What\'s the most effective/powerful stuff I can use to dissolve paint off metal miniatures?

[jamsessionein]

What\'s the most effective/powerful stuff I can use to dissolve paint off metal miniatures?

Hi guys.

I have a big 2-gallon glass jar that I topped up with acetone. I\'d plunk my models in, let them sit a while (day or two), fish them out, and give em a scrub with the ol\' toothbrush. Every now and then, I\'d whip out the dremel and a soft steel brush and try removing paint that way after the acetone bath, but there would invariably still be some gunk in the recesses.

I\'m lazy, and I also have a mountain of metal miniatures to strip. What is the most caustic stuff I could possibly drop these miniatures in that wouldn\'t hurt the metal, but would just eat the paint right off of there? I want something that will just blow the socks off any acrylic paint on these things. Acetone isn\'t cutting it in terms of effectiveness and economy of time. I just want something I can fill this glass jar with and drop miniatures in there, mad-scientist style, with my huge forceps and maniacal laughter. Sizzling sounds, lightning, and smoke a plus.

What can you guys suggest?

 

[airhead]

paint stripper.

You in the US? UK?

 

[freakinacage]

ultra strong paint stripper like nitromors. don\'t get it on your hands - it stings like buggery

 

[jamsessionein]

Originally posted by airhead
paint stripper.

You in the US? UK?

US, yes.

I\'ve heard the Nitromors thing before, but I\'ve no idea where to find it, and searching the internet is largely unproductive.

 

[mickc22]

cellulose thinners, as used to thin car spray paint, ask at your local... custom shop I\'d guess, over there, or a paint supply store

it wont burn you but it will dry out the skin, but you shouldn\'t need to handle it too much. Get yourself a large jar, put in just enough to cover the mini. Leave it for about 10-15 mins, give it a bit of a swirl/swish around, remove mini from the jar with suitable pliers, and scrub with a toothbrush (an old one preferably) on to some paper towel.

PUT THE LID BACK ON THE JAR! and don\'t do it in a confined space or you may find yourself on the ceiling lol

Don\'t do it near any painted stuff just in case you splatter them while you are scrubbing. You may need to do it a couple of times, you may also need a needle to get into some of the detail.
A pair of glasses might be a good idea too, it stings a bit if it goes in your eyes, trust me, you don\'t want to find out

 

[Einion]

Originally posted by jamsessionein
I\'m lazy, and I also have a mountain of metal miniatures to strip. What is the most caustic stuff I could possibly drop these miniatures in that wouldn\'t hurt the metal, but would just eat the paint right off of there?

A strong caustic soda solution might be.

Einion

 

[Jericho]

Something along the lines of a lacquer thinner should do it. That stuff is pure evil, I had to use it all the time at work at an old summer job.

Do be careful when using any of the suggested products. They are all incredibly powerful and if you spill any/get it on your skin or clothing you will regret it.

 

[Avelorn]

RemovAll is environmental friendly and effective. I don\'t even have to scrub much, peels the paint off like an orange. Buy a bucket of it, drop them in it and wait for a day or two. Miniatures as good as new.

 

[mickc22]

Trust me...

....Cellulose Thinners I\'ve used it on 100\'s of minis over the years

If you want to loads at a time you can do it out side in polythene (not plastic!) bowl, the paint will come off before your very eyes, sorry no sizzling or fizzing though.

Just scrub \'em with a nail brush or similar, put some newspaper down to catch all the gunk and cruddy stuff, goes a bit like snot
The good new is, you can filter out all the crap and it\'s good to go again
I usually burn the waste, it\'s a bit nasty for the bin

You may have a job finding gloves it wont attack, I haven\'t tried, but maybe those blue surgical ones. It definitely mutilates latex. Personally I wouldn\'t bother, just use plenty of moisturizer when you are done

 

[flakon]

I use Simple Green for stripping metal mini\'s. 24 hours and an old toothbrush get the job done every time. Not a quick reaction but it consistently yields good results.

 

[meanmuttley]

without reading the other posts (yeah i know its a sin) use simple green or pine sol for metal minis. i use them and really dont have a complaint

 

[Yuggoth]

I found that toothbrushes sometimes aren`t enough to get in the really small cracks and details. So I bought a cheapish (15 euros) ultrasonic-cleaner (for glasses, jewels and fake teeth) which works mighty fine when combined with your average cleaning fluids.

 

[geaugan]

Easy-Off oven cleaner will strip just about anything. Metal , resin, acrylic and oil. Spary it on wait 20 minutes and paint literally falls off. And it won\'t kill you!

 

[airhead]

I\'ve had old minis soak in simple green or pine sol for a week. Turned the old lead all dark, but left the old enamel fine.

I\'ve heard that break fluid will take the paint off. Tried it. Made a mess, but still had painted minis.

EX-Off oven cleaner - old formula, not the low odor junk - does a good job, but some of it needed an overnight soak.

Cheapest, fastest, safest, most reliable method I found was go to the local home center and get a quart of paint stripper. Guess what it is made to do? Take paint off. Duh. Get the stuff that will remove stains and varnish for old oil-based enamels.

Fastest remover was a quart of MEK, but that stuff is not for the faint of heart. MEK will penetrate the skin barrier and take other stuff along with it. (think contact poison or nicotine patches...) Good rubber gloves are a must (not latex).

 

[Spacemunkie]

I\'ve used all sorts too - including cellulose thinners.

Paint stripper (the extra strong stuff) has been far and away the best way to shift paint that I\'ve found.

Cellulose thinners will FUBAR anything they touch, fingers included!

 

[nels0nmac]

I\'ve used cellulose thinners combined with a spray gun. Soak the figures in the thinners and then blast it off with more thinners with the gun. If you dont have access to a spray gun then a toothbrush will do the job.
I\'ve found that if the mini had been undercoated with something from a spray can ( such as the GW sprays) then the thinners basically eats that away and the upper layer of paint just sloughs off and the mini comes up as good as before it was sprayed. If it had paint applied straight on to bare metal then you have to be prepared to scrub away with a tooth brush. An old dental tooth pick ( the kind they use to scrape plaque of your teeth) is great for getting any remaining small bits out.

Cellulose thinners can be filtered to be reused. Disposing of it after you\'re done might be tricky as you are not meant to put it down the drain.

 

[jl9242]

Try stuff called Lectro-Solv, which is a spray can form of trichloroethylene. Paint literally melts off, and metal comes out looking like a mirror and no residue.

Use outdoors or in well ventilated area, unless you like to huff... I would recommend gloves, some talk about it being a carcinogen and all. Wouldn\'t want to breathe vapors too much or handle with bare hands. It dries skin out bad. We USED TO use it for years at work with the pure liquid on rags to clean metal parts and stuff , everybody still has their hands and lungs... so take that for what it is worth.

The only thing with the spray is that it evaporates quickly...Now, if you could get trichloroethylene in liquid form...

 

[Aliengod3]

Whenever I use simple green and scrub off the paint in the recesses it never comes out. I have had a mini sitting in a bath of the stuff for a month to test if the longer the mini is left in the better the stuff works but the paint still has not come out of the recesses.

I heard that CLR works but I have not tried it yet.

 

[Einion]

Originally posted by jl9242
The only thing with the spray is that it evaporates quickly...Now, if you could get trichloroethylene in liquid form...

Used to be available commonly where stationery products were sold... but as with most chlorinated hydrocarbons (e.g. chloroform, carbon tetrachloride) tighter and tighter restrictions have been put in place as their dangers were realised.

Einion

 

[geaugan]

GIVE THERMITE A TRY!