Advice on repainting/stripping

[Valandar]

I am about to start repainting several of my clix... Someone said something about using acetone-free nail polish remover to remove the old paint, but I have a question.

How long should the remover stay on? Should I just brush it on, and then scrub it off. or should I soak it for a few minutes then scrub off the paint?

Anyone?

[razz10555]

I have done over 100 custom clix, & I have never stripped the original paint

if you use citadel colour brand or war hammer paints you will get a much better result than testors

[Valandar]

I -only- use Citadel paint - came close to going to the Golden Demon one year.

My point is that a lot of the IC figs have so much paint just slapped on that all the detail is lost completely, and I want to recover that detail. I know it's there, I've slowly peeled tiny amounts off wit a sharp knife before.

[razz10555]

Ive done the knife trick before, another option is take your sloppy painted one to your comic shop to trade for the exact same less sloppy painted one

whats golden demon sounds like a scarey chinese buffet

[Valandar]

The Golden Demon Awards are the National and International Painting Competitions sponsored by Games Workshops... you'll see some unbelievable things at those competitions.

[razz10555]

wow after all the years I've painted warhammer & done custom mini's I've never heard of it I'll have to look it up on this internet machine

[Melkoloran]

Golden Demon rocks. As for stripping, I don't generally strip heroclix due to the strange happenings that sometimes comes from it. I have, however, heard that nail polish remover works. I think they brushed it on and scrubbed off.

[urlmaker]

Heroclix AND strippers.... Hmmmm. Sounds like a recipe for disaster. Or fun. hehehe

[rabidroadkill]

I use the Apple Barrell paints you can buy at Wal-Mart for 44 cents a "thing" (what would you call those things of paint :D ) I dont actually strip them, I just give them a quick primer coat of white or black depending on how light or dark I want the colors to appear. Here is some of my work for example:

http://photos.yahoo.com/bc/rabidroadkill71/lst?.dir=/&.view=t&.src=ph&.done=

[Melkoloran]

Originally posted by urlmaker
Heroclix AND strippers.... Hmmmm. Sounds like a recipe for disaster. Or fun. hehehe
*laugh* That's a little too much info ;)

[Delcar]

I soaked Captain America overnight in my bucket of pure Acetone. (after removing him from the base)

In the morning, I fished out all three pieces.

He was paint free, soft and rubbery, and nearly twice his usual size. When I got home from work he had shrunk down and hardened again.

Acetone should be easy to find, and 6-7 hours did no permanent harm.

[mighty28]

Maybe I am doing something wrong......
I have tried using acetone and only some of the paint comes off. I tried stripping a blob like this, and I got splotchy results and dismemberment. Of course, super glue will fix the dismemberment.

[SuperSkrull]

You want the nail polish remover that HAS the acetone (its the acetone that does the actual stripping).

I've left figs soaking in 2:3 mixes of acetone (available at any hardware store, often in teh car department) and acetone-based nail polish remover for about a day or two. The acetone itself has a nasty nasty brain-frying fume thing going on so be careful to either wear a mask or keep it good and away from your face while you're using it, and always to use latex gloves when stripping the figures. There are a series of threads on this already in the archives (use my name and acetone in the search engine above for any one of them).

I also recommend either ultra-cheap craft paints like Apple Barrel or Folk Art stuff. I've used them, Velajo color (the best by far) and Citadel color when I've repainted the figs.

Sometimes some of the acetone stays in the plastic and can prevent the new paint to taking to the plastic. in cases such as this, it pays to give the figures a quick soak in a baking soda and water mix to counteract the acids in the acetone and a good scrubbing with soapy water afterwards before re-priming them.

After doing this for almost a year I've yet to have a figure "eaten" by the dip, and I've left them soaking in there for 3 days to a week sometimes. The trick is to be careful after you've removed them and clean them using Q-tips or kleenex with some acetone on them and latex gloves to protect your hands. The acetone is NOT skin-friendly, and can be quite dangerous if not respected. Parents should keep an eye on any kid doing this on their own, or better, do it for them so nobody gets hurt.

Hope this helps.

Joe

[bullseye100]

thanks for the acetone tip...

[djensen47]

I soaked my Captain America figure in acetone for about 15 minutes. I then had to use a soft toothbrush to scrub off the rest of the paint. But now he is quite a bit softer than before I dipped him. He is about as stiff as some of my older HeroClix figures, you know, the ones you are afraid to click because it feels like you are going to tear them off at their feet.

[psychopanda]

Valandar, Mr "I have the cool Power Man" mod, Valandar?

I had very little luck using Acetone based nail polish. It barely removed the paint and left the figures very rubbery. I left them immersed for about a day.

Someone else had suggested using straight acetone in a glass jar, shaking, let sit for a little while, 5-10 minutes?

I'll probably test that next.

I definitely confirm the bad fumes that were mentioned. Nail polish stinks, especially in a sizeable quantity and then mixed with plastic.

[djensen47]

Just a quick update on the acetone soaking of Captain America. It's been a few weeks now and I've sprayed primer and almost completed painting the figure and it has started to become more stiff. I think with time and paint the figure will harden and be acceptable for use.

[psychopanda]

My very rubbery Toad has started to become stiffer as well, this after a couple of weeks. It takes a long time, but amazingly, they do come back. I had given up hope on him after only a few days! "Patience, 'panda...patience!" :)

[MindsEnd]

I've had a little luck striping the paint of with this stuff called "Polly S Decal Remover". You can soak the figure overnight and it won't get rubbery. Then you just give it a brushing and help the paint off.

[psychopanda]

Where did you buy it from, MindsEnd?