Heroclix paint stripping

[gnomehome]

Inspired by some excellent post on this forum, I returned to Heroclix repainting. Previously I used to strip Heroclix with aceton and a toothbrush, but after buying hundreds of Clix I looked for a less time-consuming method.

I decided to test the following products (pictures should be clickable to enlarge them)

Aceton - not dipping the brush in and scrubbing the miniature, but just immersing the mini
Blue Wonder (cleaning product form the Action store - a friend says he had great results using this on miniatures painted with acrylics)
Talens acrylic remover - I used this previously on plastic miniatures painted with acrylic with great results
Aceton-free nail polish - this is an alcohol/ethylacetate mixtures, also recommended as working great with acrylics and not destroying plastic miniatures.
A paint stripper I had laying about in the house.



Here we have the test subjects

Valkyrie facing the acetone sumersion (glass container - aceton dissolves most plastics)
Some AIM goons dipping into Blue Wonder
Sunfire swimming in acrylic remover
Swordman checking out the aceton-free nailpolish remover
The Fantastic Four braving the paint stripper - after the negative zone and Galactus this probably would be a walk in the park







After about one track of the old 'Disco Flyer' album (2-3 minutes), Valkyries aceton started turning blue. The swordman is the nailpolish remover was still looking fine.



At this point I decided to remove all figures and give them a quick once-over with a stiff bristled brush

Valkyrie came out almost squeaky clean and paintless after a slight brushing. No noticeable loss of detail. Swordsman was a bit flaky and very soft. The plastic became very flexible after only a short while in the nail-polish remover. I blame the ethyl acetate.
The AIM goon was cleaned thoroughly, though still fully painted. Blue Wonder turns out to be not quite so wonderful as a paint stripper.
No Sunfire picture, because nothing was happening. Maybe acrylic remover, removes only acrylic and not the (what I suppose) is PVC-based paint ?
Susan Storm reveiled an amazing depth of detail





Conclusion:


The paint stripper does the job excellently. No softening, no degeneration of the plastic even after a long time and minimal effort. Rather expensive product and you need a second step to clean the miniatures (I opted for a quick brush with acetone). Lots of safety warnings on the can (linked to flammability, probably caused at least partly by the foaming agent/propellant), but no noticeable smells. I use latex or nitrile gloves which did not deteriorate. I might go without breath protection the next time.

Immersing in acetone works excellent as well, just don't leave them in too long. It' a dirt cheap product. Breath protection is a must IMHO (if not for the possible health effects, at least for the smell). The room will stink. You cannot soak the figures too long, and it will eat through latex or nitrile gloves given time. My sturdy chemical resistant gloves lost their suppleness, but the aetone did not eat through it. You lose a lot of tactile feeling with these gloves and I became all thumbs with them. I'll probably stick to latex or nitrile gloves and replace them regularly.

Blue Wonder - will be used for its intended use, namely cleaning floors.

Aceton free nail polish. I will reserve this for metal miniatures only. Less eficient than acetone and makes clickies becom very supple. The bend with the brushstrokes, so the paint doesn't really come off al that good.

Acrylic remover - I'll keep this (very expensive) product to clean plastic miniaturs which are painted with acrylic. Does exaxtly what is says on the bottle. Smells rather badly as well.

[FramFramson]

Interesting. I've used acetone applied with swabs in the past and had to be careful not to melt the clix figure plastic. It does make the plastic soft and bendy, but this passes as the acetone evaporates.

[gnomehome]

Interesting. I've used acetone applied with swabs in the past and had to be careful not to melt the clix figure plastic. It does make the plastic soft and bendy, but this passes as the acetone evaporates.

I've never noticed this. When brushing with acetone I have even accidentily broken of smaller parts, which for me is an indication that they're not supple. The aceton-free nail polish remover on the other hand makes them extremely bendy, is can bend over an arm almost 180° without it snapping of.

It were effectively Heroclix or another collectible miniature game with prepaints ? The D&D based figures seem to be made out of a softer kind of platsic. DId you use pure acetone, or an aceton containing formulation (nail polish remover also contains a fraction of oil, which might interact with the plastic)

Maybe the kind of plastic varies from series to series ? So far I've encountered black clickies (older series) which seem slightly softer, creamy white ones (I have the impression these are bit harder) and transparent ones.

[Murmel]

When using Blue Wonder I leave them in for 24 hours, not a couple of minutes.

[FramFramson]

I've never noticed this. When brushing with acetone I have even accidentily broken of smaller parts, which for me is an indication that they're not supple. The aceton-free nail polish remover on the other hand makes them extremely bendy, is can bend over an arm almost 180° without it snapping of.

It were effectively Heroclix or another collectible miniature game with prepaints ? The D&D based figures seem to be made out of a softer kind of platsic. DId you use pure acetone, or an aceton containing formulation (nail polish remover also contains a fraction of oil, which might interact with the plastic)

Maybe the kind of plastic varies from series to series ? So far I've encountered black clickies (older series) which seem slightly softer, creamy white ones (I have the impression these are bit harder) and transparent ones.

I've used it on Mage Knight figures lots of times, and yes pure acetone. I've found all sorts of plastic colours underneath. White, orange, reddish...