Stripping paint

[Mattb]

Hey guys, I'm looking to strip some paint off of some old metal minis I have. I've looked up plenty of guides online, but was wondering if anyone had some recommendations for chemicals I can get here in Japan, especially from somewhere convenient like Cainz or Kahma.

So far I've narrowed it down to either acetone or isopropyl alcohol. Although I want to try to avoid destroying the plastic base (slot based are a pain to replace), so I'm learning more toward iso alcohol.

Has anyone else stripped paint from metal before? How did you go about it?

[jus]

Has anyone else stripped paint from metal before? How did you go about it?

Oh yes, Many times. Guilliman twice (at least).

The safest way to strip, I've found is using a household cleaner called SIMPLE GREEN. It's a dourless and can strip ACRYLIC paint (but not primer) off a mini( Plastic or metal) and is really quite effective.
Just let it soak in a container for a few hours at least and paint should come off with some brushing with a toothbrush.

I haven't tried using isopropyl to strip minis with and I would be a little hesitant, firstly because it reeks and secondly because it's a toxic chemical. I have a tank of some to clean up liquid resin. The stuff is potent.

EDIT: on second thought, isopropyl might do the job handily. I'd stick with the tried and true simple green though

EDIT EDIT: you want to make sure that the paint on the mini is acrylic. Spray paint from a rattle can for instance can't be stripped with simple green.

[The Other Dave]

Simple Green is good, and Kahma home centers have it (bigger ones, anyway - it'll be in the "serious DIY cleaners" section rather than the "regular home care" section.

Also the green マジックリン from the regular department store, although I've had varied success with it depending on what I used for primer and how long the paint had been on - sometimes it'll strip minis clean after a 5- to 6-hour soak and sometimes it'll struggle to get anything off. (That said, I've had the most trouble with it with some eBay rescues, and who knows what they might have used to paint with - like Simple Green, it works best on acrylics.)

Both of these, as jus says, have the massive benefits of not being toxic, which can't be understated!

[Karantu]

I've had pretty good results with Simple Green and old metal miniatures that I got off of ebay. I think it should be alright on the base as well.
In my case I think I was able to get down to bare metal but I'm not sure if or how the miniature was primed in the first place.
It also might have to do with concentration and soak time since I used concentrated Simple Green which I left the miniature in for more than 24hrs. Just be sure not to lose any bits while you're scrubbing it in the sink.

[Primarch]

Some stripping agents will also weaken any joints in the mini.
Plastic minis made with polystyrene cement should be fine (though scrubbing the mini may knock things loose). Models held together with superglue may well break apart after their bath.

[Mattb]

Thanks for the advice guys!

I'm was hoping to strip even the primer though since alot of the paint has chipped away and it looks very patchy. I want to strip it down to bare metal and reprime it, if I can. I am worried about getting something too toxic though since I have a baby in the house, so I think I'll try the Simple Green first!

If that doesn't work then maybe I'll try the the iso alcohol.

[me_in_japan]

+1 for simple green. Ive used it on metal (i actually have an old metal eldar that I forgot about and has been sitting in simple green for...maybe four years now? He seems fine, but I'm kinda scared to open the jar...) also plastic, and even FW resin have all been fine and dandy. Don't leave plastic or resin in there for four years, though. An hour or two should be fine.

[Mattb]

Update: I ended up taking Dave's advice and using the green マジックリン just because it's readily available from a store on my way home from work and it worked perfectly!

I soaked the minis for around 12 hours before scrubbing them with an old toothbrush and it removed everything - even the primer. All without damaging the plastic base and superglue.

The paint and primer was close to 20 years old, so that might've been why it was so easy - but I still recommend it to anyone else!