Stripping Paint from Plastic and Metal Models

[ChaosReigns]

Hey guys,

 

I have some units that I painted ages ago, and they just really aren't up to snuff as compared to the rest of the stuff in my army, so I'm hoping to repaint them. I have a bunch of Khorne Berzerkers, some Chaos Marines and a metal Chaos Lord and Daemon Prince. I've never repainted anything before, so I was wondering: what do you guys use (chemical-wise) and how do you do it? Are there any particularly salient points with which one should be acquainted? Any chemical that can strip paint is probably pretty caustic, I would think. What kind of gloves would you guys recommend etc.? Should different chemicals be used for plastic and metal models?

 

Thanks in advance, guys!

 

-ChaosReigns

[lfhoule]

I'm sure others will (soon) point out that there are other threads here that deal with the question you have that you can do a search for. But, to answer your query for now, I use Simple Green as my paint striping agent of choice for both metals and plactics. It's non-toxic, and I just toss my models in a jar of the stuff, wait 2 - infinite days, then take an old tooth brush and brush the paint off, and that gets 95%+ of the paint off with no damage to the model at all. Only issue I've found with the metals is that if you soak them again, it does take the shine off, but other than that, it works great.

[Rutzah]

I dont think you need anything that drastic, that would require gloves and the likes. I simply use acetone (you know the thingy all the girls use to unpaint their nails) and a toothbrush. For better results you can let your minis soak in it, before you start working with the toothbrush. Thats the method i use on my miniatures, its cheap and fast and with good results and it doesnt affect the miniature plastic or metal.

 

Hope it helps, cheers

[Bungicats]

I'm sure others will (soon) point out that there are other threads here that deal with the question you have that you can do a search for. But, to answer your query for now, I use Simple Green as my paint striping agent of choice for both metals and plactics. It's non-toxic, and I just toss my models in a jar of the stuff, wait 2 - infinite days, then take an old tooth brush and brush the paint off, and that gets 95%+ of the paint off with no damage to the model at all. Only issue I've found with the metals is that if you soak them again, it does take the shine off, but other than that, it works great.

I use simple green and it works great.

I dont think you need anything that drastic, that would require gloves and the likes. I simply use acetone (you know the thingy all the girls use to unpaint their nails) and a toothbrush. For better results you can let your minis soak in it, before you start working with the toothbrush. Thats the method i use on my miniatures, its cheap and fast and with good results and it doesnt affect the miniature plastic or metal.

Hope it helps, cheers

Simple green has been around for years and is an organic cleaner that is safe around pets and kids even. I do wear gloves when using it, but ONLY because it even takes paint of your nails, nothing like ruining a good mani!

*spelling, grammar

[Fibonacci]

Simple Green, Pruple Power, Faery Power Spray or other strong degreasers are the most widely used and for good reason.  Any of these work well.  Soak over night to 48 hours or more.  Non-toxic and will never hurt your models; even resin models are safe.

 

Acetone is know to eat plastic.  Oven cleaners are known to etch metals and are caustic to skin as well.  Paint strippers will render plastic and resin into gelatinous goo.  Stick with Simple Green for all around best results.

[Kales]

For Metal Models I use Nail Varrnish remover, the cheep stuff, for plastic, fairy powerspray, even works on RT plastics.

[Mostwanted]

^{Surprised no one has mentioned Dettol liquid yet. I red that in a similar thread on here years back and use it for stripping plastic and metal models. Leave the models 1-2 days soaked in it and the paint simply slides off. I use an old toothbrush to get into hard to reach places.}

[Warpedpath]

A simple and effective ( and reusable if proper sealed) methohd is "Sterilium" a hand desinfectand used in hospitals, for example or
Mellerud PVC Cleaner ( but in fact I dont know how this stuff is called  or if and where u can get it outside of Germany...^^)

[Toxichobbit]

^{Surprised no one has mentioned Dettol liquid yet. I red that in a similar thread on here years back and use it for stripping plastic and metal models. Leave the models 1-2 days soaked in it and the paint simply slides off. I use an old toothbrush to get into hard to reach places.}

 

Simple Green is American so I suspect that most of the people offering their advice are too. It's easy to get over there so is the automatic solution to stripping, but is much trickier to acquire here in Europe, making it a less than ideal option.

