Talk Fantasy Football

Hi guys, i'm having some issues and hoped that the wealth of knowledge here would be able to assist ...

Basically I have a couple of poorly painted minis from ebay and i'm trying to remove the paint from them, but no matter what i use/do the paint is not coming off. Its as though it is made of an adamantium infusion thats fused to the metal.

The minis are a 3rd edition skaven claw mutation and a Withergrasp Doubledrool, both metal.

I have tried everything from fairy power spray, nail varnish remover, and now even pure acetone. However the paint just doesn't shift very well/at all. Even after leaving the minis in the acetone overnight trying to remove the stubborn parts is beyond defficult (I have large hands) and doing it with a pin in the nooks and crannies isn't even working!

Help!? Advice?!

Can post pics if required.

Fairy Power Spray worked well for acrylic paints on metal figures. Could it be that your new models are painted with enamels instead of acrylics? If so, you might be in for a bit trickier (and more toxic) approach.

I've heard that spraying oven cleaner on the minis and leaving them alone for an hour might help. If that doesn't work, you might try Nitro Mors or brake fluid. Just do this outside, wear gloves and be aware that those chemicals are quite toxic and cannot be poured into the sink when you're done.

Yep, Nitro mors or any other paint stripper will do. Two soaks and mind your eyes when washing it off. Buy some small copper wire brushes (spark plug brush) to get paint out of pockets the paint stripper didn't shift. All should be available from diy stores.

longfang wrote:Yep, Nitro mors or any other paint stripper will do. Two soaks and mind your eyes when washing it off. Buy some small copper wire brushes (spark plug brush) to get paint out of pockets the paint stripper didn't shift. All should be available from diy stores.

i've had a couple of minis off of ebay that i had to do this with. it's not fun, but it works.

I also use Nitro morse. Tried brake fluid as well, but that was not such a success. The Nitro morse made things easy. Make sure to use it outdoors, best wear safety glasses as well. No need for gloves as long as you use a lot of soap to clean your hands afterwards. I also prefer to use hand lotion after washing up. Helps protect the skin.

If you want to try something slightly less toxic I've had good results with 2-3 days soaking in neat Dettol.

nb If it is enamel rather than acrylic and varnish I suspect the results may be less successful!

As far as I know, todays brake fluids aren't as aggressive as they used to be in the past.
Old brake fluid was incredibly effective but could actually prevent the metal from repainting by dissolving new paint as well, kind of like as it soaked into the metal.
I saw some cars back then where people spilled brake fluids on the paint... Awful results!

I've made some good paint removing with pure alcohol soaking overnight but if those paints used weren't acrylic, that won't help you, I fear.

I've had eBay minis refuse to shed their paint in acetone, I got some Dettol and it came right off.

Do some reading, Dettol is tricky as rinsing the miniature in water after soaking turns the loosened paint to sludge.

My general process now involves soaking for a day in Dettol, toothbrush scrub, then soaking for a day in acetone, then scrub in soapy water, then rinse. Finally I go at the miniature with a toothpick and sculpting tool sharp bit to remove stuck bits of paint.

Good luck!

One trick for getting paint out of the nooks and crannies is to liberally apply superglue onto these parts.

The glue then sticks to the paint and comes off in big chunks when soaked in paint stripper.

spubbbba wrote:One trick for getting paint out of the nooks and crannies is to liberally apply superglue onto these parts.

The glue then sticks to the paint and comes off in big chunks when soaked in paint stripper.

Hmmm... I was not aware of that. That is handy info to have. I will try that next time I have stubborn paint on minis.
I also have a small jewelry sonic cleaner thanks to my wife. It works pretty well too when combined with Simple Green.

Thanks for all the feedbak guys; its very much appreciated.

spubbbba wrote:One trick for getting paint out of the nooks and crannies is to liberally apply superglue onto these parts.

The glue then sticks to the paint and comes off in big chunks when soaked in paint stripper.

That's some classy advice. I'll give that a whirl.


The minis MUST have been painted with enamel, its the only thing I can think of ....

That's a cool tip I've never heard before, Spubbba. Can't wait to give it a try!