Another long delay between posts...I've been away on field work for the last week and haven't had any time for posts...sorry about that. So, I just got home and wanted to put something up real quick....here goes...
A couple of weeks ago I was picking up some supplies for my kids sandbox at Home Depot...I was paying with a gift card and it was going to have like $15 left on it so to use up the remaining balance I went in search of some Simple Green ...my preferred paint stopper. In the Simple Green display I also found this:
And I thought to myself..."could this possibly be better than Simple Green...well....it does say heavy duty and pro....so it has to be better!" So in the cart it went...
....and you know what? It is better. When I got home I dropped a few eBay wins in this new cleaner and in less than 24 hours the old paint brushed off easier and more cleanly than they would have if soaked in Simple Green for the same amount of time. In fact I would go so far as to say I have a favorite new stripping solution....it works well...it's biodegradable, virtually odorless, easy on the hands, and it comes in a big jug! What's not to like?
If you can find some around you ...give it a try!
Cheers,
Blue
The words biodegradable and odorless ring a bell in my head. I normally use acetone for metal models because there simply isn't anything that can beat ot to strip models easily. That said, its nocivity and strong odor ar ea real turn down.
ReplyDeleteLivoing in France I just got to try Dettol after some hollidays in britain and I have to say its only advantage is that it can strip plastic models...
If I ever see some simlple green, I 'll definitely try it thanks for the tip!
Putting dettoled models into a solution of warm water and washing up liquid helps, as does giving them a scrub with an old toothbrush. Europe just doesn't have powerful cleaning agents available like they do in the U.S.
DeleteOh yeah sure, it's just I'm used to acetone whose vapor alone melt any paint and leave very little left to brush. Dettol is still a godsend as far as plastic is concerned.
DeleteI'll use Acetone if nothing else works. But please be careful if you use it on a regular basis...the stuff is bad for your brain and can absorb thru your skin...use excellent ventilation and appropriate gloves. It is a hazordous material.
DeleteI've used a purple product that I think is probably the same. Castrol Superclean degreaser. I tried it as I couldn't find simple green and it stripped everything (including green stuff) from plastic and metals.
ReplyDeleteI will give that a try, thanks for sharing that.
DeleteSomeone on TMP told me:
ReplyDelete"Also, Simple Green changed its formula this year. It no longer contains 2-Butoxethanol, which formerly was the active ingredient. I had already switched over to Purple Power which works faster and is cheaper (though not non-toxic like Green) and still has 2-butoxethanol in it, so I haven't tried the new formula. Thus, I can't speak to how well the new Simple green formula works, but it's possible that it might not be doing as good a job as before."
I had just bought a new bottle but hadn't opened it yet, and promptly returned it. Since then I've read some fact sheets and the big DIY store near me does have an alternative green liquid that has that ingredient. As of last month they didn't have this purple Simple Green, though. I'll check this one's fact sheet as well before deciding what bottle to invest in next.
Also, you might want to do a few more tests before you pass judgement. Different paints react differently and you may have lucked out on the first ones you dipped. The real test if if it works where another has failed. Would be interested to hear if you have some that you've tried and failed to strip once or twice before and you could let us know how this stuff works on those.
ReplyDeleteWell I tried another batch of miniatures from a number of sources with different types of paint on them including enamels and after only 9 hours of soak they all stripped quite nicely. There were two figures that had at least three coats of paint on them and they went back in for a second "treatment" but so far I'm VERY impressed with this product.
DeleteGreat find Blue!
ReplyDelete