FAQ: Removing Paint - Paint Stripping

[Thantoes]

Ive used Fairy Power Spray to very good effect on both metal, plastic and resin. Just leave the mini in a jarful overnight and scrub off under running water. Works like a charm and wont damage the mini. I have left plastic mini's in it for weeks at a time to no ill effect.

[Ravendove]

I'm told Superdrug Acetone Free Nail Polish Remover (£1.27 for 250ml) is great for plastics. I have in fact just bought two bottles on my lunchbreak to try out at home tonight.

[Solid Zaku]

Simple Green is your safest bet. You can leave a model pickling for as long as you want with no ill effect. It smells nice going down the drain, and one of it's bigger selling points is that it's nature-safe, which a lot of similar cleaners aren't.

[Terminatorinhell]

Simple Green all the way, it smells nice, doesn't kill the fish and can't damage your models!

[Pig Of Sparta]

I swear by Mr Muscle kitchen cleaner. It takes most paints off metal and plastic in much the same way as Dettol, but without the need worry about oily mess. The paint flakes away rather than going gloopy so if you scrub it under water in a sink/basin then half your cleaning up is done for you as well. Usual safety advice applies though, wear gloves and keep the area ventilated. It's not deadly poisonous to breathe but I've had a few Mr Muscle related headaches after paint stripping before. Consitency wise about 50/50 with water should do the trick and leave it anywhere between 24 and 48 hours. Oh and use a glass jar or plastic tub for it, it'll eat metal tins if you leave it in for too long :D

 

James

[Boomsly]

i just used fairy power spray, not as good as people rave about, i left it to soak for 3 days and only just managed to remove a thin layer of paint with hard scrubbing.

 

i will be using acetone free nail polish remover next as they still need the paint stripping off.

[PhilArmstrong]

i've used brake fluid to very good effect. Can't remember the make of it but go into your local Wilkinsons and go to the car parts. Its a yellow bottle with a blue or black lid. about 2 quid.

[DarKHaZZ13]

FAIRY POWER SPRAY

 

cheap, non toxic fumes, and makes everything smell lovley

 

and we are done

[King Tiger]

dettol all the way, put the models in some old sweet tin in 1 layer, enough dettol to cover about half way up the models (assuming there laying down), and then add warm water till it goes creamy white, leave for a day, replace all the dettol with just warm water and let that soak for a few hours, get a soft brissle brush and start brushing, may wanna do it outside in old crummy clothes, it can get a little messy with the brush spraying bits of paint everywhere.

[darrkespur]

dettol all the way, put the models in some old sweet tin in 1 layer, enough dettol to cover about half way up the models (assuming there laying down), and then add warm water till it goes creamy white, leave for a day, replace all the dettol with just warm water and let that soak for a few hours, get a soft brissle brush and start brushing, may wanna do it outside in old crummy clothes, it can get a little messy with the brush spraying bits of paint everywhere.

 

 

Agreed, we've been using dettol and it's been pretty fantastic so far. Only issue is the oily residue that remains - I assume that's what you do the warm water 2nd wash for?

 

NB don't use a boiling water wash in plastics as I foolishly did on a space marine bike that now warps at odd angles and looks like a possessed bike!

[winterdyne]

Flash clean and care all purpose cleaner is excellent. Probably chemically very similar to simple green. Soak for as long as possible - 48 hours seems to work well.

[UltraRich]

Flash clean and care all purpose cleaner is excellent. Probably chemically very similar to simple green. Soak for as long as possible - 48 hours seems to work well.

 

 

Id second the vote for Flash. Its the one thats in a white and orange spray bottle and costs about £2.50. Just tip it into a jar and add the parts

 

Check out the thread here where I stripped some plastic bikes Clicky

[sofacoin]

Mr. Muscle Lemon Kitchen Surface Cleaner. Loves the (paint) jobs you hate, so much it'll keep them! Takes about an hour or two for it tocome off with scrubbing, after 24 hours most of it will have fallen away and the rest will slide off like skin off of roast chicken.

Leaves you nice smelling miniatures, too.

[darrkespur]

Mr. Muscle Lemon Kitchen Surface Cleaner. Loves the (paint) jobs you hate, so much it'll keep them! Takes about an hour or two for it tocome off with scrubbing, after 24 hours most of it will have fallen away and the rest will slide off like skin off of roast chicken.

Leaves you nice smelling miniatures, too.

 

I've got some of this, and a land raider off ebay in need of stripping. How do you do it - do you tip the liquid out of the spray bottle into a tub? Is it a good idea to add water (some of the products seem to like that) or not?

 

Cheers.

[sofacoin]

Mr. Muscle Lemon Kitchen Surface Cleaner. Loves the (paint) jobs you hate, so much it'll keep them! Takes about an hour or two for it tocome off with scrubbing, after 24 hours most of it will have fallen away and the rest will slide off like skin off of roast chicken.

Leaves you nice smelling miniatures, too.

