"How to strip paint from plastic?" Topic

I know that it has been asked before, but… What product do you recomend that i can find in Canada? Non toxic preferably, since i have a kid at home. Thanks

That may rule out oven cleaner. But Mr Muscle and its relations sprayed onto plastic (I do it in a plastic baggie and ziplock it closed to help keep the agents in there). Leave for 20 minutes or overnight then have at it with running water and a toothbrush.

So long as you're dealing with acrylic paint, Simple Green and its ilk are supposed to work. You can get these from the automotive section of your nearest Canadian Tire.

And here's a mainly 'Canadian content' take on paint removal:

link

Thanks, gents!

Simple Green will take enamel paint off of plastic as well. If the paint is thick, it comes off in sheets leaving bare plastic. I soak them in sealed containers for a day or two personally.

DO NOT use anything that has heavy-duty emulsifiers. As an example, that "Orange Power" stuff that they sell door-to-door will soften the plastic as it attacks the oil within as well as in the paint.

A toothbrush and a dental pick are other useful tools for clearing paint chunks.

Wyatt

Hmm, I tried Simple Green on figures last week & it worked wonders on the metal, but didn't touch the paint on the plastic. The figures were old GW rogue trader stuff, so the plastic pieces were chaos marine jump packs, slotta bases & imperial guard plastic arms & weapons. Two soaking sessions for a total of a week, didn't make a difference. I was going to post here for other options, but looks like Beowulf beat me too it.

One suggestion I'd make is once the figures have soaked, take a high pressure garden hose sprayer to them to blast the paint off. Trying to scrub the paint off with a brush was taking way too long.

One suggestion I'd make is once the figures have soaked, take a high pressure garden hose sprayer to them to blast the paint off. Trying to scrub the paint off with a brush was taking way too long.

If you have a model that is multi-piece that may not be such a good idea. Even with a toothbrush and being very careful I still have bits pop off.

Very true Hacksaw, some of the arms & jumppacks did come off.

Plain olf rubbing alchohol will often work, but it may take 48 hours or more of soaking, and it doesn't seem to work well on enamels. OTOH, it doesn't seem to bother the plastic a bit.

"Plain olf…"? Oy, such typing!

Caustic soda works reasonably well

Robert

If you can find Castrol Super Clean (usually in the automotive section), or something similar, that'll do the trick. Look for stuff that warns that you shouldn't get it on your car's paint job…

;-)

As an added bonus it is safe to dispose down the drain. Just wear gloves when rinsing/scrubbing the miniatures, as it'll suck all the oil out of your skin.

Another bonus is that it does not smell good – it has sort of a stinging alcohol scent that should turn off the wee ones.

Later,
Markus

If the plastics are the D&D prepaints, staying away from the toxics is tougher, as whatever paint those use is extremely resilient stuff. The best remover for those seems to be toluene or toluene-dominated substances. The oft-cited "Fiebings Leather Deglazer" is mostly toluene, for example. Toxic, smelly, and flammable, but *extremely* good at removing even the D&D paints.

Very cheap nail polish remover is good! The expensive good quality stuff melts the miniatures the cheap stuff doesn't!:)

1. degreasers: e.g. casterol superclean- great stuff. I've left resin in it for 1+ months without problems.
2. simple green.

These two are great.