Re-painting miniatures?

HighMaan · **Joined:** Thu Feb 07, 2013 4:31 pm **Posts:** 16

Hello,

I am about to buy some miniatures from ebay(my first time)...
Mostly already painted pretty badly. I was wondering if you have any advice on how to re-paint them properly or how to get the paint off them.

Thanks!

Bilbo · **Posted:** Fri Jul 19, 2013 11:35 am

Personally I wouldn't touch pre painted miniatures (especially on plastic)! Their are occasional mixed lots out there that have painted and un painted miniatures which tend to go very cheaply. Unfortunately the majority of the badly painted miniatures tend to be "Blobbed" and have lost any crispness or detail.

If you are new to miniature painting, such figures could be good to practice on?

HighMaan · **Joined:** Thu Feb 07, 2013 4:31 pm **Posts:** 16

Im not new to painting miniatures at all, I have quite the collection myself

I decided to buy from ebay because the prices got too high for my budget.

Is it that bad?

JamesR · **Posted:** Fri Jul 19, 2013 12:32 pm

HighMaan wrote:

Hello,

I am about to buy some miniatures from ebay(my first time)...
Mostly already painted pretty badly. I was wondering if you have any advice on how to re-paint them properly or how to get the paint off them.

Thanks!

I can help you a little with both lol as I was given a poorly painted collection by a friend of mine.

To remove paint (from metals only remove their bases before doing this) just use nail-polish remover. Soak the minis in it for several hours and then remove and rinse under hot water and scrub with a firm brush. If they are painted with an oil based paint you might have to repeat this a few times to get all of the paint off.

I do not know of a way to safely remove paint from a plastic mini.

As for repainting I just basecoat black and paint them again, this will require some good free-hand work for facial details etc if the paint is on very thick.

Bilbo · **Posted:** Fri Jul 19, 2013 12:46 pm

I would be tempted by quality not quantity personally.

Hodush · **Posted:** Fri Jul 19, 2013 12:57 pm

Do a search for paint remover or stripper here, on TLA and youtube, you will find plenty of advice.

My experience is with Dettol Antiseptic Disinfectant (Brown Colour), which removes paint after soaking overnight with a light rub over using a toothbrush. Don't use imitation disinfectants, they have different active ingredients which won't work, so try others at you own time/money expense. Dettol is available in Australia in major supermarkets, probably chemists too and is used undiluted. Pretty sure it is available in the UK as well, not sure about US.

Other than Dettol, there is Simple Green & Fairy SPRAY, simple green is from Walmart or something if i recall correctly and a few other places. All these should strip them back without an issue, plastic and metal, though my experience is only with Dettol so no guarantees.

ANGMAR of old · **Posted:** Fri Jul 19, 2013 8:18 pm

Hi Dettol works just fine on acryilic paint ,but don't rinse with water till all paint is removed or it goes like chewing gum ,I have built five armys with the figs I got of e-bay and cleaned this way ,when your done with a batch fillter DETTOl through an old shirt and it can be used again but don't get any water in it .

aranel7773 · **Posted:** Fri Jul 19, 2013 9:55 pm

Hi
I buy alot of used minis on e-bay and when stripping paint off plastic figures I use simple green, it works really well but you need to soak the figures overnight.
for metal figures nail polish remover is great (as mentioned above) but do not try to use it on your plastics it will dissolve them

Frogmortonjustice65 · **Joined:** Sat Jun 22, 2013 10:21 pm **Posts:** 129

I have never done plastic minis but I have removed paints from metal LOTR figures. I simply got a cup, filled it up with enough Pine Sol (a cleaning product) so that the figure is completely submerged and let the figure soak for about 24 hours. You can dilute it slightly if you want.

After 24 hours, take the figure out, and get and old toothbrush. Run the figure under some warm water and scrub at it with the toothbrush and the paint should come straight off.

Bilbo · **Posted:** Fri Jul 19, 2013 11:00 pm

Does Detol work with plastic figures?

Hodush · **Posted:** Sat Jul 20, 2013 1:06 am

Yes dettol has the best results on plastics, but has no problems on metal.

HighMaan · **Joined:** Thu Feb 07, 2013 4:31 pm **Posts:** 16

Thanks a lot, I'll try Dettol as soon as I can!

Gondorian Captain · **Joined:** Mon Aug 06, 2012 1:13 pm **Posts:** 267

Hey there.
My advice would be to use Fairy power spray, buy a couple of bottles pour it into an air tight container, leave to soak and the scrub off with a toothbrush.
In my experience this is superior to dettol but you must where gloves using either, the power spray will dry out your fingers if you let it.

This works fine for metals, it will also somewhat work on plastics but they are much more stubborn, it can sometimes be enough to re-undercoat and get away with it though.

For ebay hunting be patient. The models you want will come around sooner or later, only buy badly painted if they're going cheap or are metal so easily cleaned.
Hope this helps

Hodush · **Posted:** Sat Jul 20, 2013 12:51 pm

@Gondorian Captain - just wondering about your experience with dettol on plastics - they have worked incredibly well for me - details? undiluted? time length? brown dettol or other?
I don't think fairy spray is available near me, but it would still be helpful to find the best products available for each area and how to use them to best effect as there isn't a detailed source for this that I can find - might as well be here!

Bilbo · **Posted:** Sat Jul 20, 2013 1:20 pm

Fairy spray sounds most appropriate for a Fantasy project, Arf Arf!

Gondorian Captain · **Joined:** Mon Aug 06, 2012 1:13 pm **Posts:** 267

I have to say I wasn't impressed with dettol on plastics but I only tried it a couple of times. I used neat dettol for a day and on the second batch around a week. While it did remove the paint scrubbing it was a long job to get the sticky gloop off. It also left a residue in places that couldn;t be shifted.
In fairness in my experience power spray will achieve similar results for plastics, you won;t ever get all the paint off and often have a shadow of old undercoat in places.
I prefer power spray because it is easier to scrub off afterwards but I am open to suggestions from others who've had more success with dettol.

Bilbo · **Posted:** Sat Jul 20, 2013 3:21 pm

I was recommended Nitromors, but you really wood need a tooth brush and appropriate PPE.

Hodush · **Posted:** Mon Jul 22, 2013 6:28 am

Ok, thanks for the info. To clarify for anyone who wants to use Dettol - HAS to be the brown, disinfectant, antiseptic. Use UNDILUTED. Overnight for minimum results, the longer the better.
Do not spill on on nice grass as it will brown (though my grass came good after a few weeks). Use some disposable or rubber gloves (helps with stuff not getting stuck on your fingers anyway). Use in a ventilated area - the smell won't kill you, but it gets a bit unpleasant after a while. Use a toothbrush to clean. Strain the paint from the liquid to re-use.
Store in a sealed or covered container suggested.

Re-painting miniatures?

Who is online