Experiences stripping paint from minis

Fimm McCool":30nvrgni said:
given a week in standard Dettol not much sticks.
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Right but sometimes you have to take a toothpick to remove things in the recesses, acetone just bluntly dissolves it and annihilates any trace of paint to leave an immaculate model. (or maybe I'm overdoing it :roll: )
 
I'm in the Dettol camp. Plastics don't get melted either, I used paint thinners as well but you couldn't put plastics in it. Best of all the figures are now germ free!
 
I've used:

Simple Green (my preferred so far), strips plastic and metal and, oh look, a UK supplier. Though it can darken the metal somewhat

Dettol - not had much luck with this so far. The paint sloughs off but stays tacky and makes a mess of my cleaning toothbrushes. Though every metal I've had has come out pristine

Paint Stripper (from B&Q) - works really well for metals

Finally, a sonic cleaner is useful. The best success I've had so far is for models being given a good soak in Simple Green then 5 minutes in a warm water sonic cleanic. Paint is really easy to remove after that. I tried sonic cleaning dettol dunked minis with mixed results so far. I may try simple green then dettol (or vice versa) and then the bath...
 
The trick to using Dettol is to wash the mini off (After the dunking) with washing up liquid and a toothbrush that way it comes off easy and doesn't kill the toothbrush
 
Chico":1hnpfpgq said:
The trick to using Dettol is to wash the mini off (After the dunking) with washing up liquid and a toothbrush that way it comes off easy and doesn't kill the toothbrush
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Yeah
Hot water and fairy liquid on the toothbrush after a few days soak in dettol for me too
The trick is to do it late at night and clean up the mess before the wife sees it and shouts at you for gunking up the brand new bathroom suite you just had fitted :)

I must try the acetone though, I have a few models that I now recall priming with white satin car spray cans back in like 1991 or something that are proving extra stubborn with everything I've thrown at them so far.
 
Yup, should have said that after the Dettol treatment I leave the minis and toothbrush in a fairy liquid solution for 12-24 hours to get rid of the stickiness.
 
Wow, 3 pages of input, thanks all. :)

I used to use Fairy Power Spray when I lived in the UK but they don't have it here which is why I tried SG/acetone.

I did my undergraduate degree in chemistry so (for better or worse) got used to the smell of solvents... although am also aware how important it is to read toxicity information!

I might try the 'pro' Simple Green after my current batch runs out. Time to put the Ogres in regular Simple Green over the weekend... after another day in the acetone, nothing more was coming off.
 
ardyer":3ece4158 said:
If you can't get the acetone to work, I've got a big thing if paint stripper that will remove anything. It's pretty much a last resort kind of thing as it's toxic, but you're welcome to use it if you need it (and it'll save you from buying some).
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Thanks for the offer! I'll see how things go, although as you say it sounds like a 'last resort' option.
 
Magos Explorator":13grdpfl said:
Thanks for the offer! I'll see how things go, although as you say it sounds like a 'last resort' option.
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It's even worse than it sounds because you'd have to spend 20 or 30 minutes hanging out in my garage :lol:
 
Chico":34ugxe55 said:
The trick to using Dettol is to wash the mini off (After the dunking) with washing up liquid and a toothbrush that way it comes off easy and doesn't kill the toothbrush
Click to expand...

Absolutely, I should have mentioned this too :arrow:
 
Dettol. 48 hour+ soak (and to be honest, the longer you can soak them for, the easier it will be), then the paint comes off with minimal effort (toothbrush, and cocktail stick to get into crevices). Plunge the figure straight into a basin of warm soapy water to avoid the tackiness, and have separate soapy water at hand to wash off the toothbrush regularly to avoid it "gunking up".
 
When using acetone, how long are you guys leaving it in? Most of my experience is with dettol (too sticky!) and simple green (doesn't always do the job).
 
zoggin-eck":3uy5sing said:
When using acetone, how long are you guys leaving it in? Most of my experience is with dettol (too sticky!) and simple green (doesn't always do the job).
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When there no much paint, it starts to strip with vapors even before diving it into the stuff. Either a 1 hour dip or 2 10 minutes dips with an intermediate brush work and you're normally good to go.
Anyway , I just tend to get my models in acetone and strip them the day after. Brushing them with a soft brush and water and soap helps getting rid of any small traces and removes the bad smell. (dry them carefully, you wouldn't wnat you models to catch leadrot after that ;) )
 
zoggin-eck":1h7uii5k said:
When using acetone, how long are you guys leaving it in? Most of my experience is with dettol (too sticky!) and simple green (doesn't always do the job).
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Weeks, mostly because I forget they're in there!
 
Original pine-sol,not the scented ones. Soak overnite is good and doesn't harm the figure. It's a detergent so all you need is a container of warm water to rinse both brush and figure.
 
Ok guys, now let's try to figure what will get rid of this :

2013-10-30+21.28.08.jpg


There should be a squat underneath all this mess. Next step is to find him to know excatly who he is...
Guess the guy who painted this one took "dipping" a little too literally. :?
 
LOL, yes i think there might be an ironclaw squat under there. I hope acetone will be enough and I won't need a crowbar to remove all of this.
 
Wow...that is insane! What were they thinking?!?!? Is it nail polish? Good luck with that...you have your work cut out for you!

It will be worth it in the end...(I had to say that since I suggested you buy them... :? )

Cheers, :grin:

Blue
 
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