This site contains affiliate links you can use to support Tale of Painters. As Amazon Associates, eBay partners, and partners of our partner shops we earn from qualifying purchases. Thanks :)

In this tutorial, I will share a secret with you. You can go on any hobby forum and guaranteed you’ll see the question “How do you strip paint from models?”. Well, look no further, once you’ve tried the Garfy method you’ll be amazed at how fast and simple it is. Read on to discover how.

There is a UK company called Superdrug, it’s a pharmaceutical high street shop and it sells cosmetics. One of the items it sells is Acetone Free Nail Polish Remover.

Equipment:

  • Superdrug’s Acetone Free Nail Polish Remover (AFNPR)
  • An old toothbrush
  • A container large enough to put your models in. Glass is best, plastic is ok, but the AFNPR will eat through plastic eventually.

Stage 1: Place your models in your container and pour AFNPR into the container. if your container has a lid, DO NOT use it. I once had a glass container with an air tight lid and after carrying out stage 1 I fitted the lid and because there is a chemical reaction and gases are released the glass jar cracked and a hole was blown out of the bottom of it. Luckily I was doing this over the bath and no one was hurt.

Stage 2: Leave the models to soak for 10 minutes. It doesn’t take much longer then this to be honest. Plastic models exposed to AFNPR for prolonged periods will melt. Metal models can take a much longer dip with no damage. I’m not sure about resin, but I suspect it will be the same as plastic, so don’t risk it. Click on the picture above for a close up. You can see how all the paint has bubbled up after just a couple of minutes. It’s that fast!

Stage 3: Using the old toothbrush (or your partner’s toothbrush if you’re planning some form of revenge) lightly scrub off the old paint job. It comes off in huge chunks, it just falls off the model.

Stage 4: Above is my efforts after just 10 minutes of scrubbing. Sometimes if the parts were lightly glued they’ll come apart, so if you’re working over a sink make sure you have the plug in the basin.

Stage 5: Because of the chemical nature of AFNPR it’s a good idea to rinse it off the models. You don’t want a reaction with your undercoat spray. I’ve dunked these models into the sink basin of warm water.

Stage 6: Towel dry the models or leave to air dry.

Do you like our tutorials and reviews? Here is what you can do to support us: Disable your Ad Blocker or place your next Wayland Games order by clicking here or on the banner on the right. Thank you very much, we appreciate any help to keep us going!

Garfy's Get a Grip - now available on ebay