help with an ebay buy

[marvmoogy]

Hi all, 

 

I topped up my army with a bargain purchase from ebay, but with one problem...the models are really, REALLY bad (if you can picture a DA Chaplin, undercoated with a bit of white for eyes, a bit of gold on the detail and a BLOOD ANGELS TRANSFER!!!!!, you get the picture!) 

 

Anywho, I'll need to strip them down and I was wondering what people use to do the job but that doesn't damage the plastic?

 

Also, about glue.  is there any way I can give the miniatures a "bath" and get them out with the glue undone?  There are both plastic and metal to take care of.

 

Cheers, 

 

MM

 

 

 

[Grotsmasha]

The chemicals I hear the best reviews about are Simple Green and Fairy Power Spray. They both involve the same process of an overnight bath and a scrub with an old toothbrush, a repeat my be necessary. They are both safe with metal and plastic, no idea about resin. As for glue, super glue bond can be undone by making it brittle in a freezer overnight. For plastic glue, the only realistic way is to get out a knife and cut it apart. This is because plastic glue melts the pieces together effectively making them one piece.

 

Cheers,

Jono

[Aqui]

The chemicals I hear the best reviews about are Simple Green and Fairy Power Spray. They both involve the same process of an overnight bath and a scrub with an old toothbrush, a repeat my be necessary. They are both safe with metal and plastic, no idea about resin. As for glue, super glue bond can be undone by making it brittle in a freezer overnight. For plastic glue, the only realistic way is to get out a knife and cut it apart. This is because plastic glue melts the pieces together effectively making them one piece.

 

Cheers,

Jono

 

I agree with what Grotsmasha has said.  Simple Green and Fairy power spray are very effective for removing paint from minis and plastic is safe.  I use the latter, and leave the minis soaking overnight.  I usually spray it heavily over them and leave them in a Marmalade jar with the lid on (a good shake once in the jar works well).  An old toothbrush will get rid of the vast majority of the paint, although a cocktail stick or similar might be needed to get rid of lingering paint in the nooks and cranies.  A good wash with clean water will be needed to remove any lingering chemicals from the strip bath.  I find that superglue gets fairly brittle after using it, so clean up shouldn't be too difficult.  Plastic "Cement" as Grosmasha said melts the plastic together, so the only effective way to remove parts held together this way, is a sharp knife, a careful hand and lots of patience ^_^

[Izzuan]

I personally recommend oven cleaner myself. Mr. Muscle is my personal favorite, but any brand will do the trick.  Doesnt harm the plastic, but eats the paint like you wouldnt believe. Not sure how it reacts to resin/finecast though.

[marvmoogy]

thanks for the advice guys - really appreciated!  Must admit I've never heard of Simple Green (I'm in the UK) but I think the ol' fairy power spray should be a goer.

 

Just to confirm the technique...

 

Spray on to the model, leave it for a bit, then the miniature in a bath of the stuff.  Leave over knight then get the toothbrush, go to town scrubbing it then job done?

 

Cheers, 

MM

[Aqui]

thanks for the advice guys - really appreciated!  Must admit I've never heard of Simple Green (I'm in the UK) but I think the ol' fairy power spray should be a goer.

 

Just to confirm the technique...

 

Spray on to the model, leave it for a bit, then the miniature in a bath of the stuff.  Leave over knight then get the toothbrush, go to town scrubbing it then job done?

 

Cheers, 

MM

 

Mostly ^_^  I find (and you might find a better way that suits you ;) ) the best way is:

 

Put minis in a jar (or any container that has a seal-able lid)  and spray a fair amount of the spray over the minis.

Seal jar and shake well.

Leave between 6-24 hours (depending on how thick the paint is etc)

Wash minis in warm clean water, scrubbing with an old toothbrush (I tend to use a brush with stiff bristles for stubborn paint and a softer one for ones that aren't covered heavily).  Any paint that is stuck in details on mini can be picked out with a cocktail stick.

 

Obviously, the method depends on various factors, but the above is good as a general rule of thumb.  One thing I noticed when the minis were "ready" to be scrubbed clean is that the paint "bloats" if that makes sense.  You can see the paint puffing out away from the mini.  I did have a picture of a mini as an example for my WIP topic, but I deleted it by mistake.  But there will be no mistaking it when you start removing the paint from your miniatures.

 

One thing to remember - when you use the spray, be careful not to get it in your eyes and try to avoid contact with your skin, as it is an irritant.  Also, keep the area you use it in ventilated (ideally a window open), as there will be fumes (not really nasty, but it will get on your chest)

 

Hope that helps ^_^

[Yosef Hausakluif]

simple green bath and then a tooth brush and maybe a dental pick to get rid of the paint left in the seams and glue stuck on!

 

Good luck, and wear plastic/vinyl gloves to keep your hands from turning colors!!

[Guest]

I use Brake Fluid for metal and plastic.

[marvmoogy]

thanks for all the advice guys.  I didn't get on to stripping any models this weekend, but I did get on to dropping my cypher in the freezer.  After an hour, the bits just snapped off without an issue!

[Res Ipsa Loquitur]

I moved, fairly recently, from the UK to Canada and just FYI guys, Simple Green isn't available in the UK. 

 

What I did was buy a load of acetone-free nail varnish remover from Wilkinson's and use that. It worked pretty well but if you leave plastic minis in it for too long they'll start getting soft and you risk losing detail. Has to be acetone-free though, if it has acetone it'll straight up melt plastic. Test it on an old sprue before you commit minis to it. I just lost seven of my LPC minis because I didn't test a new brand. 

[marvmoogy]

cheers dude!

[nurglespuss]

you haven't got to muck about with simple green, fairy power spray, brake fluid or oven cleaner anymore. there's an actual paint stripper that is completely plastic safe and quick now. bartolene tx10 paint and varnish stripper.

 

its cheap and excellent. check out my various posts in the WIP,hall of honour and blood angel forums.

 

hope that helps :D

[Tasha]

I have used

EasyOff oven cleaner -works fast but really smelly, Wear good gloves. (used on Armorcast Resin with no ill effects to the model)

BrakeFluid  works really well to get off stubborn enamals and laquers. Also bad on the hands wear gloves

PolyS Easy Lift off works as well as Brake fluid and it pretty decent on plastic, Expensive, and hard to find ( I did leave an original plastic 'nid warrior soaking in the stuff for about 7 years and had no problems with the plastic)

Simple Green (damn this stuff works slowly if at all, I hate this stuff)

Pine Cleaner (ie PineSol or anything with Pine Oil in it). Works quickly, gives that great pine smell to the figs. Have left metal and plastic figs in for months with  no issues

Amazing (Stuff you find at US Dollar Stores). Works as well as pine cleaner, only a dollar a pint so it's cheap.

 

I currently use either Pine Cleaner or Amazing. I think I like the pine cleaner more. BTW most of the stuff I mentioned above will cause superglue joints to become brittle and fail. So minis that people assemble using superglue fall to pieces after soaking for a day or so. If a superglue joint is still together, I then use the freeze and break method mentioned in an earlier post.

I would recommend wearing gloves when using any of the above. Some of the stuff is easier on the hands than others, but why screw up you skin,. Nitrile Gloves (the ones for working on cars are thicker than the regular blue ones) will save your hands from a bunch of chemicals.

 

I use a stiff toothbrush, a Stiff nylon brush, and a brass bristle brush. Be careful using the brass brush on plastic, it can scratch the plastic if you are too vigorous in your use of it.

 

when you get all or most of your paint off then Wash in warm water using regular dish soap. Make sure you rinse all of the soap and removal chemicals from the minis. Let them dry and you are good to go.

 

Tasha