Re-priming over painted miniatures possible?

[knighter]

As the title states :) I just got back into warhammer 40k (8 years later) (was 14 when i last played) and i was pretty bad at painting then... and Im wondering if I could simply re-prime them with black over the current paint job and repaint them, would that work? Or would it hinder the paint job alot etc?

[Arkhan Land]

theres nothing terrible that will happen, just gonna lose some details as you add more paint layers. so if yr going for all the little details take the time to strip em

[Katharon]

I once got a model on Ebay that had about five different layers of paint on it. Like Arkhan said, there was a little detail lost because of that -- but after a nice week in a jar of Mean Green, it all came off.

[jonas the jedi]

We use simple green here locally... probably the same stuff... non toxic doesn't hurt pewter, plastic or the glue holding things together. Just the paint comes off. Leave it in long enough you could quote it off with an old crappy paint brush.

[Wolfshade]

Depending where you are there are different alternatives. I have found Detol to be good, others Fairy Power Spray.

Going from:
http://i1288.photobucket.com/albums/b489/_wolfshade_/40k/2013-01-30192009_zps64a11247.jpg

To:
http://i1288.photobucket.com/albums/b489/_wolfshade_/40k/IMAG0140_zps0cc692fc.jpg

To:
http://i1288.photobucket.com/albums/b489/_wolfshade_/40k/IMAG0144_zps96d8526e.jpg

Finally to:
http://i1288.photobucket.com/albums/b489/_wolfshade_/40k/2013-01-30191314_zpse8a98427.jpg

[Tyrendian]

that third pic looks scary as hell... :D

[Darren Richardson]

Depending where you are there are different alternatives. I have found Detol to be good, others Fairy Power Spray.

To:
http://i1288.photobucket.com/albums/b489/_wolfshade_/40k/IMAG0144_zps96d8526e.jpg


bloody hell he looks like he's been hit with a melta gun!

I assume that was just from the detol and is how the paint has lifted, yes?

I'm going to have to try that myself with some I'm trying to strip down.... (failed paint scheme)

[phreakachu]

try plainjane DOT3 brake fluid... works like effin magic

[knighter]

I may have worded a bit poorly, but i was more referring to could I just spray over it and paint again, or do I NEED to strip it? I know stripping would be better, but im just curious :) Thanks for replies <3

[Darren Richardson]

if you want the miniature to look good and to keep it's details, YES you will need to strip it down, even at three layers of paint you can start to loose details off of the models, trust me on this, I have been trying for over a year to get a good shade of desert yellow for a paint scheme, I had to use so many layers to get an even coat, I lost the fine detail on my Marines, so I've given up and started stripping them down.

[Wolfshade]

that third pic looks scary as hell... :D

Yeah, it happened on my first attempt to strip, I was concerned


bloody hell he looks like he's been hit with a melta gun!

I assume that was just from the detol and is how the paint has lifted, yes?

I'm going to have to try that myself with some I'm trying to strip down.... (failed paint scheme)

Yeah, all the apint cfame off in one lump, turned out brilliant, on the picutre after it, front row middle guy.


I may have worded a bit poorly, but i was more referring to could I just spray over it and paint again, or do I NEED to strip it? I know stripping would be better, but im just curious :) Thanks for replies <3

As Darren says, it all depends on what your end goal is and how thick the paint is already. If it is very thin layers and you just want a "normal" standard you could probably get away with it, but the extra layers do take out some detail so it is a bit of a balancing act between wanting detail and the work of stripping.

[portonion]

How long do you leave it in the dettol?

I tried it once over night, but the result was just a sticky miss that I couldn't shift.

[revalundale]

I've heard that there's good money to be made in stripping...

I've been doing it for years now and I think they lied...

[toymaker]

For stripping models you need to take a longer view of it. My process will take the better part of a week to get done right. First they need to sit in an amount of undiluted Simple Green. I put them in a glass because glass isn't affected by the green. Also use dishwashing gloves because the green can play merry hell with your skin. Depending on the amount and size of models you may need to use a larger container. I have a glass, a jar, and a fishbowl for stripping models.
You cover the model totally in SG and walk away. I leave them alone for 48 hours at minimum. Then I remove the models from the SG, rinse them in hot water to loosen the paint and then put them back in the SG. Another 48 hours and they should be ready to have the paint removed. My mother in law is a dental hygenist so I got a set of dental picks to remove the paint. For when Glue is an issue I use acetone after the Simple green. Only use that for metal models as plastic will turn to goo. It nukes the glue and some of the paint. But it will dry out the paint on there and stain the model a little. Then I pick until I can get most of it off then re-prime.

[tankbusta]

I've used undiluted Simple Green on metal and paint. I leave plastic in Simple Green for 6-8 hours, the paint practically sloughs off in one clump, then I use an old toothbrsuh to get in cracks as necessary. I then rinse/bathe the minis in fresh water, and let them dry. If the plastic gets too soft, rinse with water and leave it alone, the solvents will evaporate out and the plastic will harden again.

Avoid using harsher chemicals, unless you have a well-ventilated area, use eye protection, and don't dump the chemicals down the sink. IT might sound like nagging, but I've seen some people deal with chemical burns from fumes, and from water contamination.

[Erik Setzer]

I may have worded a bit poorly, but i was more referring to could I just spray over it and paint again, or do I NEED to strip it? I know stripping would be better, but im just curious :) Thanks for replies <3

You *can* do it... but only if necessary, and depending on the original paint. I had a batch of figures I'd gotten from someone, he did a lot of conversion with brown stuff and wasn't sure it'd hold up to stripping (he knew I was going to repaint them). The painting he'd done wasn't thick, and a nice thin layer of Army Painter black primer completely covered the models and allowed me to repaint them without loss of detail. However, there are often times when stripping is necessary. Sadly, I have a batch of Khorne Marines that will be needing that once I get something to strip them with.

