Stripping enamel paint from miniatures.

[Harry Faversham]

What's the best stuff to use to strip a figure back to bare metal please...
last time I did one it was Nitromose!

[robh]

That is still the best.  Only reason not to use it is worry about the chemicals.

If you want to go all "eco" then Biostrip20 is a very good stripper.

[JollyBob]

Dettol, if you can stand the smell...

[Daeothar]

I used to use DOT4 brake fluid for paint stripping (nasty chemical stuff). It works well enough on acrylics, but stay well away from it when trying to remove enamels; it will make the paint come off (sort of), but it will go all rubbery and you'll be pulling little strings of globby, stretchy paint out of crevices for weeks! Trust me on that...

My go to these days is a bottle of Simple Green I brought out of the US several years ago (only half full now, and gone dark with paint residue, but still fully functional). It's a miracle product when removing paint from miniatures, but not generally available on this side of the Atlantic...

[black hat miniatures]

Never tried it but I saw someone recently recommending boiling for 5 minutes in a solution of DAZ to strip Britain's figures...

Mike

[Antonio J Carrasco]

I've tried brake fluid, but for metals Nitro is still the best.

[Harry Faversham]

I've had a go at the figure I wanted using pure Acetone, it's worked perfectly. I'll post a piccy after he's all refurbished!

[Duncan McDane]

My go to these days is a bottle of Simple Green I brought out of the US several years ago (only half full now, and gone dark with paint residue, but still fully functional).

The solution to that is run it through a paper coffee filter  .
St. Mark fron the Action works very satisfactory as well, although I'm thinking about getting an Ali Express cheap ultrasonic cleaner filled with St Marc...

[Harry Faversham]

I've stripped and repainted two figures, tha Brigadier from Doctor Who and an Orc type thingy with a massive chain and a giant ball on his melon.
I'll post a couple of piccys tomorrow, The Orc's from a pile of stuff I'm trying to sell in the Bazaar...
think I'll use 'im as an example of wot's possible, in the sales campaign!

[Bloggard]

pretty sure that back in the 70s I stripped some hinchliffe rorkes drift jobs by boiling them in a pan with soda crystals, and scrubbing them with a wire brush - as instructed by my gran 
in my mind's eye they came up beautifully.

* - only just saw black hat's comment above - might boil down (*cough*) to the same thing ...
** - and of course the figures were painted with (matt) Humbrol enamels.

[Duncan McDane]

Granny knows best. Always  .
I always used the same paint stripper people use for removing paint from metal heaters or wood ( you know, you have to wear rubber gloves or you won't have any skin left ), but since we all went green I haven't seen it sold anymore. Most paint these days is water based as well. Still looking for the old stuff though, as there are potential Gaslands vehicles that need stripping.

[mcfonz]

Biostrip. By far the best I have used next to Dettol.

People mention other stuff but Biostrip is more or less odourless unless you stick your hooter close enough to touch it and is a non offensive smell.

I wouldn't touch any of the other stuff if you paid me to. The chemicals involved in them in a domestic situation is just a huge no-no and often they are overkill. Dettol and Biostrip work on plastics without damaging them. Biostrip works ok on resin as well, just don't leave it on for too long, which you don't need to to be honest.

[Condottiere]

I wanted to try Biostrip, but it's not available stateside and mail ordering isn't feasible...

I'd recommend Simple Green, but the formula may have changed, as it's not as easy to remove acrylics.

As soon as my jug of Simple Green runs out, I'll switch to LA's Totally Awesome: .



According to the reviews, LA's Totally Awesome works on metal and doesn't damage plastic, not sure about the different types of resin - if in doubt use Simple Green as it doesn't damage Forge World resin.

How to remove paint from your Warhammer models!
Regarding LA's Totally Awesome:

Acrylics (Citadel, Vallejo, Army Painter) are easily removed. Enamels and automotive primers can take a few more tries.