Things you will need

• Miniatures to strip
• Sealable container
• Dettol cleaner
• Washing up liquid
• Water
• Tooth Picks
• Nail brush
• Rubber gloves
• Sink
• A good scrubbing action

WARNING – this is a messy business, so if your about to do this in front of your better half you need to send them out of the room now. Also its a good idea after your done to clean the sink and the surrounding area BEFORE anyone else in the house sees it! (your going to be amazed how far that paint can go once you start giving the scrubbing some elbow grease).

Step 1: Dettol & Water Bath

The first thing is to take your seal able container and fill it approx quarter full of Dettol cleaner. This stuff can make any room you are using it in smell like a hospital so make sure you keep it all in the container. Then fill the rest of the container with water, at this point the Dettol will turn a funky milky colour and might smell a bit stronger but it is nothing to worry about.

Now add your miniatures making sure they are all submerged under the Dettol/water mixture. Seal the container and put it somewhere safe and out the way so the kids don’t decide to drink the stuff. Now comes the waiting part, I leave my miniatures in for approximately 24 hours in the solution, just to make sure the paint has become soft and easy to remove.

Stripping Miniatures Step One

Step 2: Removing The Paint

When you first take your models out they are going to be gross . It will look like your figures are wearing loose skin suit as paint will have come away from the figure and they will be have a slimy texture.

Now’s the time to get busy with the nail and tooth brush. Start the water running in the sink as the paint will stick to anything it touches and the running water will be useful to rinse the model as you clean it. Give the models a all over scrub making sure to remove as much of the paint as possible.

Even though most of the paint will come off you might had to give the miniature another soak in the Dettol/water mix to help remove some of the more stubborn paint.

Step 3: Checking The Details

Even though you have scrubbed like no-one has scrubbed before there are still going to be paint attached to the model in the deeper folds. Using a tooth pick remove the remaining attached paint by gently rubbing/prodding it until you start getting really annoyed and start jabbing at it like a wild person.

Step 4: Final Wash

Now to make sure the model is totally clean. As you will have noticed as you cleaned the model it has become very sticky. Before you can even think about painting the models you will need to clean the models in a mixture of washing up liquid and warm/hot water (not hot enough to melt the plastic) .

When the model finally drys out you may find that there has been a slight discolouration to the model but it has never made any difference when the models are repainted. I have also found that there can be a slight issue with the models when they are primed with black chaos. You will find that the paint will react to any of the residue left and makes a white tide mark as it drys.

Now on to the repainting!