Do be careful when stripping models, though. My hands have survived contact with a lot of chemicals (leading to a friend calling me "Iron Hands" as a joke), but I have had incidents like the top layer of skin peeling off as a result of being killed by exposure. Latex gloves might seem like a good idea, but they have a bad tendency to still let in some cleaner at times, and then it's just trapped in there working at your hands. (Okay, this is only really a problem if you do huge batches in a bucket, like I have in the past. Repeatedly. Hey, my dad loved buying cheap batches of figures off of people and repainting them. It makes fiscal sense, but it means you have to do a lot of dunking figures in large batches.)

[knighter]

Thanks for all the help guys! <3

[knighter]

This would work right? I'm not sure if there are different types of simple green or not that are better for models.. http://www.homedepot.ca/product/simple-green-concentrate-379l-1gal-fr-can/862443

[jonas the jedi]

That's the stuff... we used it on my boat to clean because it is non toxic. And way cheaper than harbor master.

[Darren Richardson]

wow can't believe this thread dropped down to page 15 or something, it seems like newbees need this kind of help this thread has given out all the time...

I wonder if a Mod can make this thread sticky?

[Lord Tothe]

I had trouble with removing paint from one model. I had Armory white primer, I don't recall which paint, and used Pine-Sol. The plastic mini was starting to soften before the primer did. Moral: Don't use undiluted Pine-Sol.

[BEAR812]

Hey guys, new to the forum. I'm hoping for a little help after less than desired results after two attempts at stripping paint off minis.

I've used simple green before on plastic parts, but recently gave some old bretonnian metal minis a green bath. I have to say that the results seem far better with metal than plastic. On one particular model I had based a small plastic dog with the mini. Hardly any paint came off the plastic dog. My mix was undiluted simple green.

However I have a question for you guys. I left those minis in the green for probably at least a week before I could get back to them. I scrubbed them with an electric toothbrush while running them under warm water and everything but the deepest recessed paint came out. I then tossed them back in to see if I could loosen that up. It's been another two weeks I think. I've been extremely busy. Anyway I had some time tonight and when I looked at them they look like old silverware now that's lost its polish. Before the second bath they looked like normal. Has this happened to any of you guys?

I noticed someone mentioned using "glass" for green baths. I used an old Tupperware container on the metals. Before When I did a squad of plastic marines I used an old coffee can. The paint came off but the marines were permanently "frosted". They had a white powdery look to them. Are my results common? Or do you guys get different results?

I had some really old marine models from the mid 90's I never put together. When I finally opened those they had accumulated a lot of tarnish and "orange crud" which I think was some kind of oxidation. They had also turned a darker grey. I used a dremel soft buff pad and a small dab of silver polish and basically restored them to the way they originally looked. I mention this because of the greyed bret's I have now. Are they ok to just re-prime and paint or should I buff them before I re-prime?

[Psychosplodge]

http://i57.tinypic.com/2ms0lzl.gif

[Darren Richardson]

Hey guys, new to the forum.

Welcome BEAR812



I've used simple green before on plastic parts, but recently gave some old bretonnian metal minis a green bath. I have to say that the results seem far better with metal than plastic...

This is quite common really, most paint stripping methods work better then on plastic, this I beleive is due to plastic being slightly more porus then metals used for models.


...Anyway I had some time tonight and when I looked at them they look like old silverware now that's lost its polish. Before the second bath they looked like normal. Has this happened to any of you guys?...

Acutally, yes it has, I think it may have something to do with the amounts of certain metals used in the casting processe, as these alloys used aren't always in the same amounts of raw materials.


I had some really old marine models from the mid 90's I never put together. When I finally opened those they had accumulated a lot of tarnish and "orange crud" which I think was some kind of oxidation. They had also turned a darker grey. I used a dremel soft buff pad and a small dab of silver polish and basically restored them to the way they originally looked. I mention this because of the greyed bret's I have now. Are they ok to just re-prime and paint or should I buff them before I re-prime?

I beleive that as long as the model has been washed clean then it should be ok regardless of the colour of the metal, bare in mind that plastic often stains regardless of what you use to clean it with, as long as any resuide is wash off, the paint should stick.

Baring in mind all of my answers is based on my experiance and it could differ from other's on these boards.

- - - Updated - - -


http://i57.tinypic.com/2ms0lzl.gif

Trust you Psycho....

Though I admit it is humorous...

[Psychosplodge]

I miss TSOALR...

[Wolfshade]

Don't forget that there were two types of GW metal, there is the older lead based which naturally had quite a lustre and then there is also the "white metal" which was a bit more shiney, or it was once you cleaned off the mould release.

As for the frosting, where the models undercoated white? Some spray paint leaves a pigment on the model regardless of the time spent in the drink. I have some which were basecoated red and they have a red frosting to them.

[BEAR812]

Thanks for the replies. I can repaint with confidence now. Lol!

That cartoon is hilarious. And Yeah my marines were smurfy blue and undercoated white.

I watched a video last night where a guy used brake fluid. I was hesitant to try that because of the environmental impact. Not everyone can safely dispose of used fluids. I worked for a few years in a garage and I know how effective it can be. Even just a drop anywhere on the car frame can eat paint if not quickly cleaned up.

[Darren Richardson]

sigh a Mod really should make this thread sticky, I lose count how many times this question or "Tips" on this subject keep cropping up on the boards!