Castrol Super Clean vs. Simple Green - The Main Event

[RJSuperfreaky]

First of all, I am well aware of the Stripping sticky up top, and have read it thoroughly. Unfortunately, that is now 13+ pages long, and I wanted to make sure everyone could easily benefit from my experience.

A little background first. I am building a DH army, so am always looking for PAGK on the cheap (read- eBay). I got a great squad online that was reported as "assembled and primed only".

This was true. However, the seller neglected to inform me that he left all the mold lines on the models, and primered in what can best be described as asphalt. Lumps everywhere. Totally unacceptable.

So I read the great "stripping" sticky, and was left with a question: Simple Green or Castrol Super Clean? Given the availability of Simple Green (hereafter known as SG), I chose it first. $6 US. Left all 10 in the stuff for 24 hours. When I pulled them out I scrubbed with a toothbrush until my hands were sore, and got maybe 50% of the paint off. I was discouraged.

So I bought Castrol Super Clean (hereafter known as CSC). This also cost about $6 US. Put the SAME minis into the CSC for 24 hours. When I pulled them out, I lightly scrubbed them each for about 2 minutes, and each was practically like new! It was amazing, as 98% of the paint came off with maybe 2 - 3 swipes per side! The only drawback was that I got mad at myself for having scrubbed so hard with the Simple Green, when I could have saved so much time and effort if I just bought the CSC first!

I hear that CSC may damage plastics, but the few minis that still had bases attached had no damage to the bases at all after 24 hours.

Final verdict - Castrol Super Clean!!! Every day and twice on Sunday!

[faol]

I use SG and in fact I'm stripping a batch of old Grenadier minis from when I first started many many many moons ago but anywho, I'm using SG and after 24 hours or a bit more of soaking and a good scrub the paint has been coming right off with little effort although some of the minis that has paint globbed on...(dont know who could have did that :shifty: ) it may take an addtional soak.

I've noticed with SG the longer you soak them the better I've seen with SG that it does weaking pastic a bit if soaked for to long I havent tried CSC yet but would like to just to see how well it works...

[Dodge]

Ah great... does the CSC also remove the glue? Are you going to try it on plastics?

[Tinashe]

yeah i hear brake fluid is quite good too the paint just falls off. another one i've tried is alcohol if you can get anything with alcohol inside it the stuf just comes off this is especially good for metal models when you want to do a quick erase of any mistakes you made

[Ebon Hand]

My brother had plastic terminators he had got in a trade that had a coat of primer, a coat of red (spray?!) paint, a coat of primer once again, and then a coat of black. All of them were [b]thick[/b}. Needless to say, they were a disgrace.

I got some generic break fluid at a gas station (I cant even remember the brand, it said BRAKE FLUID on the bottle) and put them in for a day. After just one day, I was able to rub most of the paint(layers of it!) off like rubber skin with my finger. I put them in for another day to make sure it got into all the cracks, seeing as they were heavy flamer terminators and had intricate parts like wires and things. They came out brand new after 3 minutes of scrubbing. My friend Mr. Blonde, who also visits these forums, declared it a miracle.

[Dodge]

Okay so I need a small bucket to put the things in, some gloves and maybe a little mask thingy(fumes:x ) and break fluid?

what do you do with the models afterwards... wash tem in soapy water? chuck them i the dishwasher?

and does the stuff melt plastic?

[RJSuperfreaky]

Originally Posted by Dodge

Ah great... does the CSC also remove the glue? Are you going to try it on plastics?

I don't know if CSC weakens the glue. I was able to take all the parts off before I began- which helps a ton. The two minis that were really stuck on their bases remained that way after the CSC as well, so whatever glue he used wasn't weakened after 24h.

Also, I thoroughly rinsed all the minis off after the scrubbing, and allowed them to dry. I will then get to removing the mold lines, and the glue them as new.

Oh, and the fumes were non-existent. I left the bucket in the garage for 24 hours with no probs. The gloves are a good idea, though. I bought a pack of latex gloves for 99 cents at the drug store, and that has about 20 gloves. Eye protection should probably also be worn.

[Ebon Hand]

When I did the Terminators, the glue was like rubber and easily peeled off. I'm guessing it was super glue and a good thing too, because it was seriously caked on. Not so sure it would work on plastic glue, it seems to weld the plastic. The bases stayed, so I don't know how good it is or how long you need for glue loosening.

The Termies were like new after the treatment, and the fact that I could make out the feathers and skull on the termies chest was unbelievable after what it had gone through. No damage to plastic at all after two days, at least for me.

I forgot to mention the generic stuff cost less than 3$.

[Calidus]

Please do not use Brake Fluid. It is a biohazard that needs to be properly disposed of, and not just dumped down your sink. (Not to mention the fact that it is poisonous)

I have recently, (in the past month) stripped 50+ marines with Castrol Super Clean. As some of the others have said, it works great after letting the minis soak for about 24 hours. However, DO NOT let your old metal minis sit for too long of a period in it. It WILL eat the metal, whereas (at least in my experience) it will not eat the plastic. I had several old bretonnian knights that I let soak for well over a month (because I forgot they were soaking). While those three knights and horses came out of the soak just like new, the poor metal empire mage that I had in the same can, has virtually become a lump of useless nothing.

Just let your metal minis soak for about 24 hours, then take them out, do a light scrub with an old toothbrush, and it should remove just about all of your old layers. I believe that some of the marines that I just stripped have had 5-6 coats of paint and sealer over the last 15 or so years, and it came right clean after 24 hours of soaking.

I do recommend using rubber gloves, as the Castrol Super Clean is a high grade degreaser, and it will dry your hands out. I just put enough CSC in an empty coffee can to cover the minis that I need stripped, and it allows me to be conservative with my jug of CSC. (what can I say, I am cheap)

[Ikarus]

CSC will weaken glue to an extent. Ofcourse the longer you leave your models in there more likely they will fall apart in bits.

All metal models will probably completely come off.

For plastics, 1-2 day soak, all paint will come off except primer stains which I have from GW primers.

CSC is still my choice, and i'm loving it. I bought a couple gallons in fact..