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Other Stuff => Workbench => Tutorials => Topic started by: BlackStatic on June 05, 2008, 10:35:16 AM
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I got some second hand models the other day that have some pretty average paint jobs that I want gone.
I've heard of using cleaning products, brake fluid, disinfectant...etc but I was hoping that some people here could share their personal experiences with different products and techniques and recommend their favourite.
Any help would be appreciated.
Cheers, 8)
Sam
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Many things do work, you are certainly not short of choices. I personally now favour "Fairy Power Spray" which is a non-toxic cleaning product. It takes a little longer, and perhaps a couple of applications on more stubborn stuff, but does work and there is no faffing about with rubber gloves and worrying about the ceramic on the sink etc.
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Thanks Svenn.
I also just noticed the related topics below - a great new feature
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Depends on the paint.
Acetone/nail polish remover will disolve acrylics into a pathetic little nothing. There are, as mentioned, less hazardous alternatives.
I have had good success removing enamels, laquers and oils with the commercial paint stripper you find at DIYs. That is however potent stuff and not at all friendly to the environment. But, hey!, fuck the owls, right?! ;-)
White alcohol (enamels) and turpentine or linseed oil will probably disolve oils if left in long enoughbut be prepared to do some scrubbing to.
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This is a very diverse topic as the correct paint stripping chemical depends not only on the material of the miniature, ie. metal, plastic, resin etc., but also on the paints used (acrylics, oils, enamels ...). If you use "stripping paint miniatures" on Google, you'll see what I mean ... ;)
Personally I use either brake fluid or oven cleaner. Brake fluid will need longer, but is useful for plastic miniatures, whereas oven cleaner spray will work quite fast but will disolve plastics. With both materials you can stop the reaction under running water and scrub the attacked colour with an old toothbrush. But be careful when working with those quite aggressive chemicals, always use eye-protection (glasses) and rubber gloves!
Most of the paint strippers from a DIY will also work on metal miniatures.
A slow but quite harmless and very environmental-friendly method is using Coca Cola :D I had very good results removing chrome from plastic parts I wanted to use for scratchbuilding. Chromed parts are quite common in plastic car and motorcycle kits and will not take glue and paint easily, so removing the chrome is necessary. Usually after 24 - 48 hours soaking the parts in Coke will show the bare plastic! But to my experiences only the original Coke will work. ;D
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I use Dettol disinfectant. Cheap, widely available (in the UK at least) and not nasty like many of the other chemicals that people use to strip paint. Good for metal or plastic and anything but the toughest paint jobs. Stick some in a glass jar, drop your figures in, leave 'em for for a day or two and then give 'em a scrub with an old toothbrush. However, I'd advise wearing disposable rubber gloves as I find it can really dry your skin out.
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I have great deal of experience stripping the paint off miniatures, and I've tried most of the methods/products commonly recommended on the various painting websites. Here are some of my experiences with pros & cons:
Brake Fluid
I had no luck at all with this (it did next to nothing towards removing any paint, even after soaking miniatures in it for more than a week) and it is highly toxic. That being said, I'm told that there are different kinds of Brake Fluid, so maybe I had the wrong kind...?
Pine Sol
Pine Sol works reasonably well as a stripper and it's readily available, cheap and non-toxic. You want to use the original Pine Sol (not the lemon-flavored variant) and cut it 50% with water (the water helps the chemical reaction). You probably want to soak the figure(s) for a minimum of 3 days. The cons with Pine Sol are the astringent Pine scent (which can linger on figures for a long time) and sometimes the paint will take on a sticky "tar" consistency which is difficult to eradicate completely. Fine for metals, not safe for plastics. Long-term soaking (a month or more) is good for removing stubborn paint in the crevices of models.
Easy-Off Oven Cleaner
Works very well and is safe for plastics. Care must be taken when applying (I use the spray-on variety and I hold my breath while spraying and cover the steel bowl I use to spray into immediately when I'm finished so I don't inhale any corrosive chemicals...). I let figures stand in a generous amount of the foam overnight. Probably works the best of the various methods, although paint on some plastics can resist it. Metals may become darker/discolored. Obnoxious scent may linger.
