Paint Stripping

Space Crusader

Space Crusader

Vassal
I should talk of stripping with this heat... but anyway, what do you guys use to strip paint off old metal and plastic miniatures? I picked up a few miniatures from ebay recently and the painting on them is rather shocking, even by my poor standards.

Cheers!
 
BioStrip 20. I just dip a figure in it and remove (normally use a pair of tweezers, then put it in a little pot and wait. Over time, that pot is building up 'spent' Biostrip, which turns from a kinda fluffy white to an orange gel but that works just as well. Normally leave it a few hours. I would probebly recommend a shorter amount of time for Plastics but so far has been fine with them.

However, Some plastics, like resins can have a problem I believe where due to their makeup, they melt like the paint. So some newer citadel plastics might be a bad idea for but unlikely to be too much of an issue.
 
Thanks - I appreciate the advice. I've just ordered a pot. No modern plastic for me - just old 90's era stuff. I take it you can brush it onto large models? I've just picked up an old Land Speeder that I'd like to repaint at some point.
 
Ditto, whilst it's not as easy/cheap to buy now BioStrip 20 is still my goto. Hard polystyrene plastics are totally fine in it (like Manic I don't leave mine in for days when doing plastics, metals I leave in until I get round to them), but I did try some sprue from some recent GW made-to-order marines and the sprue went very soft and just crumbled and even now it's "dried out" it's lost all rigidity. So I'd avoid any 'Citadel Finecast' certainly. I've never tried it with other resins, but I'd be cautious with those and test first. However metal and hard polystyrene - whack it on!
 
USA here. I use "Simple Green", "LA's Totally Awesome", and straight 91% Isopropal Alcohol, all available at the supermarket. It takes time soaking and some elbow grease with a toothbrush, but these are safe with lead, pewter, and plastics. A mix of Simple Green and Totally Awesome in a glass jar seems most effective.

I had a couple of metal pieces that needed Acetone. I don't think we can get Biostrip in the USA.
 
Brother Meredith said:
I am still using Dettol for paint stripping… significantly cheaper and more readily available. The smell has nostalgic connections for me too. 😅
Click to expand...
I use it too, it is really satisfying. Sadly it isn't releasing the glue or cement on my RT plastic Imperial Guard so I'll have to repaint as is and accept some slightly iffy poses.
 
I don't bother stripping plastic, because there's nothing can be done about the glue. For metal it's Dettol, leave in a pot for a couple of days then scrub under running water with a toothbrush. After that it's the same but with 100% acetone, to break down superglue and get any last bits of paint. Works a treat and they come out like brand new.
 
Clio said:
I don't bother stripping plastic, because there's nothing can be done about the glue. For metal it's Dettol, leave in a pot for a couple of days then scrub under running water with a toothbrush. After that it's the same but with 100% acetone, to break down superglue and get any last bits of paint. Works a treat and they come out like brand new.
Click to expand...
again, depends on the glue used. also, how does the glue matter when it comes to the paint? some people like to glue figures together before any paint goes on them.. I think on the whole that CAN be nuts as often the point of them being in multiparts is cause of areas which block off others (thus would be hard to single cast, and sometimes tricky to get a brush into).
 
On eBay I found some plastic 5th Edition Bretonnian horses, one was badly painted but had the metal horse head and legs of a Knight of the Grail. The paint was so thickly caked I thought the plastic wold be a total loss, but the strippers I mentioned broke the superglue bonds to the metal pieces and after a week in LA's Totally Awesome, the plastic horse scrubbed back to bare plastic. After some smoothing with scalpel and sandpaper, it's in line to be re-built and once again carry a hero of the Lady to war.

Last year I found a broken, awful paint-caked 4th Ed. High Elf Prince Tyrion for cheap, thinking I could salvage at least the metal rider and horse head, and so I have. But even the poor Caparison horse body stripped well and the combined cement and superglue were weakened by stripper and freezer, and the thing is going to be rebuilt as well.

I ended up putting the metal Prince - with a plastic sword added as the original metal one was broken away - and horse head on a plastic 5th Ed Bretonnian horse, as Tyrion's horse Malhandir is stated to descend from "the Father of Horses" and it looks good as the slightly bulkier Bretonnian-style charger. ( In lore Bretonnian warhorses descend from breeds used by the Elves of Loren) And I have Prince Tyrion for 1/3 or less of what nicer copies are going for over here.
 
Knight Girl said:
On eBay I found some plastic 5th Edition Bretonnian horses, one was badly painted but had the metal horse head and legs of a Knight of the Grail. The paint was so thickly caked I thought the plastic wold be a total loss, but the strippers I mentioned broke the superglue bonds to the metal pieces and after a week in LA's Totally Awesome, the plastic horse scrubbed back to bare plastic. After some smoothing with scalpel and sandpaper, it's in line to be re-built and once again carry a hero of the Lady to war.

Last year I found a broken, awful paint-caked 4th Ed. High Elf Prince Tyrion for cheap, thinking I could salvage at least the metal rider and horse head, and so I have. But even the poor Caparison horse body stripped well and the combined cement and superglue were weakened by stripper and freezer, and the thing is going to be rebuilt as well.

I ended up putting the metal Prince - with a plastic sword added as the original metal one was broken away - and horse head on a plastic 5th Ed Bretonnian horse, as Tyrion's horse Malhandir is stated to descend from "the Father of Horses" and it looks good as the slightly bulkier Bretonnian-style charger. ( In lore Bretonnian warhorses descend from breeds used by the Elves of Loren) And I have Prince Tyrion for 1/3 or less of what nicer copies are going for over here.
Click to expand...

That's the sort of thing I have in mind - Rather than buying mint or decent copies, I'm hoping I can save a few pennies/Cents by buying stuff that needs stripping and reworking.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top