How to remove paint from plastic?

[Regash]

Hey guys,

I just wondered if anyone knows about an easy way to strip plastic minis from their paintjobs.

Everything that works just fine on metal minis destroys plastic.
My Google research wasn't very enlightenng either,
So I thought I'd ask here, where all you pro painters seem to hang out!

[DeeTee]

I'm no pro-painter but your answer is Dettol - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dettol

It works on plastic, resin and metal. Causes no harm to the model or you, it's not too bad for the environment either.

Get an old jar, pour some Dettol in (enough to cover the miniature). Leave it for an hour or two and the paint will lift like the skin on a sausage. Most of the paint will just wipe away on a piece of kitchen towel. Any paint left in recesses can be removed with a toothbrush.

Never fails!! .... so far. I've used it loads and it's great.

[Regash]

Thanks for the quick reply.
Unfortunately, I'm a german and Dettol is definitely not to be found in our stores.

I've read some stuff about oven cleaners (which had mixed results, depending on whom you ask) and break fluid for cars (which is poisonous and not to be flushed down the drain).

Maybe someone else has something up his sleeve to help me out.

[frogboy]

Some nail varnish remover works, never used it

Some car windscreen wash works

It depends on the ingredients, the reason dettol works is it has that ingredient, can't remember what it's called now.

I use Fairy Power Spray

[Toffer]

I use a thing called Simple green

www.simplegreen.com

[Regash]

Nail varnish remover, at least over here in Germany, are mostly based on Acetone.
Acetone will eat plastic faster than you can say "Oh no, my mini!".

Since you all recommend some all-purpose-cleaners, maybe I'll try some of those that we have here.
Something with the word "Power" or "Ultra" in the name should do the trick, I guess!

I'll leave a note if I found something that works.

[frogboy]

If you have some spare plastic, bits of sprues for example. you can put some paint on and try different stuff out before applying to miniatures.

[Steam Ball]

Try alcohol on spares (to be sure... but most of the things people have said are types of alcohols mixed with other things). As long as the paint is acrylic and the varnish too, it should go "goey" in hours.

[BillyDee]

The active ingredient of Dettol is Chloroxylenol, if that helps...

[Steam Ball]

Yeah, and also has Isopropanol (rubbing alcohol). More than Chloroxylenol, if the MSDS I got is the right one (declared ranges 10-20% vs 2.5-10%).

[Regash]

Okay, thanks again for the hints.
I'll browse through the cleaners looking for those ingredients then.

Some of my teams really need a makeove...

[lauth81]

Nail varnish remover, at least over here in Germany, are mostly based on Acetone.
Acetone will eat plastic faster than you can say "Oh no, my mini!".

Actually, nowadays, most nail varnish removers don't have a single drop of acetone in it. So it might work on plastic without melting it, never tried it though.

A german forum had a similar thread and a product called sterilium (available at any pharmacy) is supposedly working very well:

http://deutsche-bb-community.de/viewtop ... f=23&t=784

[Saebelsultan]

My post...
Sterilium is the way to go! I tried it and it worked wonders.

[Regash]

Okay, thanks a lot, guys.
So Sterilium will be my first try...

Any pharmacy, you say?
Hope it's not to expensive...

[Steam Ball]

Active ingredients in 100g: Propan-2-ol 45.0 g, propan-1-ol 30.0 g, mecetroniumetilsulfate 0.2 g.
Other ingredients: Glycerol 85 %, tetradecan-1-ol, fragrances, patent blue V 85 %, purified water.

Alcohols, alcohols, alcohols, cheers! Miniature cocktails are bad (for the minis)!

IIRC iso was the -2- one. If you want something cheap... maybe burning alcohol (whatever you can get there)?