How do you start over?, Stripping paint and glue Options

[Ribking]

So...what do you do if you have a bunch of models that have been poorly painted, poorly glued, poorly based, and poorly maintained? I want to strip off all of the paint, and remove all of the caked on glue that was used.

What should I do? I hear Simple Green plus a toothbrush works well for removing painjobs. Can anyone here confirm this? Also, what about removing globs of glue that have been applied on top of globs of glue?

Any suggestions would be great.

[jackdoud]

Simple Green is often recommended, I've used Pinesol. People have also recommended brake fluid and oven cleaner. All of then are intended for stripping metal model though, when it comes to plastic it's often not worth it. Either paint over the existing colors or, if it's a really horrible, thick job, just toss them in the bits/terrain bin and start from scratch. The time you'll spend trying to "fix" some things is worth the cost of just buying new models.

If you really want to strip plastic try pinesol or simple green but keep an eye on them and don't let them sit too long. The plastic can become soft and ruin the model.

As far as glue goes, if it's superglue or epoxy you can usually just cut/sand it off. Plastic glue will have melted the parts together so you shouldn't even be able to get the pieces apart.

[Bellygrub]

To add to the above advice: For me it's in the name. For a simple stripping job (light paint) I use Simple Green. For anything else I go with Pinesol.

Pinesol will generally weaken super glue bonds allow you to make a clean break. Some scraping with an exacto knife will normally take care of the rest.

If you go the Pinesol route get yourself a pair of rubber gloves. That stuff can reek havoc on your bare hands when you're doing large batches of figures.

[mr_maxime]

I much prefer Greased Lightning over Pinesol. Pinesol reeks and will damage plastic if left for too long. greased lightning will not damage plastic and will remove paint fairly well. that often depends on the primer use and amount of paint though. I have a few plastic models that where stripped clean, some stripped to the primer and some that didnt work. I use a cheap tooth brush with hard bristle to remove loosened paint.

Glue and putty can be removed from plastic by scraping and cutting. Its much easier with metal though. Leave the models in pure acetone overnight. it will dissolved the glue and soften putty. This will also loosen any leftover paint. You might have to do it a few times depending on the thickness of the putty. When i first tried using acetone, I put it in a plastic dixie cup and left. when i came back the cup was gone and acetone was all over my table. never put it in a plastic container. it will eat it and your plastic models.

after all of this i like to run a pick in all of the cracks of the models to get all of the paint out.

[Gobsmakk'd]

Plain old isopropyl rubbing alcohol also works well on GW and similar paints. It's pretty cheap and safe to use, and while it's fumes can be strong after a while, they aren't as overpowering as some other suggestions.

It doesn't alter plastic models, so they can be soaked for a reasonable length of time before scrubing them with a toothbrush. And, it doesn't leave a nasty, hard-to-clean residue.

With old glues, I find that you're either in luck or you're not. And with old bases, either just abandon them and get new ones, or completely scrape them off (if you can) with coarse sandpaper.

[Kaan]

Check out page 6 (middle) and page 7 of this thread.

http://www.the-waaagh.com/forums/?showtopic=4358&st=100

it should cover all your paint stripping needs. I would not recommend extended soaking in Pinesol (overnight) as I've noted that it softens the plastics. Simple Green did not exhibit this behavior.

[Ribking]

Thanks everyone for your help. I've got a lot of boyz to clean up...so I may just try a few suggestions on one at a time to see which solutions work the best.

[Big Mek GobSmash...]

I use tesco all-purpose cleaner for my paint stripping needs

I leave it in for about a week (doesn't soften the plastic as far as i know) go do something else ,and then scrub it with a toothbrush (works much better on metal)

Don't know about glue thou?

Hope this helps!

Cheers
'smasha

[iPaint]

For plastics I use Superclean. It comes in a big purple container, and you can get it in the US at Wal-Mart for like, $7 for a gallon. Filter out the old paint chips with a coffee filter and you can re-use it over and over. Soak the plastics as long as you want and you will not lose any detail, and the plastic won't soften and warp like it does with Simple Green / Pine Sol.

I recently went through 5-6 paint schemes on my Dark panzee, ranging from black primers to white primers to spray on color primers. I tried stripping in brake fluid (use proper protection and disposal if you try this, it's toxic!) but only some of the paint was coming off. After 2-3 layers of paint, stripping, and more paint, these guys were a mess and I didn't want to have to buy new models. Finally, I decided on a scheme, and went hunting the net to find the best method for stripping plastic. Superclean works great, and I left those Dark panzee in a sealed container for over 48 hours and all the paint came off just fine. There may be some streaks of paint here and there in the nooks and crannies of the model, but it isn't layered on, and when I re-primed them, they looked brand new. I was sold. Any plastics I strip in the future will be with Superclean.


To summarize:

Superclean all the way for plastics.
Metals use Simple Green or Pine Sol.

HTH

~iPaint

[Da Kommizzar]

for paint removing: DO NOT USE PAINT THINNER as it will ruin your models by not letting you paint on them again............at least that is i think it was paint thinner that got poured on one of my one of my gaurdsmen way back...

[Mik McMok the Me...]

I find that nail polish remover is quick and effective. Just soak the model for at most 20-30 mins and it should loosen up the paint and be easily brushed off with an old tooth brush. Possibly need a pin to dig out of the most stubbon grooves and such but will have the model clean in no time at all. It also will loosen up superglue so arms legs heads fall apart with relative ease.
As has been said, s sharp knife or fine sandpapaer will remove the remainder of the glue.

[balsak_da_mighty]

I am also a fan of superclean..but I also use it on metal models to the same effect. the only problem with the metal models is the glue doesn't hold up with them. so I have to re glue all the metal models again. but small price to pay instead of buying a whole new model.

Superclean is awesome, buy it at your local store right now..he he he!

[mr_maxime]

For those wanting to use nail polish remover, get the 100% acetone kind. I dont think non-acetone kind works and the other stuff is just weaker because it is made to be gentler. It might be a strange warning, but because acetone evaporates very quickly I seal mine up in jars. Do not make the mistake of using an old salsa. Under no circumstances should you ever use a jar that has ever had salsa in it. It is the most painful thing i have ever smelled. Picture inhaling acetone and capsaicin oil. Mine had gone through a dishwasher before hand and it still wasnt enough.

[mo0g]

For those wanting to use nail polish remover, get the 100% acetone kind. I dont think non-acetone kind works and the other stuff is just weaker because it is made to be gentler. It might be a strange warning, but because acetone evaporates very quickly I seal mine up in jars. Do not make the mistake of using an old salsa. Under no circumstances should you ever use a jar that has ever had salsa in it. It is the most painful thing i have ever smelled. Picture inhaling acetone and capsaicin oil. Mine had gone through a dishwasher before hand and it still wasnt enough.

Acetone-free nail polish remover is very effective on plastics. A friend of mine has recently stripped some very blobby painted fish'eads using it, and had a lot of success. You don't want to leave them in it for very long though, they will start to melt. Although I haven't tried it, I should imagine acetone will just destroy plastics, so I assume you're just referring to metals.

[rob_alderman]

For those of you in the UK, Fairy Power Spray works wonders. It's better than Dettol, Nail Polish remover, the lot. It smells nice as well!

[mo0g]

For those of you in the UK, Fairy Power Spray works wonders. It's better than Dettol, Nail Polish remover, the lot. It smells nice as well!

Haha, I will have to give that one a go. Are we talking metals, plastics or both?