 

Dettol does work well and like Simple Green needs no protection for the hands (Dettol being an antiseptic designed to be used on skin and injuries), although i've found that it can make the primer layer "sticky" if you use warm water when removing it. Also Dettol is widely available in the UK, but I have no idea about it's availability in the rest of Europe or on other continents.

 

Really, the answer to this question depends on where the OP lives.

[Kales]

dettol does work but can soften the plastic, the fair power spray seems to work better, my freind tried both so i choose to use the better of the 2.

[Lucien Eilam]

Simple Green products are often available on Amazon UK, through Marketplace sellers.

[Toxichobbit]

dettol does work but can soften the plastic, the fair power spray seems to work better, my freind tried both so i choose to use the better of the 2.

 

I've never had an issue with plastic softening, but i've not done much thin plastic (say something hollow, like a vehicle) with it. The thing is Fairy Power is significantly more expensive than Dettol, almost three times the price in fact. If i'd had problems with Dettol i'd be willing to pay more for Fairy Power, but i've been using it for three years without issue, know others who have been using it for longer without issue and I can honestly say that this is the first time i've heard of it softening plastic. Have you had any issues with Dettol yourself? How often did your friend use Dettol - was it just once and the plastic softened, or did it happen multiple times?

 

I'd like to avoid the softening the plastic of my models, but i'm not willing to pay more for Fairy Power unless i'm sure that Dettol is a risk.

 

Edit: I should proabbly also mention that i'm terrible at remembering I have models being stripped. I've left stuff for over a week in Dettol before (so long in fact, that the Dettol dried up...) without any issues or damage to the models.

 

 

Simple Green products are often available on Amazon UK, through Marketplace sellers.

 

True, but everytime i've searched it's been coming from the US with insane postage prices. Maybe i've just missed the sellers that aren't importing.

 

I did look into picking up simple green from their uk distributer a couple of years ago (Enviromental Cleaning Solutions), but the product is still expensive when compared to native brands so I didn't bother. Including P&P it comes out at £19 per litre and needs to be ordered online from one specific place (or have very high P&P on Amazon), compared to Dettol at £3.50 for 750ml and Fairy Power at £3:50 for 350ml, both of which I can pick up when shopping in my local store.

 

I should have been more specific and said that it's hard to get in Europe without paying mad prices, so not a good choice. Although if anyone knows somewhere to get it at a reasonable price, i'd like to try it out.

[Kales]

I havent used dettol based on the experience of my freind, it was mainly an issue with the smaller parts such as blades etc...

[Toxichobbit]

Fair enough. I'm sure I have some old models lying around, stuff like Brettonians that have thin lances. I'll dump some in dettol for a day or so and see if the plastic softens.

[Fibonacci]

Don't sweat getting the exact brand too much.  Any of the non-toxic degreesers will  work just about as well as another. 

[Mostwanted]

Dettol does work well and like Simple Green needs no protection for the hands (Dettol being an antiseptic designed to be used on skin and injuries), although i've found that it can make the primer layer "sticky" if you use warm water when removing it. Also Dettol is widely available in the UK, but I have no idea about it's availability in the rest of Europe or on other continents.

 

Yes, you have to be careful using water. I've found never use water to scrub the parts down when just removed from Dettol. Instead of helping the paint come off the parts it can make it go slightly clumpy and stick back on the parts in places which is quite hard to remove again. I always scrub the parts still using the Dettol. Once the paint has been removed wipe the model dry with some tissue and then rinse.

 

dettol does work but can soften the plastic, the fair power spray seems to work better, my freind tried both so i choose to use the better of the 2.

 

I've never had this problem with plastics becoming softer using Dettol. I've stripped lots of plastics and some quite thin pieces and not had this. I have not used Fairy Power Spray. But the price for Dettol is much better and as I've had no issues with using Dettol not felt the need to try it.

 

I have found though that if stripping lots of items, if your fingers are in the Dettol for some time your skin can start to dry out so I wear latex gloves.