Removing Paint
by Phil Kessling
Sometimes disaster strikes when painting a figure and you’d like to remove the paint.
If I strip paint, I use regular paint stripper (methyl chloride). Whatever the cheapest one is at Home Dept. I do a lot of wood stripping around the house, so I always have some on hand.
However, my take on stripping figures is: don’t do it unless it is a complete and total disaster. Learn from your mistakes and improve on the next figure. If you continually strip and repaint you will never finish anything. The only area which I will repaint are figure’s eyes. That is why I always paint them first.
Another modeler, Paul Kernan, suggests trying automotive brake fluid. He says, “Let it soak over night. I use oils and it works a treat on them. With gentle brushing (an old toothbrush) the acrylic undercoat comes off too. You may have to repeat the process for deep recessed area. May sure no matter what you use that the figure gets a good wash before repainting!”
Phil Kessling is a critically acclaimed miniature painter, author of Osprey Publications Battle Honours, and a contributing editor to Historical Miniatures magazine.