Figure paint stripping?

[R Dominick]

Not sure if thsi is the right section but what is the best thing to use to strip paint/ primer off of a metal figure?

 

[ghamilt1]

I have the answer! I use a product I picked up at the local hardware store called "Super Clean Degreaser". It comes in a purple coloured jug. I imagine its original use is for stripping grease off of automotive parts, but it works wonders with stripping paint and primer off of figures, both resin and metal, without any damage to the figure what so ever. Just submerge the figure in this solution over night for the best results. The next day just scrub the figure gently with an old toothbrush and you are good to go. It doesn't stink up the painting studio either. I live in Canada, but this product is most likely available in the US at your local Walmart or some store like it. I can't recommend it enough, and a big jug (it's 4 litres up here, likely close to a gallon in US) is relatively cheap.

 

[R Dominick]

Ghamilt, Thank you very much! I will have to see if that is available here in the U.S.

 

[Tecumsea]

Some modellers use Dettol but l find it just turns oil paints into goo and makes a mess everywhere. I use fairy power spray takes a couple of goes but works well for me. On metal figures good quality commercial paint stripper also works.

Keith

 

[theBaron]

Ghamilt, Thank you very much! I will have to see if that is available here in the U.S.

I use SuperClean, too. It's an automotive de-greaser. You can get it at Walmart, for about eight bucks a gallon. It works really well, and it has the advantage that you can use a batch of it over and over. I use glass jars of different sizes, and give figures a soak in it. After a couple of minutes, the paint has started to dissolve into the solution, and can be scrubbed away gently with an old toothbrush. The longer you let the piece soak, the more the paint dissolves. It will also soften adhesives like CA or epoxies, so you can take the figure apart.

I use it with metal, resin, and styrene. I have not yet found any material that it damaged.

It is caustic, but not nearly as caustic as oven cleaners, which some guys use.

As a de-greaser, you can use it for cleaning jobs around the house, too. I pour a cup down the kitchen drain from time to time, for example. I've used it to pre-treat grease stains on laundry, too.

Hope that helps, prosit!
Brad

 

[R Dominick]

I use SuperClean, too. It's an automotive de-greaser. You can get it at Walmart, for about eight bucks a gallon. It works really well, and it has the advantage that you can use a batch of it over and over. I use glass jars of different sizes, and give figures a soak in it. After a couple of minutes, the paint has started to dissolve into the solution, and can be scrubbed away gently with an old toothbrush. The longer you let the piece soak, the more the paint dissolves. It will also soften adhesives like CA or epoxies, so you can take the figure apart.

I use it with metal, resin, and styrene. I have not yet found any material that it damaged.

It is caustic, but not nearly as caustic as oven cleaners, which some guys use.

As a de-greaser, you can use it for cleaning jobs around the house, too. I pour a cup down the kitchen drain from time to time, for example. I've used it to pre-treat grease stains on laundry, too.

Hope that helps, prosit!
Brad

\

Brad, thanks!

 

[Nick Majerus]

I use Brake Fluid. It is cheap and easy to use. Let the metal figure soak in it a day or two. Then scrub with a brush.

 

[Nap]

I'm a Dettol dipper .......and the house smells nice ! ....just don't do it in the sink

Happy stripping

Nap

 

[Banjer]

I've always used oven cleaner but am going to try Keith's suggestion of Fairy Power Cleaner.
When you paint like I do you do a lot of stripping.

Bill

 

[Airkid]

"Mr Muscle" oven cleaner used to be the go-to for this job, but they must have changed the formula to protect us from ourselves - the latest stuff is nowhere near as good. Doesn't even clean the oven now!
As previously mentioned, brake fluid works well but don't let your critters near it - it is poisonous to cats and dogs.

Phil

 

[Chrisr]

I'm a Dettol dipper
Nap

Me too. Leave in the Dettol overnight and scrub with a tooth brush.

 

[Viking Bob]

Me too. Leave in the Dettol overnight and scrub with a tooth brush.

Me too, couple of bottles under the sink
and of course Dettol.

 

[Nap]

Me too, couple of bottles under the sink
and of course Dettol.

Trouble is I get confused which one had my "teef" in ...lol

Happy dipping

Nap

 

[R Dominick]

Ok, I used the Super Clean that ghamitt1 and theBaron suggested and it is working really good! Thanks guys!

 

[kevininpdx]

A little late but I use acetone for stripping metal figs. It gets them completely clean unlike other strippers that might leave the primer in patches.

 

[R Dominick]

Kevininpdx, It is never too late for a good suggestion.

 

[Larsen E. Whipsnade]

This was always an issue for me too until one day when I was cleaning dried acrylic paint from some old brushes with Winsor&Newton Brush Cleaner and Restorer. Aha! I sez to myself, if this stuff will clean old dried paint from a delicate artist's brush (the brush, not the artist), it's gotta strip dried paint from a figure (in my case a resin figure but if it works on resin it will surely work on metal as well) and sure 'nuff, a toothbrush and a little W&N and the figure was back to new. One precaution I did take so I didn't lose any fine detail was to scrub a little, then rinse, scrub/rinse and repeat until all the paint was gone.

 

[Steve Ski]

Hey, don't' forget "Easy Off" oven cleaner, works great for me, even on old paint. Let it foam away and use a tooth brush, rinse in hot water.

 

[theBaron]

Hey, don't' forget "Easy Off" oven cleaner, works great for me, even on old paint. Let it foam away and use a tooth brush, rinse in hot water.

I used to use oven cleaner, too, till I learned about SuperClean. Oven cleaner has a couple of disadvantages. Though the active ingredient in both products is lye, somehow oven cleaner is more caustic. You really do need good ventilation and gloves. But the bigger disadvantage that it's a once-and-done product. Spray the object, let the lye go to work, wash it off, and spray again if necessary. That was a big part of deciding to switch. Like I say above, I use glass jars of different sizes, for pieces of different sizes, and I can use a batch of SuperClean over and over. That's a big advantage, for me.

Prost!
Brad

 

[Graham]

‘Muc Off’. No, not being rude, it is a product designed to clean mountain bikes etc. I have used it on acrylics and oils by soaking the figure overnight in a tub of it. Works well and I safe to rinse away. I put the remaining liqued back in the bottle and have used it multiple times without noticeable loss of effectiveness.