Ultrasonic Baths for stripping miniatures

[DaBoiKyknos]

Hello Fraters,

 

I hope this is the right forum. 

I have some miniatures I want to strip paint of and someone recommended me an Ultrasonic bath. 

Could you confirm if this a good method? Is it worth it to buy one?

What do you need to consider for buying or using one?

 

Greetings, Kyknos

[Maker666]

For me, the best method, which never fails, is to use this GSW paint remover inside a glass Tupperware. Fill enough to cover half of the miniature, soak the miniature, and leave it for 30 minutes. 

After that use a toothbrush to help remove the paint. Many times you can remove the paint almost with your fingers. If all the paint does not come off, leave it for another 30 minutes. 

This liquid can be reused many times, evaporating very slowly and does not smell bad.

 

The ultrasonic bath I think it can work well with metal miniatures, but the problem is that besides the ultrasonic bath, it also needs the paint remover, and finally after using it you have to remove the cleaning liquid and save it so that it does not evaporate. However, you will probably also have to use a toothbrush to remove the paint. 

[Firedrake Cordova]

Can't say I've ever used an ultrasonic cleaner for stripping miniatures - I've always just used IPA (isopropyl alcohol) or Fuze BioStrip 20, and an old toothbrush.

 

In theory, the ultrasonic bath should work and help remove paint from difficult-to-reach bits, although I imagine you'll need to use a fair amount of cleaner (due to the size of the container, etc).

[pawl]

Haven't tried an ultrasonic cleaner before, but then I've never really had a need to. I've always found that using iso or acetone (for plastic or metal) is more than enough. I do however have a bottle of something that might possibly be more effective, but more on that when I get a chance to try it!

 

I have however heard that cheaper baths can produce small sparks which could be dangerous combined with cleaning chemicals. Whether there's any truth to this I don't know, so please don't be scared based on just this post, but it's possibly something to research.

[Kage2020]

On 3/19/2024 at 9:16 AM, Firedrake Cordova said:

Can't say I've ever used an ultrasonic cleaner for stripping miniatures - I've always just used IPA (isopropyl alcohol) or Fuze BioStrip 20, and an old toothbrush.

 

In theory, the ultrasonic bath should work and help remove paint from difficult-to-reach bits, although I imagine you'll need to use a fair amount of cleaner (due to the size of the container, etc).

 

You can always but a smaller container into the ultrasonic bath filled with whatever you want. It's not that unusual to see multiple samples in (usually covered) containers in an ultrasonic bath in labs...