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Stripping a Miniature in Under 20 Minutes - Alphonse | |
| Eventually, every person enthralled in miniature hobby gaming comes across a
situation where he wishes to revamp an old miniature that was done years ago, or simply
correct a flawed color scheme. Everyone who has wanted to strip the paint off their
miniatures has initially asked themselves, "What am I going to use to strip this mini?"
Unfortunately, this question leads to a myriad of other questions, like, "Will this stuff
work?" or, "is this hazardous to my health?" and even, "How long will this take?" Look no more. I present to you the ultimate paint stripper: 
This humble looking green liquid will solve all of your paint stripping problems with no consequences or repercussions. It reigns supreme in the areas of effectiveness, safety, and time. In the gamer's varied lifestyle, not everyone can have a dedicated place to set down their solutions in a well ventilated area, nor can everyone wait days on end for results. In this tutorial, I will show you the effectiveness, the safety, and the time saving qualities of "Simple Green." While "Simple Green" is quite safe and odorless, those who are cautious should still heed that this substance is a mild irritant. Those with sensitive skin or respiratory deficencies should observe a little caution while handling this substance. Supplies you will need:
I will use this Heavy Bolter Marine for my example. I found this guy in the closet 6 months after a project this AWOL mini was intended for. Step 1:Fill your container partially full with Simple Clean at full strength. You'll want to submerge the whole mini in the solution, so make sure you have enough. I'm using a generic shot-glass as my container.
Simple enough of a set up.Step 2:Place your mini in the solution. Make sure it is fully immersed.
Bad photography aside, little can go wrong.  Just to prove that the stuff is safe, I took a large whiff of this stuff. Unpleasant fragrance aside, no damage occurred. Let's see someone do that with Brake Fluid! Step 3:Wait about 15 minutes. However, this portion is actually a fork in the road. If you need the job done quickly, 12-18 minutes is a good time to submerge the mini. On the other hand, you can let the miniature sit in the solution for a good 12-36 hours and you'll be presented with a relatively clean miniature with little scrubbing to do. After just a little while, the paint flecking up is already visible. Step 4:Fish the mini out with your fingers. Yes, your bare fingers. Let your excess solution drip back into your container. Lay the miniature down on a bed of paper towels.Step 5:Take your toothbrush and gently run it across the mini. The paint quite literally comes off in sheets. Step 6:Scrub off the paint all over the miniature. Corners and hard to reach areas will take a little more work. This is the result. Some areas didn't come off initially, so you may want to repeat the scrubbing until you reach satisfactory results. Step 7:For fine and hard to reach areas, gently rub the paint clean with a small toohpick. In order to get all areas, you may have to break apart the glue bonds. This is purely optional. Breaking the mini apart lets you get to troublesome areas, like the stomach area for this marine. The whole scrubbing session should take less than 5 minutes. Step 8:Rinse your whole mini under a running faucet to rinse away any excess paint and Simple Green. Done in under 20 minutes. Both the plastic and the metal are safe. The miniature may not be totally clean, but is thin and clear enough that it will be ready for a priming. Those who want to get a cleaner miniature should repeat the necessary steps. Varying the stepsNote that you can still use the solution for future minis even after multiple stripping sessions. If you're stripping paint off a group of miniatures all at once, simply place them all in the solution and make sure they are all immersed. Multiply ten by the number of minis and you'll have a rough estimate of how long you should let the miniatures sit in the solution.I hope gave those who had no idea some thoughts. Furthermore, I hope I gave those who do know a thing or two to PUT AWAY THAT GASOLINE, PINE SOL, OR BRAKE FLUID!!! Until next time. | |
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