Ok, so here is the situation.

I recently decided after a long debate to remove the paint scheme I had already painted to my Armada ships, including my half finished idea for my Rebels. So I did some research and asked some questions, and settled on using Simple-Green to remove the paint (exclusively using GW Paint range as I also Paint WH minatures). After about 3 days of soaking (probably more then it needed) the paint all but fell off on its own. Some vigorous brushing followed to get into the panels and details and remove the remaining paint that had not already ceded to the solution.

Except for 4 models.

These 4 had been some of my fist Armada ships I painted, and when I first started I had applied a layer of Administrative Grey to my three VSD's and one GSD. I also lightly varnished them.

This paint now after 4 days of soaking has yet to yield. While the paint is soft and looks water logged, it will not come up to the a brushing I've applied. It will come up when scraped at, though not easily. Oddly thought, it looks like the wash did get removed.

So I'm a bit flummoxed. The slightly deluded Simple-Green solution I used seems to have failed before this paint, an my only recourse seems to be, to take a brill-ow pad to the model. Something I desperately don't want to do.

So I come to you guys to ask your opinions and thoughts on the mater. Should I perhaps immersed in a None deluded Simple-Green, or turn to another agent?

Or perhaps I'm approaching it wrong?

I'm any case, if anyone with more experience stripping Paint from models (not hard, considering this is my first time doing so) has any pointers or wisdom, I would love to learn. That way I can save these models and give them the paint scheme they deserve.

Thank you any who read this. I appreciate you taking your time to look over this.

Much obliged.

EDIT: Fixed some of the spelling and grammatical errors. Probably missed most of them, but I think I got the more major ones. This was written from a phone. Sadly there is nothing I can do about the title. It will be my shame.

I normally do strip models in undiluted Simple Green and it takes off most paint with just a toothbrush and occasionally a wooden or plastic toothpick for recesses. That said, some paints just don't want to come off (I have a particular Vallejo red that refuses to ever come free. It's like it's stained the plastic). It could be the varnish if you haven't used it on other models.What type of varnish did you use? Was the Administratum Grey the typical layer variety? .

If you could, would you be able to get us a picture of it? Some paints react oddly and have deceptive properties that makes them look more or less workable than they truly are. I also wouldn't go with a proper brillo pad, the steel wool will almost certainly score the surface. At the worst, you may still be able to paint over the old layer with little to no loss of adhesion or adverse surface texture.

There are other alternatives but I hate suggesting them because I really don't trust them.

When it comes to Simple Green .

Don't Dilute it. Use it concentrated. Keep it in a slightly warm condition while stripping (as that accelerates it) - like in a bucket on the windowsill.

A Toothbrush should be as abrasive as you go. Anything more than that, will damage the surface.

If you absolutely have to, brush under warm running water... Use the Hydrophobic/Phyllic properties of cleansers to your benefit.

Otherwise.

95% Isopropyl Alcohol.

Will not damage the plastic.

Will pick up anything that Simple Green will not. Including the original FFG Paintjob. Right down to bare plastic

So here are pictures of the models as requested.

The varnish I used was Army Painters Anti-Shine Mat Varnish. I dont think that was the issue, as an ISD I varnished had the paint come right off when I took a toothbrush to it. However I dont know how things necessarily interact with one another.

As you can see there are some differences. One is basically in good condition as I used a simpler process when doing that one. I painted the dark panels then washed it with Nulen Oil as the sort of base coat before doing the dry brushing. Hopefully Photobuckets compression didn't kill to much of the detail, the pictures are actually about 5300 x 2300 pixels. You will have to click on the enlarged images in Photobucket to see the details.

When it comes to Simple Green .

Don't Dilute it. Use it concentrated. Keep it in a slightly warm condition while stripping (as that accelerates it) - like in a bucket on the windowsill.

A Toothbrush should be as abrasive as you go. Anything more than that, will damage the surface.

If you absolutely have to, brush under warm running water... Use the Hydrophobic/Phyllic properties of cleansers to your benefit.

Otherwise.

95% Isopropyl Alcohol.

Will not damage the plastic.