Simple Green
Guaranteed safe for plastics and has probably the least offensive scent (bubblegummy) but is rather weak in comparison to the other methods. I pretty much only use it on very delicate plastics, or as an after-treatment on the other methods to help cut the obnoxious smells they leave behind.
A word on scrubbing. After soaking, I scrub all miniatures clean in the sink with Dawn dish detergent and a denture brush (use a denture brush, rather than a tooth brush because they are much stiffer and they have a small pointed brush at the end which is good for getting into crevices). After scrubbing, I leave figures on the window sill for a week to "off-gass".
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Thanks everyone, I'll try some oven cleaner soon
Does it make a difference if the model has been varnished (metal mini, acrylic paint)?
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I use Simple Green for most projects, especially plastics or resins. However I have used this stuff called "Tire White"(brand name) that worked wonders. It is a bit difficult to find but it works great.
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Thanks everyone, I'll try some oven cleaner soon
Does it make a difference if the model has been varnished (metal mini, acrylic paint)?
I have not found that having a varnish coat makes any real difference when stripping paint- Sometimes it actually helps, as it holds the paint together and encourages it to come off in sheets...
I've tried Tire Cleaner (Westley's Bleche-White?) and it did not work very well for me.
Note: Do not use Pine Sol on plastic models (as it purportedly dissolves them).
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Note: Do not use Pine Sol on plastic models (as it purportedly dissolves them).
Do not use PineSol.
It has health issues when used improperly and stripping paint is one of those "improper" uses of the product.
I would suggest that before anyone uses a product that is not labelled as being non-toxic and/or water soluble that you do research on the health impact(s) of the product and the possible side-effects of using them.
PineSol and other similar cleaners are intended to be used at quite low concentrations in water. People that do use it at higher concentrations are supposed to wear masks and gloves.
PineSol is nasty and I am always surprised when people suggest it for anything. Think back to your earlier comment... it melts hard plastic. You can't think that the product is safe.
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I use Simple Green for most projects, especially plastics or resins.
I've had little to no success with it on plastics. Are you in the UK?
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Brake Fluid
I had no luck at all with this (it did next to nothing towards removing any paint, even after soaking miniatures in it for more than a week) and it is highly toxic. That being said, I'm told that there are different kinds of Brake Fluid, so maybe I had the wrong kind...?
Brake fluid effects vary wildly but it is also known to contain carcinogens.
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I use Nitromors - standard 'viscous' for tough jobs and 'Master Craftsmen's' for delicate work.
Its so good that I have no fears buying second hand painted models from Ebay etc. knowing that I can strip them easily in under a day.
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Note: Do not use Pine Sol on plastic models (as it purportedly dissolves them).
Do not use PineSol.
It has health issues when used improperly and stripping paint is one of those "improper" uses of the product.
I would suggest that before anyone uses a product that is not labelled as being non-toxic and/or water soluble that you do research on the health impact(s) of the product and the possible side-effects of using them.
PineSol and other similar cleaners are intended to be used at quite low concentrations in water. People that do use it at higher concentrations are supposed to wear masks and gloves.
PineSol is nasty and I am always surprised when people suggest it for anything. Think back to your earlier comment... it melts hard plastic. You can't think that the product is safe.
I certainly don't wish to promulgate unsafe use of a product...:o
That being said, personally, I always wear rubber gloves when stripping paint (even if the chemicals weren't harmful, the action of scrubbing with the denture brush would tear up one's fingers anyway) and I work in a well-ventilated area. Figures go from the dilute solution of Pine Sol straight to a scrubbing with dish detergent (and the Pine Sol container is then re-sealed) so I'm not touching or inhaling any more significant quantity of Pine Sol that anyone scrubbing a floor with it would get, so I'm reasonably confident of my own safety.
Easy-off is probably deadlier than Pine Sol- When I use it, I always rinse the residue away in a slop sink before I go to scrub the paint off the figures (or a burning in the eyes and the throat will result).
