Stripping Paint from Warhammer Miniatures using Isopropyl Alcohol 

Useful video. Appreciated. Shame about the high horse brigade in the comments section. Don't see them going out of their way to make a video on doing this stuff.

Citadel sprays (and Vallejo, etc) contain an organic solvent that eats into the mini to make the paint stick. My advice is to scrub the paint off, then spray over the remaining paint. It will not be noticeable.

Hey pro tip. Bottles with the filler orientated on the edge are designed to be poured while holding it sideways. It gives the liquid an air gap and keeps a nice laminar flow from the liquid. Washer fluid bottles, antifreeze, bleach, and apparently giant bottles of isopropyl alcohol - hold them long ways, then pour.

whats really important to know: IPA doesnt really damage plastic or metal, but resin starts to get really soft after about 30min I had the misfortune of experiencing that on old leman russ forgeworld turrets, where the smaller pieces can now be bent and its no longer feeling "firm"

Your frugality warmed my cheap Dutch heart

hey dude! top tip for pouring from those 5 litre bottles is turn them on their side when you pour, this way it allows the air to escape and stops that knarly chugging that splashes everywhere! thanks for the vid

Coffe filters work brill for filtering it 😊

If you are going to be doing a lot of that pouring back and forth, you might want to go to your local DIY store and pick up an inexpensive pair of safety glasses and a funnel.

My recommendation for pouring the isopropyl alcohol back in is a funnel and coffee filter an when pouring with a jug pour from the side or with the opening opposite what your pouring into, never spilt engine oil this way

To answer your question about the orange paint flakes, I think it's because (as you said) the paint was many thin layers that you patiently allowed to dry completely before the next application. So it was probably easier for the IPA to get behind the edge of the orange paint than to pass through all those consistent layers.

Quick tip for pouring jugs. If you turn that big boi of ISO on its side, you'll find it pours out quite nicely, less glugging

A bit of a wine and mead maker's trick here. Next time you want to remove any liquid with sediment, you should try using a siphon. This will leave the worst sediment at the bottom and you can still use your sock to get the rest. Do that a second time with a coffee filter for even cleaner filtration.

Eyebrow game is strong in that thumbnail

Alcohol - the cure for so many of life's problems. The cause too though, to be fair.

May or may not be able to assist in future large-container-pouring, huzzah for unsolicited advice! If you pour from one of the larger flat surfaces and start at a nice gentle angle, the liquid within won’t be gurgling for continual intake since it won’t have as much volume above the neck of the bottle. Learned that the fun way growing up with rigs that devoured oil. Deffo go for that funnel too to get the useable contents back into the original container!

I use isopropyl alcohol to strip paint off of toys that I want to paint for my ttrpgs. Those kinds of paint wind up needing to sit for a couple days to loosen up enough. I find it helps if the alcohol is warmer, too.

Next time while pouring, flip the can 180 degrees so the opening is on top. This will cause the fluid to not splash out as much!

Leave the IPA and the cloudy sediment will settle to the bottom after a few hours. Then scoop the clean IPA out and the dregs will evaporate, allowing you to just scrub the tub out.

A funnel and coffee filter will work better than a sock👍

iso is the best product for cleaning airbrush. a paintbrush dipped in iso makes a quick eraser tool for dried acryllic too.

I spilt some isopropyl alcohol just before watching this which has made this video very immersive, 10/10

7:39 was satisfying, just how it peeled off, top tier vid, Also half way to 500 subs!!!!, just shows how great your vids are when almost half of your viewers are subbed! Well done 🎉🎉🎉

I have used both "La's Totally Awesome" and "Purple Power" cleaner (separately) diluted 50/50 with water. Way less toxic than IPA--which I already use lots of in my 3D printer. Great video!

Sometimes, I absolutely love the timing of ads. "It took me days to paint the orange. And then games workshop dropped this..." "50% off pizza at dominos" lol😂

Dude, I am a chemist, and if you are doing this ever again, please wear protective glasses, one drop of that thing touches your eyes and you are done. No kidding.

Twenty years ago in our game store we did a experiment where we tested on GW figs several substances on which was best on striping paint. We tested break fluid, gasoline, ISOPROPYL, Pine-sol, paint stripper. and several others. After a month the owner won Pine Sol. It was cheap, non toxic, non flame-able, smelled pleasenant and worked fast. Now I use Simply Green or La Faboulus!!!

bro is handling the miniature like its lego lol

This really helps, I have been looking for a video like this for sometime and has helped with my stripping of plastic minis.

For future reference, if full turn bottles like that on their side when you start tipping.

