Stripping Plastic Miniatures

cooper101183 · **Posted:** Wed Apr 23, 2014 10:44 am

I have been using a watered down paint stripper to strip my metal models and this has worked really well and has them looking like new it only takes around an hour or two, obviously I do not want to use this on plastic as it will eat into the plastic. Is there an alternative to the 4days soaking in dettol or is this the best method for plastic. I have hundreds of plastic models which up until now I have avoided stripping.

Lord Hurin · **Posted:** Wed Apr 23, 2014 10:54 am

Dettol leaves them with a sticky residue and a bad smell, I find. Try using either brake fluid or a product called Simple Green. Should do the trick.

cooper101183 · **Posted:** Wed Apr 23, 2014 10:57 am

I hate dettol smell which is why I have delayed so long. With regards to brake fluid, How long would I let them soak for and would I need to water it down?

jdizzy001 · **Posted:** Wed Apr 23, 2014 12:01 pm

Simple green (SG) is the best. It is all natural (whatever that means for a chemmical), it smeels decent, and it works on plastic, metal and resin minis (for example acytone only works on metal minis and will eat tour plastic minis). IMHO, you should buy a bottle of simple green concentrate (home depo has it for $12 I believe). Put your mini in a cup or bowl, cover the mini with SG (undilluted, just straight SG) and let it sit for 24 hours. Once the time has elapsed take an old tooth brush (please don't use your current one

)' and scrub that mini clean. 99% of the paint will come off. If you want to get the rest off soak a bit longer, or just shrug your shoulders and call it good. I use simple green exclusively and have stripped paint from all kind of minis from those just primed to those painted up by my 4 year old which have lair upon lair of paint.

Lastly, if you plan to use the SG exclusively for your minis, examine the left over SG and if it is still the same vibrant green color, pour it back into your SG container for reuse next time.

Dragon from the East · **Posted:** Wed Apr 23, 2014 12:21 pm

Everyone says to use simple green but I have not had good luck with it at all honesty ... Perhaps it was my container but I tried using it 3 or 4 times and even after 48 hours I did not have luck getting much paint off. All it seemed to do was discolor the paint and move it around a little. I have also tried this stuff called "Super Clean" that comes in a big purple container. It is like a degreaser and I have had moderate luck with that where my simple green did not do as well. Plus it did not eat the plastic as far as I know. But everyone says simple green is the stuff to use so I would suggest that anyways.

cooper101183 · **Posted:** Wed Apr 23, 2014 2:53 pm

I live in England and have not heard of Simple Green, I wonder if it has a different name name over here

Ukfreddybear · **Posted:** Wed Apr 23, 2014 4:48 pm

I think most people in the UK use fairy power spray

Sithious · **Posted:** Wed Apr 23, 2014 6:05 pm

Dragon from the East wrote:

Everyone says to use simple green but I have not had good luck with it at all honesty ... Perhaps it was my container but I tried using it 3 or 4 times and even after 48 hours I did not have luck getting much paint off. All it seemed to do was discolor the paint and move it around a little. I have also tried this stuff called "Super Clean" that comes in a big purple container. It is like a degreaser and I have had moderate luck with that where my simple green did not do as well. Plus it did not eat the plastic as far as I know. But everyone says simple green is the stuff to use so I would suggest that anyways.

Simple Green is no longer so simple, it has become a brand name for several different cleaning products they produce (oven, wooden floor cleaners, window cleaning versions) so check to make sure you have the right one, or alternate to brake fluid.

Wise Old Elf · **Posted:** Wed Apr 23, 2014 9:59 pm

I seem to remember answering a similar question not so long ago on here, but seeing as I'm currently stripping my Company of Thorin Oakenshield I thought I'd poke my nose in...

Personally, I've tried several different techniques and materials and much prefer the end results when using Dettol. I mix a solution of roughly 80% Dettol to 20% water in a sealed container, enough to cover the miniatures at least. I have found the very cheap Dettol anti-bacterial spray works best and offers no harmful fumes, and does not require gloves, although I still wear them just in case. Simply leave the miniatures for 48 hours or so, although paint will begin to peel after about 12, and just gently shake now and again. Then use an old toothbrush, making sure it has soft bristles, to scrub away the paint. You can get a miniature looking brand new after about two minutes of brushing. Use a toothpick to scrape out the hard-to-reach areas such as armpits or eyes, etc. Finally, wash the miniatures gently in warm soapy water, leaving them submerged for about a minute and then dry them one-by-one, a hairdryer is perfect.

Hope I've helped!

cooper101183 · **Posted:** Wed Apr 23, 2014 10:42 pm

Thanks for the help guys, because I have around 200-300 to strip I have decided to try a couple of methods and strip them in batches of ten. I am going to use the fairy power spray suggested by The Spectre first because the thought of the models constantly smelling of Dettol really puts me off. But I will also try the Dettol method as the smell is just a secondary concern the primary concern is stripping the models as best I can. So thanks for the tips guys.

Wise Old Elf · **Posted:** Thu Apr 24, 2014 1:11 am

cooper101183 wrote:

Thanks for the help guys, because I have around 200-300 to strip I have decided to try a couple of methods and strip them in batches of ten. I am going to use the fairy power spray suggested by The Spectre first because the thought of the models constantly smelling of Dettol really puts me off. But I will also try the Dettol method as the smell is just a secondary concern the primary concern is stripping the models as best I can. So thanks for the tips guys.

Just to clarify, there is no smell at all, both before and after the process, unless you use the high-powered brown Dettol liquid - which I disapprove of. The anti-bacterial spray version I use is clear and practically fume free, any smell at all is incredibly minor, the air itself is more intrusive.

cooper101183 · **Posted:** Thu Apr 24, 2014 2:49 pm

Just to clarify, there is no smell at all, both before and after the process, unless you use the high-powered brown Dettol liquid - which I disapprove of. The anti-bacterial spray version I use is clear and practically fume free, any smell at all is incredibly minor, the air itself is more intrusive.[/quote]

Really appreciate that info, many thanks

daersalon · **Joined:** Wed Mar 16, 2011 1:34 am **Posts:** 265

I have mentioned this in other threads but.....

A good way to strip plastics in bulk and without waiting days (as for using dettol) is to use non-acetone nail varnish remover.

pop the fellows in for 20 minutes, (and never more than a few hours) and a scrub with a toothbrush and Bob's your uncle!

I have used the Fairy Power spray successfully a lot too, but the non-acetone nail varnish remover (it must be non acetone!) has given me better results, and probably works out cheaper.

cooper101183 · **Posted:** Thu Apr 24, 2014 8:09 pm

daersalon wrote:

A good way to strip plastics in bulk and without waiting days (as for using dettol) is to use non-acetone nail varnish remover.

Thanks daersalon, I will certainly try that I have lots that are absolutely caked in really really thick paint so I will try your method on those.

Stripping Plastic Miniatures

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