Frankly, in my experience anything that does a half-way decent job at removing paint is pretty deadly in one way or another, and products that are safer (Simple Green, etc.) do a fairly poor job. If anyone's got a recommendation for a product that's absolutely safe and very effective, I'd love to hear it...!
Any advice you get off the internet re: stripping paint should be considered to be intended for adults who will read warnings and take adequate precautions with their health when applying the advice.
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I use a toothbrush and water for unsealed minis. I only once scrapped paint of minis that were sealed, using a preparation needle to break the sealing. Works fine, you just need lots of time.
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I just used this stuff:
http://www.behr.com/behrx/act/view/products_detail?prodGroupId=9&catName=Cleaners+and+Conditioners&catId=3
It's the best so far, I've tried oven cleaner, brake fluid, rubbing alcohol. I put it on some GW skinks from the nth edition boxed set that someone had painted, then primed over the paint with what looks like an unmixed can of armory white primer (very gritty) and it took all the paint levels off. The skink looks brand new!
And it works even better on metals, very little scrubbing. I didn't follow their advice on using gloves, it did dry my fingers out.
I cut the bottom off a 5oomL water bottle, and filled the bottom of it with the Behr, and let them soak over night. It also had very little odor.
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Nitromors for me too, tried most other things over the years but Nitromors gives the cleanest removal of paint and varnish.
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Don’t know if it’s available where you live but I use Castrol Super Clean. It’s originally design for cleaning motor's parts. I let the miniatures in a tub of it for a few hours then scrub the paint left over with an old toothbrush.
In some cases, depending of the sort of primer used on the miniatures, It’s even possible that you’ll just need to rinse them in clear water to remove the excess paint.
Cheers! :)
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Castrol sold it. The product in some markets is now just called Super Clean.
And it appears to be biodegradable so it might not be all that nasty to use :-)
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On Castrol's Super Clean.
We call it teh 'Purple'.
This is a very effective and safe product if you use it correctly and take precautions.
I use Super Clean for acrylic paint on metal or on plastic. I have not tried it on resin.
If you use this product do not immerse your hands in it. Use gloves! Wear eye protection.
It'll bio-degrade you.
I use nitrile disposable gloves to protect the old flesh.
Give the painted mini a little soak in the full strength product for at least 24 hours for metal. It may take a bit of time, you know if you have 'sealed' the old paint job. I use a toothpick to test the paint after the soaking.
I checked my plastic minis several times in the 24 hour soak. So far I haven't had one go 'bad' in the soaking jar.
Method
Soak the miniature in 'Purple'.
Scrub the mini. I use a medium to stiff nylon brush, or an old toothbrush. Give the mini a good brushing.
Most times I can get the primer off.
If any stick to the crevases a little more soak and then a dental pick usually makes it all nice and bare metal once again.
Give the mini a little wash in warm soapy water.
Rinse.
Repeat.
Also, since I am 'thrifty' I don't throw out the 'Purple'. I save it in a sealable 'stripping jar'.
Your milage may vary.
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I will give a hearty "hear-hear" to Sendak's warning about the gloves when using the Castrol "purple". I forgot to do so one time. As best I can tell, the fluid strips all lipids from the skin. Not fun! Luckily I realized my mistake quickly and rinsed thoroughly, but my hands tingled for a couple of days after!
Stuff works like a charm, though!
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Well, I rarely strip minis, but I use ordinary 'brown soap' (that stuff you can use for cleaning wooden floors) for cleaning paint bottles/pots (to use as mixing pots), and it works for both plastic and metal minis - but only for acrylics.
Submerge the object in question in soap (preferably in a closed container, works best) for a couple of days, and then use an old toothbrush to remove the paint. If some remain in deep recessses, just repeat the process.
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Mr muscle kitchen cleaner. :)
I use it on metal plastics and resin alike.. never had any trouble.