This was really helpful! Bought a bunch of mixed Space Marines second hand that I want to repurpose as Deathwatch so thanks for taking the time to do this 😊

I work with isopropyl alcohol a lot and a respirator with organic filters help a lot with the fumes

if you want to properly clean the isopropyl you'll want to run it through a bunch of cat litter and coffee filters, that will clean out all the junk in it

Wow! Man, I really like your style of video! Fun, interesting and useful!

Pro tip for reusing your IPA, invest in a big funnel, and attach some form of filtering material to the bottom, makes it a faster and less messy process.

Next time you pour it flip it so the nozzle is at the top, it will flow smoother

Gonna try and do this to my T'au army to freshen them up! They were my first and are... quite tragic compared to my modern stuff

Looks like an acceptable method!

I'm a Battletech player, and I do my mechs orange. I can 100% confirm that it's a pain. Mixing white into the orange for the first coat helps a lot.

Primer is tricky to get off. The normal colour is easy, it just goobs off, as seen, but primer.... No matter the colour. Especially in the nooks... Like removing glue between two parts.

Nice video, thanks. You can get fluid transfer pumps for under £10 and up, depending on how easy you want to make the job.

Thanks for the video, I’m about to try save some models I failed miserably to paint white, funnily enough a similar sort of situation to you, white/yellow/orange really did suck.

Dont use a scalpel u willl scratch into the plastic use a wooden toothpick work perfect.

Free awesome weathering from the metallics! Feature!

useful video, thanks a lot!

This technik really work ? WoW

I just started painting on my first set of models. My paint wont stick to the primer. Realized I had a primer / paint combo. This video is a good help to fix the mistake.

when you're pouring out of big 5l jugs like that, pour it sideways on or upside down from how you're doing it there. Way more control and less glugging splashing.

To filter, try cutting the bottom off a 2 liter bottle, lay part of an old cotton tshirt around the inside, secure the ends around the side of the bottle, then use it as a funnel into the jug

Very honest video

You can leave your plastic minis for more than a week in PA, no problem. To get rid of the primer (leadbelcher included), leave it for 3 days mini so you don't need to spend too long scrubbing the bastard with a toothbrush or a trade paintbrush. For filtering further used, get a pack of paper coffee filters the metallic pigments will get caught.

Pouring the second stage of filtration through a paper coffee filter would remove the metal flakes

Helpful and humorous!

Back in the day I used to hoover up miniatures with 50 layers of paint up off ebay for cheap. Then soak them overnight in Dettol (had to be the original not pine scented) and scrub off with a toothbrush. Gloves were a must or you lost the top 10 layers of skin off your hands.

That reminds me on Chinese eating ASMR videos, when they cook lobsters and crabs and stuff. xD

in future, a funnel and coffee filter paper is the best way to filter

i had to work on a set of miniatures that the ex owner was more than liberal with his application of contrast paints. that took a bit of work to get out when i used IPA but it was way more efficient than other methods i used in the past.

Thank you for the video! I’m gonna use IPA to strip some marines I bought! Some suggestions as I deal with solvents like IPA everyday. 1) pour slowly to avoid the “glug” and keep from splashing everywhere. 2) use a funnel and coffee filters to strain as you pour back into your jug, the coffee filters dry fast and you can use them 2-3 times before they get too gunked up 3) ventilate your space, wear eye protection and chemical resistant gloves. Solvents are toxic as hell 4) dispose of that sludge at a hazardous waste disposal site. Solvents are toxic and it’s bad to flush it down the drain. Solvents are toxic as hell

Just a note bro when pouring hold on the side stops the glugging works well when refilling the screen wash too 😂

1:14 I feel your pain man

Just be careful with the iso as it is highly combustible, especially the vapours you can't see. As you say, good ventilation is a very good idea. It works well, but you just have to treat it like any potentially dangerous chemicals with care. Obviously storage away from pets and children as it of course would be very harmful for them. It is an irritant too, so gloves are good. I know it probably sounds a bit obvious, but probably worth including warnings for safety in videos just to cover yourself. It is fantastic with metal models btw. Obviously no use for resin. An alternative is methylated spirits, which apparently is more effective, but I've yet to try myself. Goobertown hobbies did a comparison video in his scientific testing way with some interesting results.

i have an idea maybe use another box same as your but with an hole containind an funnel ? maybe it's can be brillant?

This was amazingly helpful...Thank you.

When your pour them big ol' jugs, pour with the flat side facing down, you won't surge as bad and splash it everywhere xD

my go to back in the day was dot-3 brake fluid, but the dollar store where i am has big bottles of 91% rubbing alcohol, might give this approach a try for stripping some space marine scouts i got off ebay. alcohol ought to be easier to clean up after at least.

