Pine Sol question

[Supercollider]

Hi,

I bought some second-hand plastic minis cheap (old GW stuff) which were painted pretty badly.  I read about stripping with Pine Sol, and after a short soak and scrub with an old toothbrush, they've cleaned up pretty well.

I'm in the process of scraping off the mold lines, and with each scrape I can smell the delicious Pine Sol bouquet... even after I gave them a good scrub in soapy water, after their soak.

Does anyone know if it's safe to paint over a mini that still has a faint hum of Pine Sol?  is it a normal result of the process?

Thanks.

[Heldrak]

It's generally a bad idea to strip plastic figures in Pine Sol, as it will soften/disolve them if you leave them in it too long. As far as the lingering stench of Pine Sol goes, you may find that the "Lemon" variety is less oppressive than the "Pine" variety.

Figures will reek less of Pine Sol if you allow them to "off-gas" for an extended period in a well-ventilated place (like the windowsill). Another way to get rid of the reek of Pine Sol is to soak the figures in Simple Green after their Pine Sol bath. The bubblegummy scent of Simple Green will kill the odor of Pine Sol, is less sharp, and it fades much quicker, leaving the figures (mostly) odorless.

[Supercollider]

Thanks - I was very careful about the pine sol bath, I did a bit of research first, and it said it was possible, but to watch out for the issues you describe.  I used a very dilute mixture (60% water), and only soaked the figures for a very short while (an hour, or two at most).  The original paint jobs were pretty bad - they looked like grainy dollar store paint, so I figured they would lift off pretty easily, and that seemed to be the case.

Having said that - even after a short time in a dilute mixture, there was some softening of the plastic.  I used a very soft brush to scrub them, but I found that if I pressed into the bottom of the bases with a fingernail they would mark relatively easily (luckily the soft brush left all detail intact).

They've been ventilating for around a week now.  The plastic can no longer be marked, but they do stink a bit.  I reckon I'll paint one of them and see what happens.

Thanks again

[ErikB]

Are you worried about the smell or about how the paint would go over the mini if there is a small layer of pinesol remaining?

[Supercollider]

More about how the paint will react.  I figured that if the smell lingered (even after a good soapy/soak, the paint might lift after a while.  Haven't got around to painting them yet (busy doing other figs/terrain), maybe I should undercoat  a couple of them and see how they fair.

Thought others might have had some experience.

[ErikB]

So the question is about removing the lingering pinesol which you detect through smelling it.  I get it.

Try diswashing detergent like you would with brand new minis.  A good soak and swirl the minis around in the container with water and soap.

If that doesn't work, try hydrogen peroxide or rubbing alcohol.  Then do that soap rinse again.

The soap rinse last is actually pretty important because acrylic paint mixes with that soap in a good (and known) way.  For example, when I'm trying to get a nice even smooth coat on something (Black Templar armor or a first coat on an airplane, for example) I use a dab of dishwashing soap on my pallet.  It helps a lot.
Good luck.

[Supercollider]

Cheers! - I'll give the dishwasher detergent a go.  Usually I only use a bit of dishsoap to clean my figs (or to break the tension on washes), you learn something new every day

[Schogun]

I will echo the others. I use Pine Sol on metal figures and Simple Green on plastic figures. Pine Sol will soften the plastic. Then with metal, I use Simple Green to wash off the Pine Sol to ensure the paint sticks (maybe overkill here though).

[Supercollider]

Thanks, I'll give that a try on the next batch... still getting used to what products are available on this side of the pond.