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Not for the feint hearted - use LACQUER THINNER (available at automotive parts stores here in the USA for cheap $5 qt.) Put this in a sealable glass jar and drop your metal minis in for about a minute - this will dissolve almost any paint (not to be used on polystyrene plastic models). Lacquer thinner does not generally dissolve resin (unlike chemical strippers). Be careful and don't breath vapors ;D!! This is also good for cleaning your resin models prior to priming.
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Thanks everyone for the replies :)
I finally got around to it and used metho as i read some pretty good reviews and it's something that i always have lying around at home.
I soaked all the minis for a day or two then used the point of a needle file to get the paint to flake off and scrape off any stubborn bits. Ive only finished getting the paint off about ten but on average it takes me about 5 minutes per model.
I have nothing else to compare metho with but i found it effective and have no hesitation in buying second hand now and removing paint.
Cheers, 8)
Sam
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I use Nitromors - standard 'viscous' for tough jobs and 'Master Craftsmen's' for delicate work.
Its so good that I have no fears buying second hand painted models from Ebay etc. knowing that I can strip them easily in under a day.
Sorry I'm late to the party answering this one, but for stripping paint off lead minis I use paintstripper; Nitromors or Homebase own brand.
It works in ten-twenty minutes, wash off with water and rub with a stiff brush.
Don' t try this on plastic figures though...
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I just recently tried nail polish remover to strip a bunch of old mini's.
Worked very well, but destroys plastic.
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Good Old Dettol for me, a good going over with an old toothbrush and then a dunk in nail varnish remover (Acetone) if there is any of the nasty black tar stuff on them - you this alot if the minis have been base coated with black GW spraycan.
But for the love of the old gods, wear gloves if your using Dettol neat. First time I stripped any I appeared to have Leprosy of the hands for a week :'( very painful...
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I recently came across Colron Hard Finisher Stripper which is designed to strip back furniture to the original wood. The results were praobably the best I have had so far. It needed very litt;e scrubbing with a toothbrush and being a liquid rather than a gel wasn't half as mesy.
As usual it warns you to wear gloves but I didn't and without any painful results.
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The best stuff i have ever found for "metal" miniatures is "Nitro mors" paint striper,just use it in a well ventilated room or near a window.Just use a old brush/or better still a oil painting brush,apply a coat or onto the area you are working and watch it peel,then just clean with a toothbrush.
Apply as many coats as you need to get to the bare metal, then just rinse under a running cold water tap,thats it.
Figure be will brand new,clean and ready for painting,after this just wash in washing up liquid,dry then undercoat.
It will also remove old superglue with out any problems at all,i have just cleaned up a squad of second hand terminators,that normally retail for £30,i got the lot for £10 with the price of the Nitro mors,call it £12.
The only problem is i am tempted to go and buy lots of second hand figures just to clean up ha ha ha....
As for second "hand plastics" i use "cellouse thinners" these take longer,but will remove the paint.
If any anyone has any questions please feel free:).
Nitro mors will even clean up AT-43 figures as the plastic is hard and does not "burn" as normal plastic does.
Cheers all,
Yorkshire_Man.
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yorkshire man where did you get the nitro mors stuff from? Halfords or b&q or somewhere similar?
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I don't know about Yorkshire_man, but I got mine from Morrisons. But you should be able to get it in B&Q or pretty much any DIY store.
Edit: If you do use it - remember to only use it in a very well ventialated area!! I know its repetition, but it is always worth stating again and again and again!
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I get mine at Wilkinsons,or any DIY store.Sometimes they have that "ask your age" "or what do you intended to do with the product" safety advice.
Yes mate anywhere where you get Diy materails,paint anything like that.Price is usally the same as well.
Glad to be of help,
Cheers Yorkshire_Man:)
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Careful about how you use, and dispose of, Nitromors. I've heard tales of it eating through the plastic plumbing/piping of environmentally irresponsible types who've poured it down their sink. While I don't use the filthy stuff myself, a friend who does says, if you leave it exposed to the air long enough (e.g. in your garage), it dries out and is easier to dispose of.
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Good point!!
Nitromors dries out anyway,and if left to the air evaporates into it,thats why you should it near a window,or good ventalation.
