So I had some older X-Wing Minis that I'd painted when I was first learning how to paint. Wasn't really happy with them and decided to strip them this past week. (I stripped the Black & Red Squadron in this post .) I put them in a mixture of Windex/Simple Green and let them soak for six days. After six days paint removal was proving stubborn and I'd made frustratingly insignificant progress. The paint I applied was just Acrylic Citadel paints, no sealers or clear coating.

So, having listened to the internet and being rewarded with minimal success, I decided to apply my chemical knowledge to the situation. As a Chemist with access to a fully equipped environmental laboratory the options were endless. I certainly had the means available to strip the paint, as well as the means to dissolve the miniatures entirely. What ended up working brilliantly, and I though it worth sharing, was a mixture of 67% Isopropanol and 33% Methanol combined with a sonic cleaner. Within 20 minutes I'd not just stripped my paint job but also >95% of the FFG base paintjob I had originally painted over.

Here's the beast of a sonic cleaner:

I did use a toothbrush to clean the models, it was really just to push the paint off - it wasn't really attached anymore. But here's the 20 minute result (I pre-removed the wings):

As it would turnout, the TIE Punisher paintjob is made of tougher stuff. I let it soak and be cleaned simultaneously with my other models. Same solvent, same soak times, same sonic exposure, and same brushing yet the FFG paintjob remained. This was the only model I cleaned that retained its FFG paint, not a bother as I always just paint over it...but clearly an oddity.

Great to know, but kind of hard to copy...

Thanks for sharing!

And here I thought that the plastic was colored a gray, a beige, or what-have-you that made up the base of the model...

1 hour ago, gjnido said:

Great to know, but kind of hard to copy...

Only in exacting detail.

Will the average miniatures painter want to spend $300-800 on a Branson 5510 sonic cleaner (even used from eBay price)? No.

But the average big box store like Wal*Mart has sonic cleaners for jewelry, they're modest by comparison but it'll do the job. A large "industrial" sonic cleaner from a big box store will set you back $40-50.

Isopropyl alcohol (AKA: prapan-2-ol, isopropanol, or 2-propanol) is available in most drug stores as an antiseptic in purities up to 91% (is it identical to the certified >99.995% purity I used? No, but honestly it'll make no difference for de-painting minis). Likewise methanol (AKA methyl alcohol, carbinol, or wood alcohol) is also widely available.

For a simple, skip the whole straight methanol bit, just buy Klean Strip Denatured Alcohol. It is 30-50% Ethanol and 40-60% Methanol. Combine this in the same ratio with the 91% Isopropanol from the drugstore and it'll have the same effect without risk to the plastic model.

Admittedly, I over-scienced this...but you can absolutely replicate this on the cheap at home.