FAQ: Removing Paint - Paint Stripping

[Kable]

Brake fluid worked just fine for me, but it's always good to have another option out there.

 

Very true, more options are good! I use brake fluid when stripping the paint off my mini's. I use an old tooth brush to get all the paint off once they have been soaked in the stuff. After that i spray them black and none would be the wiser!

[Veldrik]

great post and hunting!

 

Also from Australia, I've been stuck with things like brake fluid, or hand paint stripping (so instead i just buy more mini's instead, to save the hassle).

 

It's great that you found that Ooomph stuff, especially since it would be great for the little kiddies who shouldn't be handling the brake fluid in the first place.

 

Thanks for the information! I hope to see the next part of your article soon ;) (mainly for heavily hardcoated minis)

[Drac0]

You know... the stripped picture isn't actually so far from a decent white finish!

 

Indeed

 

When I looked at the first two marine pics before scrubbing I thought "hey, you found an easy way to do highlights" :tu:

 

More on topic now, I've been using break fluid, no complaints so far, but you have found a nice alternative and probably cheaper.

[glayvin34]

When I get paint in the ferrule of my brush and the bristles start to splay, I've been rinsing the brush in 95% isopropyl alcohol. I figured that since the brush was already ruined with the splayed bristles, dunking it in a solvent couldn't make it more ruined. It actually worked just fine, and the bristles straightened out for the most part. The brush didn't become like-new or anything, just a little better.

 

I only have done this with my crappy brushes that are already fairly messed up, and I don't want to try it on any brushes that are still in good condition in case it shifts them toward the crappy brush end of the spectrum. Has anyone had any bad experiences using a high-percentage alcohol solution to clean brushes?

[Cedric]

I regularly strip paint from models using denaturated ethanol. Works well with plastics & metal, the only downside is the fumes.

[glayvin34]

Do you use a brush to put it on or soak? I'm just wondering if it can dry out the bristles and warp them over time.

[Cedric]

I soak with it. You don't want to breathe concentrated alcohol fumes for long, so sticking the models in a jar with a lid and pouring the contents down a drain and rinse 24h later is my method.

By then, both paint and primer is easy enough to remove by toothbrush.

[Mr.Millar]

Disclamer: i am not responsible for the melting of your models into a goey heap of gray plastic if you use the wrong remover, as stated below by cann0nf0dder, acetone is a big nono and will make any model look like a a titan plasma cannon victim.

 

I mentioned this breifly in another post, then i thought i should put it in the tutorials section.

 

The secret of easy paint stripping is simple: NON-ACETONE Acrylic nail varnish remover. you can get a litre of it off e-bay for £5.00 (10 Dollars) or, if you dont mind looking like a bit of a girl, you could buy some from a shop like boots, (not sure what the American equivilant is).

 

After having trouble stripping paint off models for some time, I decided to try some of my sister's nail varnish remover after i realised nail varnish is usualy acrylic. I poured some onto the side of a rhino i wanted to repaint, and it ate through the paint in seconds. The nail varnish remover won't affect the actual plastic of the models so all of the detail will stay on anything that you strip the paint off.

 

The paint can be brought off easily enough with an old toothbrush and anything pointy to get the paint out of the recesses of the model (i use the blunt side of my xacto knife).

 

Edit: added disclamer and warning about acetone.

[Solid Zaku]

Umm, the search bar is your friend. Might I also suggest looking up a strange concoction known as 'Simple Green'. It's far less toxic, won't melt your models, and it's got a lot more practical uses around the home.

[cann0nf0dder]

Ohhh, you might want to add a word of caution... Non-Acetone remover would be good, don’t try remover that has acetone on plastic minis unless you want a puddle of goo rather than a mini, acetone is a plasticizer so it is really good at “melting” plastic.

The Non-Acetone should be good to go as it shouldn’t affect the plastic at all, and it should be a lot quicker than some of the other methods that require you to soak the mini for a week or so.

[Doghouse]

If you're in the UK Fairy Power Spray is fantastic!

[chaplainmikey]

If you're in the UK Fairy Power Spray is fantastic!

 

I also use Fairy power spray,and to back up Doghouse,it is fantastic,for both metal and plastic models!

 

It's not expensive either,so if you get chance be sure to try it out.

 

Cheers,

Mike.

[odinswolf]

mr muscle kitchen cleaner (lemon)

[Skoby]

I've tried Fairy Powerspray, Acetone free Nail Varnish Remover and oven cleaner and I think it's fairly close between fairy powerspray and the nail varnish remover, the great thing about the nail varnish remover tho is you can fill up a tub/jar, leave a load of models in and take them out one at a time and scrub them off. A normally painted model only takes about 5 mins of soaking and a quick go over with a brush, some of the models I got given (seem to have had primer, then several thick layers of paint, then primer again then more layers of paint until they are noticably bigger than a normal marine ;)) then it will take a few minutes more soaking and maybe a second pass, but the powerspray seems to struggle slightly with them and leaves a few bits in hard to reach places that need scraping off. In my oppinion acetone free nail varnish remover is best for infantry whereas fairy powerspray is better for vehicles since it will stick to the side surfaces when you spray it on.

