Paint Stripping

Is it possible to paint strip my Minotaurs without actually using paint stripper? ie. would scrubbing them in hot soapy water do the trick or would I need a potato scrubber or a pad thing or turpentine?

I don't want to have to buy a huge amount of paint stripper for just 3 Minotaurs.

I think I remember reading that brake fluid does the trick.

However, let someone else confirm that before you take my word.

Also, you can usually file most of the paint off of a model. Just not so much in detailed stuff which is what I'm sure you're most worried about.

i bought the old shaman on a wyvern from the 4th edition a few months ago on ebay. it had a very thick layer of paint and this was horrible to remove...

i first tried to wash it with turpentine, which didn't work very well. after that i decided that it's time for the little guy to take a bath
i let him in a glass with turpentine for some while, and watched from time to time how the paint went off. but the turpentine decomposed the glue too
after some minutes i took him [i should better say his parts] out of the glass and rubbed the rest of the paint off with an old toothbrush.

it was a very dirty work and i expected that to be a little easier...
the hardest part were the sheds of the wyvern and the face of the shamen.
but it worked and the model was ok... after seeing what this stuff did with the glue i would not recommend turpentine for a plastic model

For metal models the cheapest thing to do is to use orange cleaner. You just fill a container with half water and half orange cleaner, leave it there for a few hours or a day, then scrub. Rinse and repeat. As for plastic miniatues, I have yet to figure that one out.

Hot water + Soap will help, but it does not get all of the paint off. Even when you scrub really hard with a toothbrush for a few hours. I'd suggest the brake-fluid trick. Get the kind that works for every model of car

-ACDM

These are metal models. Would they basically return to how they were when they came out of the blister pack? I mean, it's no trouble rebuilding them as they're 3-piece models.

Not quite. There'll still be SOME paint in creases and so forth, and you'll need an old toothbrush to get the paint of after an overnight soak. I've also found that you'll need to wash the model in warm soapy water after removing the paint anyway, as that stuff smells.

As for assembly, it varies. I've had some models stay in one piece and others come apart. Be prepared to assemble them just in case.

B

the wyvern was in areally good condition after paint stripping. as i mentioned i had to remove some paint with a toothbrush, but that was everything.

i definitely have to agree with Borzag - you need to wash the model very well because of the turpentine, but thats no problem [i just washed it in clear water]...

the only thing was that the wyvern had that plain old look [which old models sometimes have from the oxidation i think]. i could upload some pictures if you like i haven't painted it yet [yeah - call me lazy, but painting sucks and i have so much other stuff to paint and build ]
the only thing i did was modeling a tree under one claw that is pointing forward, because it nearly broke under the knee...

that is the miniature [so you can image where i had to build that tree]



EDIT: just checked the camera ... it's still not working - damn thing
so no pic atm possible
but i checked the wyvern and i found a few parts where paint is on the model [small little gaps in the fur and sheds]. but that guy didn't use water-based colors, it was normal paint... and there is so little paint on the model, that i could say no details are lost

This post has been edited by Mulambo on Apr 9 2007, 11:31 AM

The product I use is called "Simple Green"

It is awesome because it is non toxic, and works very well. I soak a model for about 24 hours, then scrub it with a stiff bristle toothbrush. (if you go to the drugstore, you will find that there are different "stiffnesses" of toothbrushes. Recently, at a non-gaming hobby shop, I found a toothbrush with brass bristles, and it seems to really be doing the trick.

If it doesnt all come off in the first go, soak it gain for another 24. Best part about this is that I have left models (plastic and metal) in it for weeks and nothing happened to it, even parts I had greenstuffed were fine.

This post has been edited by Gabus on Apr 10 2007, 02:40 AM

that sounds great...
i think i have to take a look at that stuff and what it consits of. if even the greenstuff keeps on the model then it is much better than turpentine

aye, I still have to find a really good paint remover for plastic here in Sweden, but for the metal ones, "borrow" some acetone from the missus (hint: its usually hidden away in the bathroom, next to the make up!)and soak the bits, but remove all plastic (like, bases) first. I´m pretty sure you can strip a mini in one minute if you are in a hurry.