Stripping Paint and/or Primer?

[The_Universe]

My wife (the infamous Queen_Dopplepopolis on these boards) has decided she is immensely dissatisfied with one of the minis she's been working on for a couple of weeks. As such, she'd like to strip the paint off and start again...but how? I've read elsewhere that pinesol can be a useful solvent, but I haven't had a lot of luck with it in the past - are there better methods for removing an existing paint job?

 

[frankthedm]

My experiences in cleaning normal metal and plastic minis:

WARNING
Most compounds that can take off paint are toxic in some way or another. If you are using these chems do take care with their use and disposal.

Pine sol: soak a day or so and it removes paint from metal minis and softens plastic minis and bases and then melts them. Not too toxic and some may equate the scent to cleanliness.

Brake fluid: One of my favorites cause It won’t eat the plastic minis. if you soak the mini in the brake fluid for a few days you can toothbrush away the paint. It does have an odor and can be difficult to clean off completely

Simple Green. Strips acrylic paint and fresh primer won’t eat Games workshop plastic or Fortress figure’s resin[I think].

Acetone [Nail polish remover’s main ingredient]: Great for metal minis, eats superglue, eats plastics, eats skin, stinks like ####. You can use the nail polish remover to soak your minis but pure acetone is much faster/ stronger. You can get pure acetone at most Beauty Supply Stores along with chemical suppliers. [it might even eat plastic pipes, thoroughly dilute before pouring down the drain unless you want to risk costly home repairs]

BTW

1. If the mini has some very small crevasses you may need a toothpick to get in the small openings

2. Avoid mixing these chemicals together. I got no Idea what may happen if you do mix them. ok rubbing alchohol and amoonia = lung burning fumes

3. If at all possible put minis into a glass jar and let them soak OUTSIDE your home. Few things eat glass and the possible fumes are best kept outside your dwelling. { I had to use a Gallon pickle jar to clean the tire glue[ a THICK black cyanocrylate based glue in the superglue/crazyglue/zap-a-gap family of glue] off of the WotC Black dragon I bought from a friend who had NO modeling experience and tried to put it together.}

4. Wash minis thoroughly after cleaning them of paint.

5. If the Mini has a lot of glue / epoxy putty work taking the paint of will likely dissolve the putty and glue off.

I have heard about these BUT [I have not verified if they work

Rubbing Alcohol: works on metal, safe on plastic.

Oven cleaner: some say it won’t eat plastic others say it will. Strong odor. Don’t leave on too long.....

 

[Ursa Romanov]

I swear by pine sol. I just get an old unused glass put the fig (s) in and fill it with pine sol just over the minis. Let it soak a day or three and brush em off with a stiff toothbrush. If not all the paint comes off repeat as necessary.

Break fluid for plastic minis. Doesnt work the best but it saves money on figs.

 

[12rounds]

I have used Acetone with good success. Acetone is also relatively cheap (not nail-polish remover ... that's too diluted to work effectively).

I've used old toothbrushes in the process. Acetone burns the brush eventually, but it lasts long enough to allow cleaning up metallic miniatures.

 

[sniffles]

I've had good results with Pine-Sol myself. I find you have to leave the mini in for a minimum of 24 hours and give it a good thorough scrubbing with an old toothbrush afterward.

A number of people I know who paint minis professionally or semi-professionally swear by Simple Green cleanser. I haven't tried it myself, but I'm planning to, as I find Pine-Sol a bit too odorous for my taste.

The_Universe, you can find all sorts of info about converting minis, stripping, painting, and other issues at http://www.coolminiornot.com/. They have a huge gallery and a large selection of articles and links.

 

[mmu1]

For metal minis, spray oven cleaner works rather well, also - and faster than most alternatives. (even the non-caustic variety)

For plastics, make it another vote for Pine Sol. (Even if Pine Sol mixed with stripped paint smells absolutely vile.)

BTW, if we're talking about acrylic paint and pewter minis, you can actually - if you don't have very many minis to strip, and don't mind a little more scrubbing - bypass all the chemicals and use hot tap water and a brush with stiff plastic bristles. The hot water makes the paint rubbery, and it starts peeling off.