This is both painful and hilarious to watch.

in the UK, go to home bargains/b&m etc etc and jet a bottle of the yellow spray stuff called 'elbow Grease' dunk your minis in and the paint just liquifies and washes back off, agitate with a tooth brush and repeat a soak. seems to be endlessly reusable, just a funky colour now. its £1.50 a litre..

If you pour sideways the liquid wont glug out! also can pierce a hole on one side to get a more laminar flow

Very nice video! Helps a lot. Subbed.

My go-to stuff has always been Wilko paint and varnish stripper, which worked like a dream on plastics, but obviously that's no longer an option so I'm here doing some research. In my experience, spray paint is always far more difficult to get off than brushed acrylics, regardless of what you're using (I used to use Nitromors, which works great for metal models but will reduce plastics to sludge and can also burn your skin if it's on you too long). Tip for the future; if you pour from the bottle sideways it's easier to keep some airflow going in as the liquid comes out. This will eliminate the sloshing and prevent it from splashing everywhere. 🙂

Great video Max. I need to strip a Dark Vengeance Hellbrute and this method should do the job nicely. Thank you )O(

Nice video brother. I'm about to attempt this myself so here I am. Strangely entertaining so gonna check out your other stuff. Cheers

Orange is THE nightmare.

Commit commit commit!!!! LOVE IT

ps pour the bottle side ways to reduce the splash:)

i wonder if it primer on it before the orange paint

Brown Dettol works good as long as your models don't have spray primer on, the paint will just slide off quite easily, but that might only he viable for smaller models that are hand primed. Most of my army was quite easy to remove the paint from with this method, but things I'd spray primed, especial with a lot of surface area like my rhino, were quite time consuming.

Great Video! Thanks!

Note to self. Use a container with a tap to reclaim liquid.

Hold the jug on its side.

i actually ran into a worst case scenerio where someone primes there whole space marine army in latex wall primer.... i learned through alot of trial and error 100% acetone mixed with 90% works best

Hahaha hope that was a clean sock lol 😂

I am still using the same bottle of alcohol from 2 years ago it is solid black in colour now but still does the job perfectly save dem hobbie dollas brother 🎉 Also to get it back in the bottle i bought some plastic tube to make a Syphon and use a big syringe to get the flow started👌

I would use dettol to strip paint off plastic when i used to collect warhammer.

iso and a jewalry cleaner breaks up the paints. i only have a small cleaner myself but you can get much larger machines for more money but they clean models with iso flawlessly. sure it might take one or two sessions but models come out as bare plastic more often than not. but again if there's any paint left its just stains than actual paint. can just prime over them with no problems. however using a machine for too long does warm up the iso and can cause the glue to seperate parts. not much of an issue the cage inside stops parts sinking to the bottom of the machines.

THe best thing weirdly enough is Dettol. The ordinary straight antiseptic fluid. Works better than Nitromores; spirits; alcohols;.

Never able to get ALL the primer off with alcohol, doesn't matter the color or brand of the primer. It get's enough of it off that the fine details aren't gummed up so this is my usual method. I just never thought of recycling the alcohol like the villain in License to Kill.

We have brown Dettol in South Africa. I've used to strip minis before. And I don't recommend it. Beside the smell while working, it also lingers on the models forever.

Never look at the inside of the sock ...

Last message sorry for spamming. I just really appreciate this video. I found a video by Wham Bam Systems on filtering the alcohol. The metallics should settle out. I'm going to try filtering it through coffee filters. Thanks again.

So I have been back into painting for about 2 months now. Already has loads of IPA for my glass vases 👀😂 I've let minis sit in IPA for DAYS at a time with no issues, a toothbrush and maybe some various diameter pip cleaners and you'll get in moat places without breaking up the model

You poured the jug upside down. The opening should be on top, like when you pour oil in your car. How did you get to your age without knowing this?

never done an oil change, have yee? hold the jug east west whilst pouring, instead of north south, and she wont glug at all. good vid, thanks for the infos!

is it strange by any chance?

Protip.... pour sideways to eliminate splash.

FYI you poured it out with the jug the wrong way, have the opening at the top when pouring prevents glug glugging splash.

The reason the metallic paint stayed on is because metal is stronger than orange

Did you ever find of a way to strip the spray paint? I used an army painter spray primer on one of my models and it didn't turn out well (it has a texture to it). I tried stripping it with isopropyl alcohol, an oven degreaser and ethanol, but to no avail. These other methods work with normal paints, but the acrylic spray paints seem to not get stripped.

I was kinda shocked you didn’t use a funnel and a strainer sock! Oh well. In your opinion do you think that works better than SG?

just an FYI... Iso weakens the glue joints so they can be easily pulled apart, and i'm guessing the metallic was leadbelcher spray, I'm having issues removing the spray coat off my assault marines

How many % is the alcohol? would 70% be feasible?