Back when I first got my Howling Banshees squad, I went a bit overboard with the white spray paint and some of my models look like they ate a bit too much and their suits are buckling under the strain. What I'm curious about is what is the best substance to all out remove paint? Is there any kind of liquid for instance where I would just drop the model in and the paint would melt off without damaging the metal underneath? I'm not too fussed about glue melting also, just so long as it doesn't melt my banshees into goop. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Acetone works great as well as just your plan old paint stripper, For plastic try bleach or simple green

Brake fluid does the job nicely. The paint goes all squishy and can be peeled or brushed off easily. You may need a pin or something to get it out of any deep recesses.

http://www.librarium-online.com/forums/painting/24851-stripping.html#post240024

whole thread on it

Many thanks. I have a hard time searching using the search feature since more often than not, I try to search and IE gets an error message and closes.

I've always liked using brake fluid myself. You have to soak the model for a long while (I suggest at least a day, the longer the better), but I managed to salvage these old plastic terminators my brother had which had 3 or 4 multicolored paint jobs on them slopped to the point of detail loss. And without even harming plastic details, the paint came off like skin! Be prepared to take an old toothbrush or some sharp object to get into and gently scrape off paint stuck to crevices in the model.

Of course remember to be careful with it, you dont want to drop it on any painted surfaces, mix it with chemicals, or get it in your eyes or mouth.

Dealing with metal models means you could probably even use a conventional paint thinner, but brake fluid is by comparison safer for the skin and your model's details.

Gah...I don't know why people insist on using a chemical as unhealthy and dangerous to self as brake fluid or acetone!

In all seriousness, for metal models, you want concentrate Simple Green. You can find it in the cleaning supplies area of many, many stores. At least in the US. I'm not as certain about it in your location, simply because I've never been to a store tha'd have that sorta thing in the UK, but simple green is very effective. Let it soak for an hour or five, and the paint should slough right off. The only spots that'll have trouble would be any with superglue.
The best part of simple green is how safe it is for you. It's non-toxic, non-caustic, biodegradable and if you strain out all of the crap that'll collect from the models, you can even re-use it. I use it to clean off my metals, my plastics, even resin. I even use it to wash off my paint pallet! It's definitely worth it.

Dettol is similar to Sinmple Green in the UK, works, and as stated above this is in a sticky on the the painting forum....WOrst thing neat dettol will do is really dry your skin out, so war rubber gloves if you have sensitive skin, or use a barrier such as vaseline or baby oil.

The thread linked to above pretty much covers the entire topic.

Thread closed...

-t.