Paint Stripping

I've never had any real problems, apart from some odd minor deep area but that's more about laziness then anything else. Though I can guess, maybe some of it has had a strong varnish or lacquer and/or a good primer which would make it harder. It's why for some things, they always recommend using some sand paper first to break up the surface seal. just a gentle sanding (you can test it on a smooth patch). There is also the heat gun method cause you kinda start to melt the paint but I've never had to deal with the real strong stuff that needs such things.

though both methods are used for external paint stuff where it's meant to be real strong, or bits and pieces (Chinese paint that is VERY toxic in it's powder form, is VERY strong and safe when dried on a model, and often used for alot of modern toys.. or atleast in the 2000s.. I'm not sure if they have moved away from that stuff now.
 
I don't normally try anything harder than acetone (I tend to order mine from CFS when I buy resins), but sometimes that won't shift really stubborn paint. I just leave the (metal) mini marinading in a jam jar of acetone in the garage for a few days, pluck it out and give it a scrub, or a poke with my technical paint remover (a needle epoxied into a bit of brass rod with some heat shrink as a grip) in the crannies and pop it back in. Repeat that until I decide that's as good as it's getting.
 
I have a suspicion that some of the most hard to strip old miniatures have been undercoated in automotive self-etching primer. I've had some with thick white paint that I've had to repeatedly soak and scrub and, even then, they didn't clean up very well.

@Clio it might be worth trying an automotive stripper on your stubborn buggers, if it bothers you. If you do, it's probably worth giving them a gentle rub with some sandpaper first like @ManicMan suggested. FWIW, I'd use very fine or extra fine grit for this as you don't want to damage the underlying metal.
 
Just the mould lines that bother me, so long as I get most of them I'll be good. It is quite thin and very hard paint whatever it is. Nothing in my arsenal will touch it. Tried the usual Dettol / acetone / IPA, even Nitromors. Nope! It's as stubborn as I've ever come across.
 
willlucv said:
@symphonicpoet I was vaguely aware of that range, how cool are they? Love the blatantly Blake's Seven Liberator based model, interesting that some of them ended up repurposed for Battlefleet Gothic.
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The League star cruisers? They're not my favorite range, but they're solid. Medium cool, I'd say, but I suspect it's all a matter of taste. They're a little small next to most of the ranges from the late 80s and early 90s, which are themselves small next to more modern ranges. That's not in itself a bad thing, as smaller models mean you can put more battle on your table, and who's to say what size any of that really is anyway? But since the range wasn't very big, the lack of similar sized alternate ranges is a bit limiting. I suspect that's why GW brought them back as tyranid drones and cruisers, and added giant flying seafood to serve as the battlewagons. If I repaint them I'll put them in my own show and tell range. Otherwise maybe I can start a general thread for anyone to put in space ships. (Or someone could.)
 
I picked up my bottle of acetone from a cheapo toiletries shop (can’t really refer to it as a “pharmacy”) on the high street!

I have a toothbrush sized wire brush that I sometimes use to buff up the metal, but softer brushes seem to do better job getting into crevices. Might get the hobby knife out afterwards if there’s still big bits left…
 
Brother Meredith said:
I picked up my bottle of acetone from a cheapo toiletries shop (can’t really refer to it as a “pharmacy”) on the high street!

I have a toothbrush sized wire brush that I sometimes use to buff up the metal, but softer brushes seem to do better job getting into crevices. Might get the hobby knife out afterwards if there’s still big bits left…
Click to expand...
I use acetone from the "Beauty" section of my supermarket, and I also use old toothbrushes and occasionally a brass brush, plus a sewing needle to go after stubborn paint in the crevices.
 
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