 

I've got some of this, and a land raider off ebay in need of stripping. How do you do it - do you tip the liquid out of the spray bottle into a tub? Is it a good idea to add water (some of the products seem to like that) or not?

 

Cheers.

I've never had problems with undiluted Mr Muscle, and I just tip it onto the mini in a reasonably sized plastic box. I also like to occasionally give a little scrub with an old toothbrush, but it does fine without (just less satisfying!)

[darrkespur]

Mr. Muscle Lemon Kitchen Surface Cleaner. Loves the (paint) jobs you hate, so much it'll keep them! Takes about an hour or two for it tocome off with scrubbing, after 24 hours most of it will have fallen away and the rest will slide off like skin off of roast chicken.

Leaves you nice smelling miniatures, too.

 

I've got some of this, and a land raider off ebay in need of stripping. How do you do it - do you tip the liquid out of the spray bottle into a tub? Is it a good idea to add water (some of the products seem to like that) or not?

 

Cheers.

I've never had problems with undiluted Mr Muscle, and I just tip it onto the mini in a reasonably sized plastic box. I also like to occasionally give a little scrub with an old toothbrush, but it does fine without (just less satisfying!)

 

Thanks mate, that's great. Buying the LR already painted was a bit of a gamble, so nice to know I can do a decent job stripping it - i think dettol would struggle not to pool in the cracks based on my experience.

[The Damned]

Simple Green, I had an old rhino with a caked on paint job and I left it in a tube of simple green for about 2.5 days and barely anything happened. Even with some light scrubbing, the pint didn't want to come off. Am I missing a vital step?

 

Thanks

[Hubernator]

I'll add input this. Theres some Nail Varnish Remover (clear bottle, purple liquid and cap) that works in seconds. Soak it in a tin of the stuff for like 30 seconds and scrub off with a nailbrush. Cleaned 5 scouts (with the 'ardcoat on) in minutes <_<

[ThirtySixNights]

Watch out for Nail paint remover that has acetone in it, because acetone will do a nice job of turning your plastics into putty.

I have to say i'm another one of those simple green fanatics.. nothing works quite as well.

 

You can get it at Bunnings if you live in Australia or New Zealand, and i believe it is sold in Walmarts across the US.

not sure whether you can buy it in the UK

 

Edit: 200th Post :)

[Lord Wartooth]

Ok guys I got one for you. I made the horrible mistake of using the Army Painter Dip System. How would you remove their Quick Shade Lacquer dip from plastic models?

[momosgarage]

In the United States, Superclean is the best of all the degreasers. SimpeGreen is jut not as strong as Superclean. Remember you can always water it down too if you think its strong. It used to be called Castrol Superclean, but is now just called Superclean and is sold by Pepboys and some hardware stores in the United States. It will not destroy plastics. I have been using it for years on my GW stuff, even on old 1980's era beakie marines. I have soaked models in it for months without damage. SimpleGreen and Superclean are both degreasers and will remove paint, however SimpleGreen is not as strong and will not remove certain types of paints. Supercleam will also remove some glues, which SimpleGreen will not. I also think Superclean washes off a lot easier than SimpleGreen and is easier to spot if you have not removed it all. Superclean tends to fizz up like soap suds and its pretty obvious once you have removed all the residue.

 

I'll add input this. Theres some Nail Varnish Remover (clear bottle, purple liquid and cap) that works in seconds.

 

Nail varnish, which is an acetone will damage you models. Do not use it or any other acetone! You are much better off with a long soaking in a strong degreaser and then adding a little eblo grease with a stiff toothbrush

[The Damned]

Okay, I've tried the simple green soak (as stated above) and it didn't do a damn thing. the paint was as caked on as it ever was. I then tried Castrol Degreaser. That combined with a bit of brushing with an old tooth brush removed all of the caked on paint but it didn't even scratch the original base coat. Seemed a bit odd to me. Any other suggestions. I've seen a bunch of suggesstions for products I can't find in the states. I have heard people mention brake fluid. Any specific product you would reccomend? I'm going to avoid the nail polish removers since I don't eant to damage the model.

 

Thanks

[Master of fact]

As for army painter, that stuff is pretty much floor varnish. I may be wrong but there is a good chance said models are forked. For metal and plastic mini's i have had great success with Fairy power spray (UK) It lets you peel the paint off in mostly one go. I use this instead of Nitromors as i have kids and dont want it in the house due to the toxicity and the fact you have to dispose of environmentaly.

 

Cheers

MoF

[Uncle Mel]

My girlfriend has access to pharmaceutical supplies...

 

99% pure acetone strips paint of metals faster than you can spell it :D

[momosgarage]

That combined with a bit of brushing with an old tooth brush removed all of the caked on paint but it didn't even scratch the original base coat. Seemed a bit odd to me.

 

How long did you soak it in Superclean? Sometimes you will need to soak it for a few days and then use a very stiff brush to get the excess paint off.