Will pick up anything that Simple Green will not. Including the original FFG Paintjob. Right down to bare plastic

As far as Simple-Green is concerned, I had a feeling I shouldn't, but as I was using it on a large amount of ships. As this was the first time I had ever used it, I was concerned about damaging the models. That worry was all for naught, but I figured better safe then sorry. These last remaining however might get a full undiluted treatment. Also I did keep it in warmed. I left it outside. Its been a balmy few days here in NC, so it kept the water nice and warm. I do beleive I learned about that trick from one of your Posts here on the Forums Drasnighta.

So about this, 95% Isopropyl Alcohol, do I need to soak the models in for an extended period of time, or just brush it in? I'm curious the process and procedure of using it on models. Should my second attempt at Simple-Green not do it, or simply to get rid of FFG paint entirely.

Anyways, thank you both for your input! This has made for an interesting learning experience to say the least.

Yes, that looks like a Dilution/Time issue.

A Re-Soak in Undiluted, and a scrub, should help get the last of that... Sometimes, it just doesn't soak all the way through the paint to lift it off from the far side... So Resoak, and Re-Scrub...

When it comes to Rubbing Alcohol - I soak for maybe 15 minutes... Then Toothbrush Scrub.

Then soak and re-scrub as required.

However, I've yet to leave a model overnight in it to test that... But I have left a few hours at a time.

It will dry out your hands if you are scrubbing ungloved, though... Something fierce... Skin-Crackingly So, if you're the sort of person prone to it...

Use gloves with the 95% alcohol. Its lethal. The only people not prone to it are those who have lost feeling in their hands from too much handling of dangerous chemicals.

Please wear gloves.

I have left models in undiluted Simple Green for days, no harm. I will also give models a re-soak and scrub after the initial soak and scrub. Plastic tends to hold onto paint better than metal or resin, so it may not all come off. Enough will for priming and paint, though.

Hey, thank you guys for all your help. I appreciate it.

I have a further questions for those in the know. Do you guys know if 91% Isopropyl Alcohol will work just as well for removing the paint?

Again thank you guys for your help!

Hey, thank you guys for all your help. I appreciate it.

I have a further questions for those in the know. Do you guys know if 91% Isopropyl Alcohol will work just as well for removing the paint?

Again thank you guys for your help!

91-95, just as good.

75, not quite as good.

I did all my squads and left them in simple green for 2 weeks. Scrubbed with old tooth brush and good to go. Let's me practice and get better with my line work.

Erg, well the forum ate my earlier post, so Im going to just recap. Partially my own **** fault since I didn't realize I wasn't logged when I went to post.

Thank you guys for the help. The alcohol worked like a charm, it took off EVERYTHING. I know you had said that it would Drasnighta, but I didn't know what to expect. So now I have bare plastic models and I couldn't be more ecstatic, and a little saddened by the loss of FFG's paint job. I guess I'm both happy and sad!

Anyway, now begins the next part of this. To find a good White, and a good Light Grey primer that goes on smooth. Especially for the white, the times I've used a white primer, Its always ended up chalky and unnecessarily gritty to the touch. I know the conditions you prime in are extremely important to how the texture of the priming ends up, but I've yet to have good luck with white primers. Any suggestions on that?

I have plenty of Suggestions.

However, they're all crap, and boil down to "Don't use White Primers."

Because their window of operation is very narrow, in regards to Air Temperature, Air Pressure and Humidity...

... but those are the variables you can control.

White Primers also suffer from horrible amounts of can ageing , as the particles like to bunch up more than the carbon black in a black primer - and shaking the hell out of the can only gets you so far...

If you absolutely, positively, must, with no alternative, use a white primer... Then remember the primer's creed:

"A Prime is not to set the Base Colour. A Prime is to provide the bare minimum amount of coverage for a basecoat to adhere to..."

That means dusting it, and then adding your base coat separately.

As it is, I've defaulted to light greys for the most part, until I can get a serviceable airbrush.

If you have an airbrush, vallejo gray primer is really more like a light gray/white: it's great stuff, so long as you apply it via airbrush and don't use too many additives (flow enhancers and such should be limited to 10% volume) nor thin it too far- it's polyurethane based and so enjoys going on a teeny bit wet compared to standard "color" paints.

I've also used the vallejo white primer just because its convenient for me to get: through the airbrush, it does a good enough job of providing tooth, but its not something you'd want to count on for opacity/color brilliance (but, as per Dras's post above, you shouldn't really be depending on it for that.)

For my use, white primer is only for prepping large panels for yellow or red (BTW I hate painting yellow and red ) otherwise, I just use light grays and blacks.