Stripping

I had a bunch of Bretonnian archers sitting around that I got off of e-bay and they didn't have the greatest of paint jobs.  So I figured I would strip them while I was doing other projects.
First, I use brake fluid for my stripping.  I usually get the cheapest brake fluid I can find since once you use it for stripping, you can't use it for anything else.  The advantage, though, is that you can use it as stripper over and over.


What I use for my car and for stripping paint.

I pour the brake fluid into a jar or similar container and then place the figures that are getting stripped into it.  I usually leave them soaking overnight, that way the brake fluid gets into all of the nooks and crannies while giving it time to break down the paint.



The figures take a bath.

After the overnight soak, I take them out and scrub the with a stiff bristled brush.  You can use an old toothbrush but I use a GI gun brush.  Its made out of nylon so it won't scratch the model but is stiff enough to get at the paint.  It also has a smaller brush at the end for those hard to reach spots.

Usually cost about a $1 but will last about forever.

So with a good scrubbing, the figures will come out like new.  Just rinse them off with water, let them dry, and their ready to be primed and painted again.  And the best part, it works on both metal and plastic (even at the same time).

Metal on the left, plastic on the right.  Both from the same jar.

It also does not affect superglue.  As you can see, the basing is still intact and has to be scraped off.   But, you won't have to worry about your glued pieces that you want to stay on coming off.