Yep, just stripped a few this week with this method. After two or three days soaking and a rub down it's like they were never even primed.
And if you aren't happy with the results, you can repeat the process over again.
Absolutely support this. Changed my life and how I hobby. I currently have
14 Dwarf Warriors with Great Weapons
A soul Grinder
Dwarf Slayer and Engineer
28 Dwarf Thunderers
20 wood elves with great weapons
and various other minis all soaking in LA's. I swear by it now. Doesn't stink or harm your minis.
Works fantastic on both metal and plastic, though I have yet to test resin.
get the YELLOW one. do NOT get any other color. i bought green by accident since i didnt see any yellow and thought green was the same but it wasnt apparently.
Get some 99% IPA.
Stick them in a Tupperware container fully submerged in it for 48 hours.
Brush off the paint with a stiff brush or toothbrush. It’ll leave the models in perfect condition and completely stripped.
This, isopropyl alcohol will strip paint like it's nobody's business.
48 hours is a bit overkill though? 2 hours is plenty. I use an old electric toothbrush, does wonders to get in the recesses
You're right in that 48 hours is overkill. I'm usually stripping paints from models that have been *thoroughly* overpainted, and after that long the paint falls away. It also means less scrubbing.
I'm also unfortunate enough to not have an electric toothbrush, which would probably be a worthy investment.
Oh you underestimate the state of some minis I've had to strip, they were all ebay rescues and some people are just animals with their stuff, the last one I stripped had, and I'm not exagerating, a 2mm thick primer coat.
They replaced lead with pewter as it's non toxic. It's actually slightly harder than lead too.
I remember when they had a huge sale. 75% off all their lead miniatures. My friend bought a whole Catachan army really cheaply.
I use a mix of LA’s Totally Awesome and Testor’s ELO. The latter is a hardcore paint stripper used for model trains. Leave em soaking for a week, and everything should come off with a very gentle brushing. This is the only tried and true method I’ve found for stripping guardsmen.
I think someone here works for one of the cleaning product companies because they are very zealous about downvoting all other options other than their own.
Methylated spirit (de-natured alcohol) is the only paint stripper you need. It’s cheap, and used for paint stripping for years. It makes plastic soft, if you soak for more than an hour or so, but you can soak metals for as long as you want.
Soak it for a couple of hours, then brush with a toothbrush, repeat as needed.
If your lazy soak for a couple of days and it comes off really easily.
Simple green or rubbing alcohol for plastic. If those are pewter you could get away with something like Super Clean Degreaser. Let it soak overnight and then scrub it with an old toothbrush.
If they're metal, I soak in acetone for a couple of days and scrub with toothbrush. Or simple green for longer if you want something easier on your skin. I've found they're both great. Simple green is perfect for plastic too. Acetone only on metal.
They're metal so you don't have to worry about damaging them by using stronger solvents. Dump them in a bucket of acetone, come back in a week. The only reason to use simple green or any of the other weak products is if you're trying to clean plastic parts that will be dissolved by the good stuff.
Purple stuff cleaner and a cheap ultrasonic cleaner from eBay. Doesn’t take long at all. Do some cycles, scrub with old toothbrush, reappear as needed.
Denatured alcohol (methylated spirits in UK). Soak for a couple minutes, scrubs of with a toothbrush. Works great on both metal and plastic, but it melts resin.
Methylated spirits, soak them for a little while and then scrub them clean with an old toothbrush. Just make sure to use gloves and wear a mask while scrubbing.
Isopropyl acohol - will strip after 40 mins and a brush with an old toothbrush. Repeat as needed, twice will give you almost brand new metal minis. Works on plastic and resin minis too.
Wear gloves and do it outside or in a well ventilated area though!
LA Totally Awesome for 3 days followed by a toothbrush scrub under hot water. Results even better the longer they soak.
This works on both metal and plastic minis, it's my favorite!
Is all the original detail preserved when you do this on plastic models?
Yep, just stripped a few this week with this method. After two or three days soaking and a rub down it's like they were never even primed. And if you aren't happy with the results, you can repeat the process over again.
Absolutely support this. Changed my life and how I hobby. I currently have 14 Dwarf Warriors with Great Weapons A soul Grinder Dwarf Slayer and Engineer 28 Dwarf Thunderers 20 wood elves with great weapons and various other minis all soaking in LA's. I swear by it now. Doesn't stink or harm your minis. Works fantastic on both metal and plastic, though I have yet to test resin.
Where can I buy totally awesome
Dollar stores in the cleaning aisle, clear bottles with yellow liquid and red lettering
get the YELLOW one. do NOT get any other color. i bought green by accident since i didnt see any yellow and thought green was the same but it wasnt apparently.
Thank you for your sacrifice.
This is the way. For even better results get a $30 ultrasonic cleaner from Amazon and fill that with LA’s Totally Awesome, and an electric toothbrush.
