What can I use to strip paint from plastic minis?

[ColtheReaver]

Hello guys,

Ive just dug a box load of old minis from my loft and I am sickended by the bad paint scheme I gave em when I was a young and eager painter (many many moons ago). What can I use to get rid of the paint without compromising the detail on the miniatures?

Cheers guys

 

[Sauce Devil]

Simple green/Dettol/Pine-Sol.. anything containing pine oil, or cheap brake fluid.

There\'s no easy way to strip plastics; it\'s one of the disadvantages of them that unlike metals the paint becomes very hard to remove.

 

[ScottRadom]

I must disagree with sauce devil. Simple green works great, but the others will dissolve plastic if left too long.

Sinple green works wonderfully though, I have gotten models right down to their \"Just born\" state.

 

[Bigdennis52]

Ya.. I wouldnt use pine sol or the others.

I only use simple green at this point, the paint comes off quick and easy, with no risk of the models becoming mutated.

 

[Talion]

Can you buy Simple Green in th UK?

 

[mickc22]

no, Dettol works well, I\'ve also had some success with undiluted window cleaner, the blue ones work better for some reason
Revell do make a plastic paint stripper, it can be a bit gunky tho, if you can find it that is


mick

 

[ScottRadom]

There\'s gotta be another name for simple green in the UK or something, surely? Why would it not be available there?

 

[PegaZus]

Originally posted by ScottRadom
There\'s gotta be another name for simple green in the UK or something, surely? Why would it not be available there?

Well, according to their US website, they are available there. But, I can\'t see the UK website because of filters:

http://www.simplegreen.co.uk/

 

[mickc22]

ok I lied!
seems they have an online store, but I\'ve never seen their products in any shops

 

[Kester]

If you are in the UK, use Fairy power spray. Spray it on, leave for 30mins then attack with a toothbrush. It works on metals and plastics. Dettol works but can take days to remove old paint (especially if it was painted when you first started before the age of enlightenment when we learned that you had to thin the paints!)

 

[Kinetic man]

I\'ve used the 50/50 pinesol/water technique before and wasn\'t too impressed with the results. A bit of brake fluid works well though, and I never hear anything bad about simple green.

 

[Micha]

Well I have stripped quite a lot of plastic figure obtained from ebay; the best method for me is using industrial ethanol; after 2-3 days in the stuff the color is seperatef from the mini and can be removed with a toothbrush. The stuff is cheap, it can´t dissolve anything and it´s not toxic (although it stinks due to the additives that make the stuff unsuited for drinking).

Micha

 

[Enzed]

On the topic of stripping plastics what can I use to strip them thats available in Aust/Nz?

 

[Bigdennis52]

any generic green spray cleaner,

just make sure the ingredient is

2-butoxyethanol

it is the same stuff as simple green

 

[mickc22]

I\'ve had some success in the past with glass cleaner, the blue ones
the concentrated stuff seems to work best

 

[Einion]

Originally posted by mickc22
I\'ve had some success in the past with glass cleaner, the blue ones
the concentrated stuff seems to work best

Ammonia and/or methanol is/are the active ingredient(s) here.

Einion

 

[Idomeneas]

I also had success with simple window cleaner. \'\'Ajax\'\' in particular. Another recipe i heard off but didnt try yet is oven cleaner like MrMuscle or Fornet. You spray the piece good and put it in aplastic bag for one day or two. Scrape with toothbrush and the paint is gone. By the same method they unglue (is there such a word?:drunk models. In a greek modelling forum a guy explained how he unpainted and unglued a whole aircraft model he did years ago in order to redo it.

 

[Dragon Forge Design]

Castrol Super Clean.. best stuff Ive ever found to strip paint off plastics.

Its a biodegradable parts cleaner sold in auto DIY stores.

 

[Valander]

Originally posted by Dragon Forge Design
Castrol Super Clean.. best stuff Ive ever found to strip paint off plastics.

Its a biodegradable parts cleaner sold in auto DIY stores.

I second that. Great stuff. Just make very sure to wear gloves when using it; it will suck all the oils right out of your hands in a second or so flat, which leads to very dry, very painful hands. And that makes it hard to paint.

 

[gremlare]

Use alcohol bro, do some of your own tests, i use methalated spirits for sort amounts of time, it works fine, just don\'t expect any undercoat to be removed.