How to strip paint from miniatures - Simple method for saving models

How to strip paint from miniatures

 This poor trooper came to me covered in chalky textured paint. This can be the result of spray priming from too far away, using old paint or any number of other spray issues.

Clearly sometimes miniatures need repainted.  This could be due to a model crisis like the one seen above or perhaps it's just time to give them a fresh look.  Stripping paint is a task that can be super easy but can also come with fear of damaging those expensive miniatures.  Below is the step by step method that I used on the storm troopers and seems to be the tried and true method for stripping paint from models.  Before we begin I should start with a few warnings: Gloves are recommended.  I didn't use them and the chemical left my hands a bit dry and irritated. Follow product safety guidelines.

Tools required for paint stripping 
- Simple Green cleaner - I've used other chemicals in the past such as Pinesol but this is now my go to and is a staple among miniature painters
- old toothbrush - bristles should be fairly worn
- toothpick/pin/needle - a tiny point for getting into cracks
- Hard plastic bowl - big enough to be able to submerge the minis in


Step 1. Simple Green Bath

For the storm troopers, I used a solution of 1/3 water to 2/3 Simple Green.

 Add minis and solution to the bowl until all of the models are submerged.  Let this sit for 2 hours.





Step 2. Check and brush
After only a couple hours in the bath, the paint started to come off with little effort.
Stir the solution occasionally. Lightly brushing the models with an old toothbrush should cause some of the paint to loosen up and come right off.  The more comes off, the more the chemical will soak in and break up the paint and make it easier to remove during the next round of brushing.  Rinse off each model after brushing and return it to the solution to soak again.  

Step 3. Repeat
I repeated step 2 after another few hours had passed.  I let it sit overnight and brushed them a third time the next day.
Still with only light brushing and not spending much time, a lot of the paint will come off in this step. With models that have many layers of paint you will want to let them sit for a day in between checking and brushing.

During this step it is also possible that the glue used to assemble the model will weaken and bits will come off.  This is normal and will just result in the bits needing to be brushed seperately and reattached after cleaning.

          Step 4. Scrape clumps and nooks 
When the troopers were almost done, I went in with the tip of a toothpick and lightly poked and scraped areas of stubborn paint.
At this point, much of the paint has come off but there are some problem spots that need more of a nudge to be removed.  Lightly scrape cracks and rinse the model.    
         
  

That is how I saved the storm troopers and it is the best way I have found to strip paint from miniatures without fear of them melting.  I hope this has been helpful to you! 

Happy Painting!
-Brendan

You can pick up some Simple Green for yourself here:
             
Also Stormtroopers here:



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Painting an Imperial Knight for Warhammer 40k

Image
I recently took on the task of completely redoing this Imperial Knight. It came to me well painted in a very traditional blue and gold color scheme but when he broke, I figured it was time for an overhaul.  So I popped it apart and in the Simple Green it went.  The knight was previously a Knight Paladin with double battle cannon and reaper chain sword.  A Knight Gallant seems to be more of what I will use on the table top so I built up the power gauntlet.  Also to keep him cheap but swappable, I magnetized the heavy stubber on.    After a few rounds of stripping off the old paint, the knight was ready to be primed.  I started with airbrushing the entire thing in black primer.  The under detail/ mechanical bits were airbrushed with grey, silver and nuln oil.  I later did edge highlighting and brushed on more nuln oil.  For the armor, I airbrushed target raised areas with elysian green and then the same but mixed with yellow.  Also nuln oil and waywatcher green glaze were airb
Read more

Star Wars Legion Painted Imperial Miniatures featuring Darth Vader, Storm Troopers and Speeder Bikes

Image
The force is strong with this one!   This week I fell even more in love with Star Wars Legion from fantasy flight games as my commissioned project was the Imperial models from the core set.  The set included 14 storm troopers, 2 bikes and Vader.  As expected from fantasy flight, the models for Legion are stellar hard plastic and a blast to assemble and paint. My technique for the troopers: airbrush white, nun oil wash, airbrush white and add details.  Simple, effective and fun. For the basing I applied the following: a sand layer, watered down brown, dry brush of baneblade brown, dry brush of ivory, agrax earth shade wash, and patches of scorched earth.   Since this is to be featured in a miniatures event in a few weeks at a friendly local gaming store, I went ahead and did some simple airbrushing on the barricades, templates and range ruler. Of course Vader and the speeder bikes needed some attention too.  Thank you for checking out my work.
Read more

Warhammer 40k Basing: Imperial Knight

Image
After airbrushing, repainting and reassembling the knight, I decided the base should kind of match the rest of my recent Imperial forces: the Catachans. The feet were glued to a custom resin base with a lava flow texture.  Testors putty was used under some of the "toes" to make it more stable and flat to the surface.   The next step was to add texture to the dirt areas.  A layer of sand was glued down and it was left to dry completely. Then it was ready to be base coated.  All of the surface was painted black.  Watered down Mournfang brown was added to the dirt and some grey layering added to the water area. More detail was added by dry-brushing tan and bone on the dirt and also layering blues and grey onto the water. I shaded the dirt with agrax earth shade.  The water was shaded with Drakenhof Nightshade.  While the washes were drying, I cleaned up the rim of the base with black. The next step was gluing grass flock and other material to the
Read more