Best Method of Stripping?

[Odious Asparagus]

everyone has their favored method of painting, but is there a surefire way to remove acrylic paint from lead figures so they can be repainted? i've heard several options, paint stipper (duh!), pine-sol, and brake fluid among others. what are the best methods of stripping you've found? i need to paint some figures for a new game and need to strip old figures to save some cash!

thanks in advance!

kurt

[David Kuijt]

Pinesol is what I use.

[Odious Asparagus]

thanks david. do you let them soak for awhile or scrub the heck out of the figs with a toothbrush and pine-sol? i tried the toothbrush method with no satisfying results, but haven't yet let them soak overnight....

kurt

[David Kuijt]

I let them soak for two or three days, then scrub them with a toothbrush. Sometimes it needs another soak afterwards to get the nooks and crannies, but it is easy -- it just takes planning, because if you wait until the last minute it doesn't work quickly.

[Stelzone]

I use woodstripper, seems to clean the figure after a soak of a couple of days and does no harm to the figures. I put them in a glass jar and will swish them around gently once a day. Use gloves for the rinsing. even removes old glue. So not a good method if you want the spears or shields ro stay on.

Most of the paint comes off in the water, a little brushing may be needed (wear glasses), then just let them dry completly and prime. This is good for both enamels and acrylics.

Good Luck,
Mike

[xeswop]

I'll second David's comments.

I even got 10-year old enamal paint off after a 2 day soak. Now I use Pinesol to clean old painting brushes that have dried paint inside the bristles. For figures, I did start to use a new hard tooth brush as the old ones were soft and after use, too soft.

I found used tooth brush bristles good for tufts of high grass on bases.

[Paul A. Hannah]

Originally posted by Bob.:
I found used tooth brush bristles good for tufts of high grass on bases.Toothbrush bristles also make great arrows. I add them to (15mm) archer figures that are in a firing pose, and to the occasional shield for those armies that tend to do battle in "bowland".

But, getting back on topic... I too have used both paint stripper (best results but oh so toxic) and PineSol (pretty good results, but requires more scrubbing, I find, even after several days in the soup). I will often let figures soak a second time in Acetone (nail-polish remover).

All very labor intensive. So, sometimes, if the paint isn't too thick, I will just file off what I can and then prime 'n paint.

[ March 07, 2005, 13:15: Message edited by: Paul A. Hannah ]

[Macbeth]

I've had some good results with very cheap oven cleaner spray.

Spray on the figures and let the foam sit for a day, then scrub with a toothbrush or nailbrush in water.

The water being added I discovered by trial and error, and it made all the difference.

Cheers

[orca]

I tried commercial strippers, brake fluid and Pine=Sol.

A solution of Pine-Sol & water to 50/50 worked best, but I soaked the figs for severval days and scrubbed the figs with an old toothbrush.

[xeswop]

Paul, a great idea. What do you use for bow strings?

Originally posted by Paul A. Hannah:
Toothbrush bristles also make great arrows. I add them to (15mm) archer figures that are in a firing pose, and to the occasional shield for those armies that tend to do battle in "bowland".

[Paul A. Hannah]

Originally posted by Bob.:
Paul, a great idea. What do you use for bow strings?So-called "invisible thread", a wee small, clear nylon thread that my wife uses in her quilting hobby. I don't string too many bows, just a few here and there for effect.

Back to paint-stripping methods... I've heard some 'gamers rave about "Simple Green". I just got a bottle of that. Hey, it's a worth a try.

[ March 10, 2005, 20:43: Message edited by: Paul A. Hannah ]