How To Remove Enamels?

[SBRPearce]

I have recently rediscovered the miniatures collection of my youth (Heritage & Grenadier fantasy 25s from the late 1970s and early 1980s) and I'm toying with the idea of repainting them.

Problem: I painted them (badly) with Testors enamel, back in the day.

What's a good substance to remove this stuff?

[Schogun]

Confirming they're metal, Pine Sol or brake fluid.

[Doc Twilight]

Another option is Simple Green. Use it undiluted, and allow the figs to soak in it. I've found that particularly harder enamels may take up to 48 hours, but once they've soaked, it's a (relatively) simple matter of scrubbing with an old toothbrush (some use one of the soft heads on a dremel, actually, but I haven't used mine for that, yet).  Some will be so well softened that you can get a large amount of it off just by holding under a faucet running at relatively high pressure.

I haven't had much luck at all with Pine-Sol. Haven't used break fluid, but have been told that it will work (as will WD40, supposedly).

-Doc

[Schogun]

I also defer to Simple Green, but my experience is that it takes longer than Pine Sol. If plastic figs though, it's Simple Green all the way.

I have never tried brake fluid; just repeating from other posts on this subject.

[SBRPearce]

Thanks - I have both on the cleaning shelf. I've used them to lift acrylic paints, but didn't know if they'd do squat against the tougher stuff.

(Yeah, old lead minis - none of this "safety pewter" that came out later...)

[Lordblackwing]

If you have a safe well vented area, laquer thinner works well but is both flammmable and a carcinogen. Brake fluid seems a hit or miss as it does better with some colors/brands than others.