Greeting brave adventurer of the internet. Kudos to you for clicking on the link to this article with what I imagine to be a mixture of fear, trepidation, curiosity and disgust. Fortunately for you, this is not an article detailing my forays into the art of exotic dancing (GW's prices have not yet forced me there yet). Instead, this post will detail my first attempts at stripping paint from models that I have purchased through ebay (for any of you misled by the title that are now bitterly disappointed, I can only apologise. Sorry Rob!).
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| The perfect image to go with the post's title in your blog listings. |
Despite being a wargamer for close to two decades now, I have never before tried to remove paint from any of my models; either a paint job I would rather try again or any of the ebay "rescues" that I have bought over the years.
After looking online and chatting to a few of the people at Dundee Wargames club, I decided to try a couple of methods for stripping paint from my models; Fairy Power Spray and Dettol. Of the two methods, I found Fairy Power Spray performed much better than soaking overnight in Dettol, which barely removed any of the paint after 24 hours soaking.
Here's how I went about it:
I put the figures to be stripped in a plastic tub that could be sealed.
The figures were then sprayed with the Power Spray, ensuring that they got a good coating and covered all the areas. The tub was then sealed and the figures were left for up to 24 hours. I noticed that a few hours were sufficient to get good results, but tended to leave them overnight.
The figures were then removed and scrubbed with an old toothbrush in a bucket of warm water. It took a good scrubbing to get some of the paint off of them and sometimes the glue would go as well, meaning that I would need to stick them back together.
Here are some of the models after the first treatment. As you can see, not all of the paint is removed, particularly from the recesses of the model. Some models will need a second treatment to get the paint off. The Imperial fist models I got from ebay will probably need two or three treatments to get rid of the yellow from them.
Overall, I am pretty happy with how my attempts went. The models are fit to be basecoated once more and to be added to either my Dark Angels or White Scars armies in the near future. For very little effort, I can get almost unpainted models back to be re-painted or sold on ebay (I tend to find that unpainted models go for slightly more than painted ones).
Anyone else out there tried this or does it on a regular basis? Any tips for improving the process?
After looking online and chatting to a few of the people at Dundee Wargames club, I decided to try a couple of methods for stripping paint from my models; Fairy Power Spray and Dettol. Of the two methods, I found Fairy Power Spray performed much better than soaking overnight in Dettol, which barely removed any of the paint after 24 hours soaking.
Here's how I went about it:
I put the figures to be stripped in a plastic tub that could be sealed.
The figures were then sprayed with the Power Spray, ensuring that they got a good coating and covered all the areas. The tub was then sealed and the figures were left for up to 24 hours. I noticed that a few hours were sufficient to get good results, but tended to leave them overnight.
The figures were then removed and scrubbed with an old toothbrush in a bucket of warm water. It took a good scrubbing to get some of the paint off of them and sometimes the glue would go as well, meaning that I would need to stick them back together.
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| Just in case you didn't know what a bucket of water looked like. This is the first time I noticed that it says "Geek Chic" on the side. How appropriate. Though I remember the good old days when being a geek meant more than watching Big Bang Theory and going to see Superhero movies. Damn kids, with their Rock and Roll........... |
Here are some of the models after the first treatment. As you can see, not all of the paint is removed, particularly from the recesses of the model. Some models will need a second treatment to get the paint off. The Imperial fist models I got from ebay will probably need two or three treatments to get rid of the yellow from them.
Overall, I am pretty happy with how my attempts went. The models are fit to be basecoated once more and to be added to either my Dark Angels or White Scars armies in the near future. For very little effort, I can get almost unpainted models back to be re-painted or sold on ebay (I tend to find that unpainted models go for slightly more than painted ones).
Anyone else out there tried this or does it on a regular basis? Any tips for improving the process?
I've used acetone free nail polish remover in the past to good effect - only takes about 2 to 3 minutes to release the paint - for plastic models timing is critical as it will soften the detail if you leave it too long. Multiple short dips with brushing in between gets a great result though and it's cheap at ~£1 a bottle.
ReplyDeleteI've used acetone free nail polish remover in the past to good effect - only takes about 2 to 3 minutes to release the paint - for plastic models timing is critical as it will soften the detail if you leave it too long. Multiple short dips with brushing in between gets a great result though and it's cheap at ~£1 a bottle.
ReplyDeleteGlad to know Fairy works better, Dettol is just more readily available to most.
ReplyDeleteThis post cracked me up so many times; the undisputed highlight of my day :-) I use Simple Green and it is... magic. It's like some kind of ctan phase washing detergent. I don't think you can get it over there though, which sucks.
ReplyDeleteThanks Marc! I thought it might raise a few chuckles.
DeleteThis post cracked me up so many times; the undisputed highlight of my day :-) I use Simple Green and it is... magic. It's like some kind of ctan phase washing detergent. I don't think you can get it over there though, which sucks.
ReplyDeleteI've tried a couple of things, one of which was a car related product, and aside from being expensive left the models hideously greasy and was horrible to work with, hence I'm not even going to bother trying to remember what it was.
ReplyDeleteI support Craig's comment though in that acetone free nail varnish remover does just as good a job (actually I'd say better than the pics here) in a matter of minutes.
Make sure it's acetone free though, as acetone will melt models!
Cheers Nick, might need to give that a go. The Imperial fists I got from ebay are just not stripping properly, as you can see in the above photos they are just a horrible mess.
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ReplyDeleteI've had mixed results in my various attempts. Never have found anything that I was completely satisfied with for plastic models. That Fairy Power Spray seems to have done some good work for you except on the Imperial Fists. Reminds me of back in the day when a friend who was going into the Army gave me some stuff he didn't want to bother packing away, including a bunch of marines that had been sprayed with yellow Krylon. Not the Fusion stuff, but full on high gloss Krylon. I eventually just gave up and chucked those, since they were just 2nd Ed starter Models anyhow.
ReplyDeletethe best solution is this:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.biostrip.co.uk/
Do you soak the models or spray them?
Deleteits a thick liquid, just dab it on, it will stick to the models. You can reuse it if you are careful and so it lasts for ages. No toxic (though slightly caustic so goves are good) but works brilliantly. Doesn't stink like dettol either.
DeleteI use dettol alot for stripping my models. The trick is to leave it over a couple of days and it removes the paint completely. Also make sure it is the brown stuff you are using, as any others dont work
ReplyDeleteAnd wash in clean dettol as using water to clean them just results in a gunk like substance.
DeleteI can also concur that nail varnish remover is a good source of paint strippage. I tend to leave metal models in a jar with the lid screwed on for a about a week. Works like a treat.
ReplyDeleteA couple of buddies and I have discovered one of the best model stripping methods, it's just a little specialist.
ReplyDeleteWe put the models in a pyrex beaker, and top up with lab ethanol until all the mini's are covered. Then put the beaker in an ultrasonic bath, blast it for 10 mins and the paint drops off. SOme bits may need a little toothbrush work to get out of nooks and crannys but otherwise great!
I do work in a lab, so might be able to try this (though I don't think the lab manager would be too happy about it.....)
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