Leave to air-dry and then brush again. Don't mix dettol with water.

Sadly, "Simple Green" had it's formula changed a couple of years back to meet environmental laws such as those in CA. Your best choice now for a quick and thorough stripper is Brake Fluid! It will strip faster and more completely then anything else out there. Of course it does mean an added step of soaking and washing in a strong dish washing solution, but it will take all the paint off!

I use Goof Off, couple days usually cleans them down to bare metal

Pinesol works for me.

Pinesol had its formula changed too

Pinesol will work if you do not run water while you are brushing the paint off. Just use the brush when you remove the figures from the Pinesol.
Rinse them later, after you've removed the paint. Water kills whatever chemical in Pinesol removes paint.

And only use the original green formula.

My guide for stripping miniatures with Dettol hope it helps.

As always, comments are appreciated.

Take care

Andy

I pretty much use Super Clean, as it won't damage plastics, I personally haven't used it for resin, but I was told it works for that too. Just soak the models over night and clean them with a stiff tooth brush.

It used to be called Castrol Super Clean, its an engine de-greaser. It's purple and comes in a purple jug.

You can try nail polish remover/acetone. Soak them for 5-minute increments, use your electric toothbrush to scrub them, then rinse in water with dish soap, rinse in water, dry, and then re-paint, as desired.

Acetone/nail polish remover will strip the paint off of Mage Knight plastic figures, so it should work for what you have. Cheers!

I've been using LA Totally Awesome recently. Available in Dollar General all over California.

Acetone works well.