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Help Removing paint from plastic models

lizardninja
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lizardninja

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I'm am wanting to remove paint from some of my plastic models and i am not sure what to use because I heard that nail varnish remover is not good for plastic models so suggestion welcome
Thanks In Advance
 
Not an easy thing to do mate.

Best way is to use caustic soda, but the model will end up rather brittle afterwards.

Whatever you do though... do not use thinner or nail polish remover!

If the layer of paint currently on the model is not too thick, you can try painting over the existing paint, though obviously you might lose some details. I had done this with a marine army I had bought which were dark angels to begin with, and after a new coating of undercoat and a new lick of paint they became space wolves :) (talk about defecting!)
 
Safest thing I have found to use is dettol... Soak them in some overnight, it does require a bit of work scrubbing though. The paint won't just fall off easily, you should get an old toothbrush (or your little sister's if you have one) and scrub the model a bit when it is dripping with dettol. Most of the paint should come off pretty easy, definitely enough to conserve detail.

Make sure whatever you end up using (I can vouch for dettol though) you test an empty sprue with it to make sure it doesn't melt or warp, and get whatever it is completely off after (warm soapy water) otherwise when you paint again it won't stick well.
 
If you have access to Simple Green. That stuff is worth it's weight in gold. You can soak it for a day or so and then take an old toothbrush and scrub it off. No harm to the models at all (although, sometimes scrubbing can break them).

You can find simple green at Walmart or home improvement stores here in the states.
 
Depending on how thick your layer of paint is you can thin down some chaos black and just paint the whole thing black again....
 
This might already have been mentioned (i think Simple Green is the same thing), but common green soap is really good.

I let my models soak in it for a couple of days, and then scrub off the paint with an old toothbrush (with the bristles trimmed down to half the original length).
Color left in deep recesses is hard to reach, careful use of a needle is good for this. I prefer using a dubbing needle (tool from my flyfishing days, http://flugfiske.ehnstrom.se/material/bilder/dubbing_needle.jpg) or a small bodkin.
 
I Live in the UK so its not that easy to get simple green unless i pay £16 which seems like quite a lot. @ strewart is this it DETTOL 4IN1 MULTI-ACTION ANTI-BACTERIAL CLEANER GREEN APPLE 500M
 
Brake fluid is magnificent for removing paint from any kind of model.
I buy a lot of cheap, pre-painted minis off E-bay and I have a sealed tupperware container with a few bottles of brake fluid in it. I just dump the minis in, wait a week (only a few hours is really necessary though) and when I take them out the paint practically falls off. Use an old toothbrush or a Dremel tool with a rotary brush bit on the end. Safe for all metals and plastic, available anywhere: it's the standard type of brake fluid you put in cars everywhere.

I usuallly run them under warm water in a sink and rub the paint off. Make sure you put a screen over the drain or you will lose small pieces! It also weakens superglue a lot.

BE SAFE: It is toxic! Follow all the warnings on the packaging labels!

Oh, to the confused folks in the UK: Simple Green is a type of universal/floor cleaner.
 
wow thats awesome about the brake fluid i guess you learn something new everyday
 
@Sterwart I have the dettol and I'm not sure if I have to dilute it because if I dilute it then I will be able to do more of my army
 
Hmm I'm not sure, I am assuming that diluting it would still leave it with the same properties so it should still work fine. Just make sure when you do the scrub that you do it with pure dettol; just pour some into the cap and dip the toothbrush in. Could stick the toothbrush straight in the dettol, but then you will get paint in your dettol like I did. :P
 
Bush Craft said:
Brake fluid is magnificent for removing paint from any kind of model.
I buy a lot of cheap, pre-painted minis off E-bay and I have a sealed tupperware container with a few bottles of brake fluid in it. I just dump the minis in, wait a week (only a few hours is really necessary though) and when I take them out the paint practically falls off. Use an old toothbrush or a Dremel tool with a rotary brush bit on the end. Safe for all metals and plastic, available anywhere: it's the standard type of brake fluid you put in cars everywhere.

I usuallly run them under warm water in a sink and rub the paint off. Make sure you put a screen over the drain or you will lose small pieces! It also weakens superglue a lot.

BE SAFE: It is toxic! Follow all the warnings on the packaging labels!

Oh, to the confused folks in the UK: Simple Green is a type of universal/floor cleaner.
Click to expand...

I used this method to strip my (pink >_<) stegadon. Worked wonders. Thanks!
 
I can vouch for Dettol as well, left my carnosaur and some terradons in for a couple of hours and paint came off with almost no scrubbing at all.
 
Thanks everyone for the help I now have some dettol and I will try it out when I get back from my holiday, Sunday evening

thanks again
 
I also can vouch for Dettol!

It's wonderful stuff and doesn't melt plastic at all!
I left a unit of Saurus in it for a week and they came out almost totally paint free and completely unharmed!
Unfortunatly due to the amounts of paint and varnish I used to use I had to stick 'em back in again an...

Uh Oh!

To the shed!

Must save Saurus!

P.S. I don't dilute mine, but you can use the same bottle of dettol three or four times before it gets too unpleasant!

Also, remember to wear rubber gloves!
As well as killing bacteria dettol is alsom really good at killing skin cells!
 
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