Paint stripping?
I hate to admit that there are some miniatures in my collection that need to be stripped (yes, ones that I have painted myself!) Now, there are a lot of different methods and materials for paint stripping, but one that is often bandied about is Dettol. Unfortunately, it seems to be a product of the UK and not generally available in the USA, until now...
I now have a bottle of Dettol (hopefully the right stuff), and it is available in the USA via Amazon; it ships directly from the UK. I ordered a small bottle just to see if the hype is correct - we will see as I have already dunked a miniature into a glass jar of the stuff!
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Just watch out for any water. If you see the Detol going cloudy it has got water in it...
ReplyDeleteBeing in the UK, the smell reminds me of being a young child and being sick - mum always used Detol to clean the bowl etc! Oddly comforting smell as it meant I was being looked after.
Wear gloves.
Andrew
May I suggest a product called "Simple Green"? I get it at Home Depot, in the five gallon jugs, and all one does is dump it into a container (I use Mason jars and plastic tubs with snap-on lids that I get cheap at IKEA) and dump the figures in after it. leave to soak for several days; the paint comes right off with only a tiny bit of scrubbing with a toothbrush.
ReplyDeleteyours, Chirine
Thank you gentlemen.
ReplyDeleteSimple Green is next on the list of products to try - thanks!
@ ADB: Yes, me too! Me gran used Pine-Sol, the US version of the UK product, and it worked like a charm to clean up after my messes. I still remember her when I open a bottle of the stuff!
ReplyDelete@ El Grego: I should have said this in my earlier comment; Dettol is very similar to to Pine-Sol, which also works fine as a paint stripper for miniatures. However, it's also a little more 'ferocious' then Simple Green, and I get a little worried about any plastic figures that I dip in the stuff. Simple Green may take a little longer to work, but doesn't seem to have any effects on styrene plastics.
I'll chime in for Simple Green on the plastics too, but also mention that Dettol is widely available in Canada.
ReplyDeleteI've had good luck with Pine-Sol. I've used it on GW plastics with no ill effect. In my 1/48 WWII days I used to use a product from Avon called "Skin So Soft" on styrene. It worked quite well and did no harm to rivets or control surfaces, but it was expensive for the purpose and my mother was always a little testy when she had none. Also had decent results on styrene models with brake fluid.
ReplyDeleteAnd this was stripping oil based enamels, mind you, which don't strip as easily as acrylics. I find that unsealed and well handled miniatures which I painted with Floquil still look fine. Can't say that about the Apple Barrel I use now. With the SSS and BrFl I did a dip and scrub rather than a soak.
I look forward to hearing your results, particularly if you compare to any of the above products.