I need ideas for stripping paint

[Justin Buck]

I want to strip paint off some plastic and metal figures and I was wondering how to go about this.

Thanks,
Justin

[pixelgeek]

If its metal then use Simple Green. It won't work for plastic though. Its water soluble and non-toxic. Eats the paint off of metal.

[gilibran]

Have a read here.

http://www.paintingclinic.com/clinic/guestarticles/removingpaint1.htm

and here:

http://www.paintingclinic.com/clinic/guestarticles/removingpaint2.htm

[pixelgeek]

Pinesol should be avoided at all costs. Undiluted the fumes can cause respiratory problems.

[Justin Buck]

Thanks for the help guys

Justin

[twrchtrwyth]

If its metal then use Simple Green. It won't work for plastic though. Its water soluble and non-toxic. Eats the paint off of metal.

Where can you buy this?

[P_Clapham]

Simple Green is avalible at most stores in the States.  I'm not sure if it's found overseas.

[Evilcartoonist]

I've used Simple Green on plastics, and it works just fine for me. It won't damage the plastic at all. I use a glass jar and soak my minis in it for around 24 hours. Then I take an old tootbrush to scrape off the loosened paint. It may take a couple soakings and "brushings."

[redzed]

In the UK? get simple green HERE
It's expensive, but well worth it, after using it do not throw it out, it's perfectly fine to use again and again. It doesn't smell, is not bad for you etc. Not any good on plastic, really good on metal. Also really, really good for domestic cleaning.
OR
Use Dettol at 56p from Tesco, wear gloves.

[pnweerar]

Dettol.

Works on both plastic and metal equally well.

Place minis in 1:1 mix of Dettol and water for 24 hours.

Put on a pair of surgical gloves, grab toothbrush, and fill a bowl with soapy water (soap powder works better than hand soap).

Scrub. Don't worry about any slimy gunk that's loose but hard to get off, just plop the scrubbed minis in the bowl of soapy water.

Once you're done scrubbing all the minis, slosh them around in the bowl of soapy water. This will loosen up the gunk that remains. After they soak a bit, you should be able to give them another scrub and the minis will be mostly clean.

Take the soapy minis and leave them to dry. By the next day they should be fairly clean, and you'll find the really stubborn primer you couldn't remove the day before, are flaking off.

Depending on what you're dealing with, you may have to repeat the dettol soak after the first scrubbing, before going on to the soap soak.

This may not be a good solution for resin. We've tried it on some resin bases once and they came out oddly soft and Dettol-stained.

If you don't have a lot of time and cost isn't a factor, just use brake fluid. Soak in brake fluid. No scrubbing should be needed, after about two soaks you should have pretty clean minis.

[Hammers]

Acetone (like in nail polish remover) is very effective. Handle with care.

[pixelgeek]

I've used Simple Green on plastics, and it works just fine for me.

Do you have an older bottle?

At some point they appear to have changed the composition of the cleaner. People used to use it for plastics as well as metal with good results but the latest batches of it have been quite useless for plastics.

Test it to see but the plastic figures I cleaned with it had quite a lot of paint left on them.

[pixelgeek]

Dettol.

Do you mean Dettol liquid antiseptic? If so then the cleaning is probably coming from the Pine Oil in the product. Dettol does have ingredients that are not soluble in water though so you risk getting a residue left on your minis.

If you don't have a lot of time and cost isn't a factor, just use brake fluid. Soak in brake fluid. No scrubbing should be needed, after about two soaks you should have pretty clean minis.

The only brake fluids that work as mini cleaners are also very unhealthy.

The active ingredient is ethylene glycol which can cause respiratory and skin problems. In general brake fluid is listed as a potentially poisonous substance.

Using it to strip minis is really inviting a health problem.

[pixelgeek]

Acetone (like in nail polish remover) is very effective. Handle with care.

It will also dissolve plastic will it not?

[twrchtrwyth]

Dettol.

Works on both plastic and metal equally well.

Place minis in 1:1 mix of Dettol and water for 24 hours.

Do you mean Dettol antiseptic?