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Paint removal on part of model


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So, I'm fairly familiar with how to strip a model with a lovely smelly dettol bath, but if I wanted to remove the paint on just part off a model, what would be my best bet? I'm thinking primarily of things like shoulder pads to redo badly painted chapter badges and such.

 

Any ideas? Or is this a fool's errand?

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I am considering this for a plastic sword on my Ltd Terminator Captain but I'm worried about damaging other parts....

 

I have done this with metal, and it's easier.... but for plastic I don't know. So I've researched it and I think I'll try Simple Green. It's readily available here, but I'm hoping it does a good enough job I can paint a smooth airbrush layer on it after and still see the engraved details.

 

I'm a little worried about it. If anyone else has done this, I'd appreciate hearing your thoughts/experiences.

I'd suggest you try to rig it up so just the sword is safely suspended in the Simple Green. It takes hours, so you won't be able to attend to it the entire time, but as long as it can't sink or fall in it should be okay. Just don't use anything like blu-tac that might stretch under load to hold it.

 

Worst case, you'll have to strip the entire thing and start over, but it won't damage the plastic.

Probably? I prefer to define solvents by what's in them, rather than what isn't. :D

 

I have used some really harsh stuff on things like plain shoulder pads though, even solvents that I know will eat styrene. There's no real detail to lose, a cotton bud only holds a tiny bit at once, and you can rinse it off the second it goes through the paint.

 

Recessed details can be tricky, but it's hard to go wrong on a flat surface.

What I would recommend is you strip the whole thing in something known to be non-harmful like Simple Green, and paint it all from scratch. Because the results of that are predictable, and you can't blame me if it goes wrong. tongue.png

You could paint a bit of sprue the same way as you painted the miniature (i.e. spray undercoat, and all the rest), and try your nail varnish remover (in a well-ventilated area, preferably outside). See what happens.

Personally, I've used all manner of plastic-damaging stuff to get paint off a flat surface very quickly, including liquid cement, acetone, benzine, industrial cleaners, all sorts of nasty stuff. But I won't recommend you try any of those, because there's a fair chance of knackering the model and many of them are varyingly unpleasant or dangerous to handle and use.

I'm just saying, if you're careful, it's the sort of task where you can get away with a lot more than you could if you were stripping an entire miniature.

having a lot of experience with simple green, i would recomend against using it to strip PART of an assembled/painted model. for stripping the whole thing, simple green is great...but for part, well, it takes a bit of time and doesnt quite work how youd expect. now if the piece can be removed, or isnt attached yet, then sure, simple green will work.

 

if youre only trying to strip down a portion of the model, or correct a minor mistake, or are just interested in general experimentation...well, a bit of enamel paint thinner (i do like mr hobby thinner for this myself, or mr color thinner if you will), will do the trick. just be cautious how much and how large an area you work it into. as a side, ive also found this to be an interesting way to soften color blends. takes practice and a light touch, but the results are interesting....

Xtracrylix Purisol Paint Remover can be applied by brush and works in about 5-10 minutes or so. At least on flat surfaces the paint usually just peels off and I'd reckon it's pretty easy to control the area from which you remove paint. Quite expensive, but definately the best paint remover liquid for acrylics that I've ever seen.

 

I got mine online from Hannants in the UK.

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