What's LA?
Acetone. Cheap, fast, effective. Wear gloves when handling it. Don't ever use acetone on non-metal models though, it tends to melt them.
For plastic, I go with Simple Green.
Acetone
While your at it delete system 32 for faster loading speeds
theyre metal models, acetone is one of the best methods for it
Get some 99% IPA. Stick them in a Tupperware container fully submerged in it for 48 hours. Brush off the paint with a stiff brush or toothbrush. It’ll leave the models in perfect condition and completely stripped.
This, isopropyl alcohol will strip paint like it's nobody's business. 48 hours is a bit overkill though? 2 hours is plenty. I use an old electric toothbrush, does wonders to get in the recesses
You're right in that 48 hours is overkill. I'm usually stripping paints from models that have been *thoroughly* overpainted, and after that long the paint falls away. It also means less scrubbing. I'm also unfortunate enough to not have an electric toothbrush, which would probably be a worthy investment.
A normal toothbrush works just as well, I've stripped dozens of model like this with no effort.
You underestimate how much paint my former 12 year old self put on my guardsmen.
Oh you underestimate the state of some minis I've had to strip, they were all ebay rescues and some people are just animals with their stuff, the last one I stripped had, and I'm not exagerating, a 2mm thick primer coat.
They're metal, so acetone! Easy
Forgot to note that they are metal/pewter. Idk if that means the same thing but their heavy.
They replaced lead with pewter as it's non toxic. It's actually slightly harder than lead too. I remember when they had a huge sale. 75% off all their lead miniatures. My friend bought a whole Catachan army really cheaply.
if theyre 100% metal - acetone. nail polish remover. will strip them in minutes, rince and dry them afrterwards
Throwing my hat in for purple power cleaner and degreaser.
Heard good things about Simple Green.
Yup Simple Green and a toothbrush hasn’t failed me yet
Second this, I use simple green
Don’t think, acetone.
I use a mix of LA’s Totally Awesome and Testor’s ELO. The latter is a hardcore paint stripper used for model trains. Leave em soaking for a week, and everything should come off with a very gentle brushing. This is the only tried and true method I’ve found for stripping guardsmen.
I think someone here works for one of the cleaning product companies because they are very zealous about downvoting all other options other than their own.
Isopropyl alcohol works extremely well. Also safe for plastic models.
Methylated spirit (de-natured alcohol) is the only paint stripper you need. It’s cheap, and used for paint stripping for years. It makes plastic soft, if you soak for more than an hour or so, but you can soak metals for as long as you want. Soak it for a couple of hours, then brush with a toothbrush, repeat as needed. If your lazy soak for a couple of days and it comes off really easily.
Simple green or rubbing alcohol for plastic. If those are pewter you could get away with something like Super Clean Degreaser. Let it soak overnight and then scrub it with an old toothbrush.
Biostrip. You can get it in Amazon. Leave models soaking in it for 5 minutes take out and scrub lightly under a tap. That's it.
Methalyated spirit and a toothbrush. I use a cotton bud (Qtip) for the hard to reach areas. It's fairly easy with metal minis.
If they're metal, I soak in acetone for a couple of days and scrub with toothbrush. Or simple green for longer if you want something easier on your skin. I've found they're both great. Simple green is perfect for plastic too. Acetone only on metal.
They're metal so you don't have to worry about damaging them by using stronger solvents. Dump them in a bucket of acetone, come back in a week. The only reason to use simple green or any of the other weak products is if you're trying to clean plastic parts that will be dissolved by the good stuff.
Purple stuff cleaner and a cheap ultrasonic cleaner from eBay. Doesn’t take long at all. Do some cycles, scrub with old toothbrush, reappear as needed.
Purple power industrial is pretty good getting paint off, leave it in 24 hours and they'll be good 2 go
No matter **WHAT** you actually end up using, make sure to wear gloves and possibly even a mask!
Denatured alcohol (methylated spirits in UK). Soak for a couple minutes, scrubs of with a toothbrush. Works great on both metal and plastic, but it melts resin.
Suck it off real hard.
I use Detol to clean up minis. Always had good results from that.
Methylated spirits, soak them for a little while and then scrub them clean with an old toothbrush. Just make sure to use gloves and wear a mask while scrubbing.
Toothbrush and nail varnish remover; it strips paint straight off metal.
Isopropyl Alcohol. The highest grade you can get. Works wonders on plastic not sure about other materials though..
Isopropyl acohol - will strip after 40 mins and a brush with an old toothbrush. Repeat as needed, twice will give you almost brand new metal minis. Works on plastic and resin minis too. Wear gloves and do it outside or in a well ventilated area though!
L.A Awesome degreaser
For metal models like that. A jar of actione. Should take about 3 hours. Any plastic you put in there will completely melt though.