[Kalidane]

Umm, the search bar is your friend. Might I also suggest looking up a strange concoction known as 'Simple Green'. It's far less toxic, won't melt your models, and it's got a lot more practical uses around the home.

 

 

I assume by that you mean it can be used for stripping metal minis too :D

 

I've used the stuff for years without actually noticing what its intended purpose is

[tahrikmili]

I swear by Mr. Muscle.

[nurglephill]

OK so everyone needs to strip models of paint at one time or another and i have lost count how many times i have seen the question of how to do it posted. In the USA you get some mythical substance called "simple green" that seems to be the answer to all your prayers but if you dont live in the USA what do you do? Well i have tried pretty much everything, from brake fluid to hot soapy water and below are by far the best result i have gotten.....but most importantly i have gotten them with little or no effort at all! (which for me is the most important factor!)

 

 

OK to END the questions about what to use to strip metal models i give you this:

http://i332.photobucket.com/albums/m359/nurglephill/old%20models%20etc/DSCF0205-1.jpg

http://i332.photobucket.com/albums/m359/nurglephill/old%20models%20etc/DSCF0202-1.jpg

http://i332.photobucket.com/albums/m359/nurglephill/old%20models%20etc/DSCF0204-1.jpg

http://i332.photobucket.com/albums/m359/nurglephill/For%20trade%20or%20sale/DSCF0210-1.jpg

 

Remove EVERYTHING plastic! put them in a metal paint can or tin and add this:

http://i332.photobucket.com/albums/m359/nurglephill/Stuff/DSCF0149.jpg

 

Make sure NOT to get any on your hands use thick rubber gloves or long nose pliers to move the models about. you will see the paint start to come off right away, give them a stir with a toothbrush and leave them for no more than 10 min or so. you can leave them for an hour with no damage to the models but thin long swords etc will become very pliable so be careful!

pick the models out with the pliers and drop them in a bucket of water/ run them under the tap. If you do use a bucket beware that your hands will start to feel cold and tingly even though the NitroMors is diluted! now use the toothbrush, scrub away for...ohh..lets say 10 seconds and you will be left with:

http://i332.photobucket.com/albums/m359/nurglephill/old%20models%20etc/DSCF0212.jpg

 

for no effort what so ever! yay!

 

as for plastic models, i have tried many things (including a paste DESIGNED! to remove paint from plastic models....that did nothing...NOTHING! to the paint after leaving the stuff on for 10 hours! GRRRrrrrrrr) by far the best thing to use is Acetone FREE nail varnish remover (thanks Tim) but be warned, this WILL mess up your plastic models if you leave it in too long. cover the models in the liquid, stir and check regularly. remove models and clean up with a brush, repeat until happy.

 

This is not as easy as my solution for metal models, but its the best i have found for plastic.

[Solid Zaku]

Oh dear. I didn't realize how difficult it is for you guys outside of the States...I'll never take my Simple Green for granted again.

 

Nice RT Ultras btw.

[Solid Zaku]

Umm, the search bar is your friend. Might I also suggest looking up a strange concoction known as 'Simple Green'. It's far less toxic, won't melt your models, and it's got a lot more practical uses around the home.

 

 

I assume by that you mean it can be used for stripping metal minis too :P

 

I've used the stuff for years without actually noticing what its intended purpose is

 

 

Aye. I've stripped my metal librarian with no problems, along with his Vamp Counts Grim Reaper-looking guy I use for his familiar.

[wiplash]

how well does it do plastic, otherwise there are loads of products which are great for stripping metal

 

in fact i had better results with fairy power spray on metal, but on plastic it didnt cut it

[s1thl0rd]

One of my friends swears by dettol of all things, apparantly takes the paint off plastic without doing any damage to the models. By all accounts not the quickest of techniques (will need soaking overnight) but hey, if it works...

[averykess]

as for plastic models, i have tried many things (including a paste DESIGNED! to remove paint from plastic models....that did nothing...NOTHING! to the paint after leaving the stuff on for 10 hours! GRRRrrrrrrr) by far the best thing to use is Acetone FREE nail varnish remover (thanks Tim) but be warned, this WILL mess up your plastic models if you leave it in too long. cover the models in the liquid, stir and check regularly. remove models and clean up with a brush, repeat until happy.

 

This is not as easy as my solution for metal models, but its the best i have found for plastic.

 

I have had good luck with Chameleon. I just stripped a AOBR marine that had been primed with Krylon White Primer (was orange-peel finish; spray-painting in Houston in the summer sucks). The toothbrush swiped off everything it could reach and a toothpick scraped it out of the details.

[Huron_Grimm]

I second the Dettol option for UK gamers..

[odinswolf]

mr muscle lemon kitchen cleaner spray= works well on plastic, metal everything.. soak for an hour and toothbrush it clean.

 

also if used for 30 seconds it will remove any washes/glazes with out damaging the paintwork :lol: ( rinse well!!)

[nurglephill]

tried fairy, detol, cif etc. you name it i tried it and Acetone free nail varnish remover is the best i have tried. you just have to be careful not to leave the models in too long is the only down side.

 

the nitro mors is NOT good on plastic. it will MELT plastic in about 15 seconds. Remove ALL plastic back packs, arms etc before using it on models :lol: