Though stripping the paint is the exhausting way to go.
After having searched the WWW for some hints I found that ethyl alcohol should work. It is said that this stuff clears the paint nicely but doesn't harm the plastic of the miniature. To be sure I put a pair of plastic heads into the alcohol for two hours. I chose some spare heads of my Perry British lineinfantry since it should be the same plastic as the hussars are cast of.
Here is the result:
 |
| The two heads on the left after three hours in ethyl alcohol. No damage! |
Judge the result yourselves.
I'm not able to realise any damage so I'll use this stuff on a first horse today.
Within the next days I'll post a step-by-step guide for stripping plastics and show you my results. I hope, you'll like both. I would give some sense to this unpleasant episode of miniature painting...
I'm sorry this happened to you but I'm glad that you're going to post a tutorial on how to strip paint from plastic. I've got three resin figures that are very challenging and I anticipate it taking more than one go to get it right. I've had to strip more than a few metal figures on my way to learning to paint.
ReplyDeleteLooking forward to the tutorial and best wishes on getting those horses re-painted!
Looks like this should do the job for you, I'll keep my fingers crossed.
ReplyDeleteAs was stated earlier, sorry to hear about your problem. A tutorial on how to recover from such a mishap would be appreciated. Too bad it has to be a complete stripping of the paint.
ReplyDeleteSorry the gloss varnish didn't work out for you, but glad you seemed to have found a safe stripping method.
ReplyDeleteChristopher
The best 'paint stripper' I have found is neat SIMPLEGREEN - an enviro-friendly household cleaner. Just dunk your model in it for a couple of hours and rinse under warm water with an old toothbrush to brush off the paint. Works a treat, and no nasty chemicals.
ReplyDeleteHi Scott,
DeleteI read about Simplegreen but I haven't any idea what a product in Germany is simmilar.
However ethyl alcohol worked rather well, didn't harm the plastic and is cheap. I think that'll be my weapon of choice.
Some pics will follow this weekend.
Cheers
Monty
Let me know how you get on. If you can't find Simplegreen in Germany, I'm happy to send you bottle over. It lasts a good while, you don't need to tip it out after use. The problem I have is keeping the wife away from it, who starts cleaning the kitchen with if I leave it out for her to find ;-)
DeleteFor acrylics, I've used neat Dettol, which also works a treat.
ReplyDeleteCool! Thanks for the additional information Mike. How long do I need to dip my stuff in order to remove the paint? Is there a specific time-frame?
DeleteEco-Strip.com
I use oven cleaner in a plastic bag then a ld toothbrush. works a treat.
ReplyDeleteAnother alternative to ethyl alcohol is unscented acetone (ie the hardware store variety, not the chemist shop variety sold at ridiculous prices as ladies nail polish remover). It is inert to all plastics I have ever tried it on and will remove just about anything including gloss enamel without the need for an industrial fume cabinet ! ;o)
ReplyDeleteCheers, Dave
I use ordinary household bleach (the type you put down the loo) to strip paint from metal figures. It's cheap and when you've finished the job you can clean the sink with it! I have this post about it on my blog http://hintonhunt.blogspot.co.uk/2009/04/taking-dip.html
ReplyDeleteGreat posting! Thanks for sharing this one. I think alcohol would make a great paint stripper.
ReplyDeleteEco-Strip.com