Newbie Question: Remove Paint, Paint over or ???

[Revfan]

Greetings.

My son (10) discovered my old Dungeons and Dragons books (and when I say old, I mean old... circa 1978-82) that I used when I began playing when I was his age.  He wants me to teach him how to play, and to play "properly", you need miniatures. 

I have been hunting around Craigslist and Ebay to score some bargain old school Ral Partha/Grenadier type stuff... and a lot of what I have found is already painted... horribly.

The question is, when you are going to paint used/painted figures, do you:
Remove the old paint first or just paint over the mess that is already there?

I have a set of Acrylic paints on the way to me... and am hungry for some suggestions.

For you old hands on this forum, yes, I did try using the search function, but didn't find anything to answer my question on the first few pages of results.

Thanks, in advance.

[headache]

If your miniatures are metal try nail polish remover (with acetone)
few minutes, then brush with teeth brush
This works on acrylic paints I don't know if on oil paints also.
Do not try this on plastic miniatures it can dissolve them.

I hope this helps

[jp1885]

Or you could be lazy like me and just spray undercoat over the old paint job and start over

[Major_Gilbear]

Strip.

If the paintjob is good, and close to what you want, a quick refresh/repaint is fine. If they are *horrible*, don't waste your time trying to overpaint them.

Common paint strip suggestions are:

• Simple Green (used neat, usually found in the US)
• Dettol (cheap brown stuff, used neat, found in UK)
• Fairy Power Spray (keep covered, fumes are strong)
• Oven-off oven cleaner (keep covered, fumes are strong)
• Castrol Superclean
• Dot4 Clutch & Brake Fluid (Halfords in the UK sell it)
• Ethanol-based nail polish remover (don't use on plastics)
• Acetone (don't use on plastics)

In each case, you soak the models in the stuff of your choice for at least a few hours - overnight is good - and then clean them off with a toothbrush, some warm water and a little detergent. If there is still a lot left on, repeat the process until you are happy.

I also use a combinatorial approach of the strippers above:

- If it's metal, then Acetone first, rinse, brush and dry; then Simple Green, then rinse, brush and dry.

- If it's plastic, it gets a week-long soak in Dot4 Clutch & Brake Fluid, rinse, brush and dry; then Simple Green, then rinse, brush and dry


Any putty or glue will usually come loose or dissolve, especially after prolonged soaks. I view this as a good thing, but it might be an issue if the  model is converted and you want to keep it that way.

One last thing to be aware is that old lead is really delicate. If you put them in a glass jar or such to soak, try to avoid packing in too many or moving them around too much - the bumping around in the jar with each other can often be rough on the finer details and sharper edges.

[zemjw]

Another vote for stripping (perhaps I could have phrased that better ).

I've used Mr Muscle oven cleaner on metals painted with enamels with quite a bit of success, but I'd probably stick with Dettol for plastics. The problem with Dettol is that it stinks for months, so that's something to be aware of.

There's a LAF thread here on cheap 28mm fantasy miniatures that's worth perusing. The original Grenadier figures are generally still available new, which would save you having to hunt down and repaint old ones.

There's another minis thread on Quality fantasy minis as well

Oh, and welcome to LAF


edited to add the link to the quality fantasy minis thread

[Sbloom141]

If the paint isn't particularly thick I don't think there's anything wrong with painting over the bad work, unfortunately though thick paint and bad paint jobs usually go hand in hand. For me it would depend on how much detail is obscured. It's just a shame because stripping is a messy job!

If your son will be doing the painting though it might be nicer for him to start on a blank canvas.

[Revfan]

Thanks for the replies guys!

The minis that I am hunting down are the old school ones as well (I get to relieve my youth/memories while creating some for my little dude).  But part of the problem is that some of the old school castings are not that detailed to begin with.  Add the potentially gooped on bad paint, and I'll probably have my work cut out for me.

The other sticky wicket is that I am a cheapskate/bargain hunter, so I'd rather not buy new.

Lots of great suggestions.... I'll get to work.

And thanks for the welcome!

[nathan]

If you're in the US (or Canada) I'd recommend LA's Awesome Cleaner.  In Canada you can get it at Dollar Tree locations.  Apparently it's more widely available in the US.

I also like pine sol for stripping metals.  Though it does tend to darken the metal surface.  It doesn't seem to make a difference once you prime, but it can be surprising the first time you use it.

[harleyface]

in germany there is also
mellerud pvc bodenreiniger
great stuff

Florian

[Mindenbrush]

Remove by any of the above methods and re-paint 

[Lowtardog]

Timely thread I have 6 eldar rangers that I need to strip..dettol woohoo

[Nord]

Strip. Then prime properly with a decent primer. Then paint.

If you are UK based, you can use Biostrip as a stripper. It's the best I have used and is also safe in the environment, unlike most of the others. It's easy to use, smells okay and is relatively kind to the hands (use gloves unless you don't mind a bit of skin removed). I would avoid Dettol, it stinks and is a real mess to work with. Brake fluid, leave it in your car! Acetone, again the smell is abysmal and I never got good results. Simple Green is quite good, but needs days to work. Biostrip is king for me, works on metals and plastics in a couple of hours, washes off with water, easy on the nose and the environment. You can buy it online.

[Cubs]

Plus one vote for the Dettol although Lidl do a very cheap own-brand version which works the same (the only other brand except Dettol I've found that does work, because it combines isopropyl with pine oil).

Plus for Dettol (or Lidl's version) -

1) it's cheap,
2) you can strain it after and re-use a couple of times,
3) it's not too caustic (see below),
4) you can strip plastics with it,
5) no unpleasant fumes (unless you don't like the pine disinfectant smell).

Minus -

1) you do have to wear rubber gloves if you're dong more than one or two, because that stuff will mess up the skin on your hands unless you wash it off quick,
2) you need to leave it for a while to soak - at least overnight (I use old jam jars),
3) you have to be careful to scrub the mess off (with an old toothbrush or such) before rinsing with water - as soon as the water hits it, the paint will re-set,
4) it can leave a slightly sticky finish afterwards, (prime the models straight after to stop it being an issue).


Some like it, some don't, all down to preference.

[pacarat]

Thanks for the replies guys!

The minis that I am hunting down are the old school ones as well (I get to relieve my youth/memories while creating some for my little dude).  But part of the problem is that some of the old school castings are not that detailed to begin with.  Add the potentially gooped on bad paint, and I'll probably have my work cut out for me.

The other sticky wicket is that I am a cheapskate/bargain hunter, so I'd rather not buy new.

Lots of great suggestions.... I'll get to work.

And thanks for the welcome!

I have a bunch of  "old school" figs lying around. Be happy to mail you some, gratis.
Just let me know what types your looking for, and I'll see if I them on hand.

[Revfan]

Thanks Pacarat... I sent you a e-mail.

Very nice of you, I'll take you up on it!

Cheers!