When i have finished i reseal the tin and left the brush dry out itself,when i came back to it the brush was ready to use.
For information read the "tin and instructions" "IT DOES WHAT IT SAYS ON THE TIN"
Cheers all:)
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Don't drink or inhale the Pinesol and you'll be fine - safe enough to be poured down the sink. With all paint strippers wear gloves and possibly a face mask, depending on the smell, and goggles or safety glasses and plenty of ventilation. Large glass jars, like pasta sauce ones with tight lids, are the best. I've kept some metal figures soaking in Simple Green for months and no odors.
Castrol Super Clean is about as elusive as a White Castle, so the next best thing is Simple Green. Not as pungent a scent as Pinesol and safe on plastics.
Here's a table of various tested solutions as paint strippers from Dr. Faust's Painting Clinc, Ever Insane's Paint Stripping http://www.paintingclinic.com/clinic/guestarticles/removingpaint3.htm (http://www.paintingclinic.com/clinic/guestarticles/removingpaint3.htm)
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I just posted an excellent illustrated tutorial on my blog about using Simple Green to strip old paint from metal minis. Simple Green does a great job and is nontoxic, unlike a lot of other chemical strippers like brake cleaner.
Kyun originally wrote the article for his late, lamented Wee Toy Soldiers site, but since he's has to step away from the hobby he's kindly allowed it to be reposted. Anybody who has a pile of badly-painted minis bought off eBay should definitely follow the link.
http://thescreamingalpha.com/2009/04/28/stripping-paint-with-simple-green/
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Nice tutorial. Simple Green is expensive and not so easy to get hold of in the UK. Given this, I hope you don't might me posting one which I did for The Forum of Doom using Dettol which is readily available over here.
http://forum-of-doom.com/index.php?topic=10450.0 (http://forum-of-doom.com/index.php?topic=10450.0)
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I tried the Dettol method recently (Foundry shopkeeper that became G-G-Granville)
Worked well for me. :D
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Thanks for the link, Citizen Sade. I checked to make sure that Simple Green is available in the UK, but I didn't know it was expensive and/or scarce. Glad to hear there's a good alternative. I'll see about adding an appendix to that effect in the article, as I get a lot of readers from Europe. Would you know if Dettol a UK-only product or is it available in the rest of the EU as well?
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I don't really know about the availability of Dettol in mainland Europe as a whole, but one of the chaps on that Forum of Doom thread was able to find it online in Germany.
Regarding Simple Green, as far as I can ascertain, it's only available online in the UK. In contrast, all the supermarkets sell Dettol. The price is significantly different too - Simple Green's ?10.99 per litre whereas you can get 750 ml of Dettol for ?3.59 on Amazon for instance.
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Here's the website just in case.
http://www.simplegreen.co.uk/
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Mr Muscle oven spray cleaner. Models go in a jar fill with Spray, seal and leave for 48 hours wash off and tooth brush off the paint. But as stated it can discolour some models. 2 out of 5 1/600th P40s went dull. Just maybe left them too long but clean as can be.
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Mr muscle kitchen cleaner. :)
I use it on metal plastics and resin alike.. never had any trouble.
This, this and this only! :D
It's cheap, available in every supermarket (at least in the UK) and strips pretty much everything whilst still being safe to use on plastic and not melting your hands off or rotting your sinuses in the process. Why would you want to use anything else? ;)
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I've used Dettol before to good effect.
Interesting to hear about Mr. Muscle. Might give that a try some time.
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I've used Dettol to good effect at stripping GW paints from plastic and metal miniatures, but I found that going at the models with a toothbrush straight after the dettol bath (I tend to dip mine for around 24 hours - certainly no more for plastic models) caused a lot of the loose paint to "smear" over the model and it became stubborn to remove. I found that after the Dettol soak I got better results by removing the loose paint from the model with a sharp instrument before setting about it with a toothbrush, and the whole job was made easier.
For plastic models it's also important to wash off the Dettol with very soapy water, as water alone will leave the model plastic "tacky".