Stripping Paint from Miniatures: Dettol versus Clean Spirit | Cheap Solutions for Cleaning Minis

Always Board Never Boring was recently informed that Bartoline Clean Spirit was a good product for removing paint from miniatures. In the past, he's always used Dettol, but he thought he would try Clean Spirit to see what kind of results he would get. These cheap and safe ways to clean painted miniatures are often a good alternative to products such as Simple Green.
#Dettol #CleanSpirit #cleaningminiatures
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[@yurithebrave]

I just use isopropyl alcohol. Not the cheapest option, but I don't have access to the most recommended products for this. Works fine and doesn't damage the plastic.

[@leefisher6766]

There you go clean spirit is best as it undercoats as well. Very interesting video, thank you!

[@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring]

Thanks for watching.

[@martyc9567]

Dettol is my go to model and mini paint stripper. Nice to see a comparison from the UK tho.

[@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring]

I’ve been using it for years and always get great results.

[@docremington1589]

I can recommend ethyl alcohol (in Germany available under the general name “Brennspiritus”). It doesn’t damage the plastic and paint comes off really easily.

[@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring]

I don't personally recommend methylated spirits. I would rather use something that is less hazardous.

[@johnmiddleton4291]

@@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring Ethyl alcohol is not methylated to denature it. That's why you can use it in hand sanitizers and booze. Which is really handy because you can drink the left overs from stripping....

[@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring]

I’m assuming this is a translation thing. Brennspiritus translates as denatured alcohol which we would call methylated spirits in the UK.

[@loken67]

@@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring That is correct. Brennspiritus is methylated spirits, highly flammable and toxic. You will go blind if you drink it. It is used in outdoor stoves for heating purposes. A short overbrush on a blank miniature with it will get rid of any grease or stains before priming however.

[@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring]

@@loken67 Thanks for the confirmation. I'm shockingly bad with languages, and the only thing worse than my French is my German!

[@worldhistoryminiatureshous9757]

Useful video ! Thanks to share it .

[@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring]

Thanks. I had never heard of clean spirit so thought it was worth checking out.

[@dextersamson8286]

LAs totally awesome hands down is the best stripping option ive ever used.

[@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring]

I’ve never tried that one.

[@dextersamson8286]

@@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring i don't know if its only a US product. Its at any dollar tree and its works amazing for paint striping.

[@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring]

It's not something we can get easily in the UK, unfortunately (it would cost a lot more than you would pay in a Dollar Tree!).

[@ChezzyKennedy]

Would you be able to paint over the white primer saving a bit of time too?

[@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring]

It depends on the circumstances. You can, but if the primer was too thick, uneven, or the wrong colour, you might not want to.

[@Solid_Jackson]

Wear more wristbands, makes you look super cool

[@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring]

The wristbands are charity bands. My daughter picks them up for me whenever she sees them. I’m way too old to worry about being cool.

[@Solid_Jackson]

@@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring right because charities are always amazing organisations….. And yeah, sure, daughter, does mean you have to wear every one you have at the same time does it?

[@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring]

Yes, she used to appear in some of my videos back in the early days of the channel. I had a couple of the bands I used to wear a long time ago, and when she was still really little she started asking to get them for me when she was out with my wife as little gifts. It was a cute thing that sort of carried on and I still wear them. She's just hit stroppy teenager age so she doesn't do it anymore, but I think she still gets a kick out of seeing me wear them.

[@Solid_Jackson]

@@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring fair enough

[@GamerWho]

I have tried Dettol, Clean Spirit, Meth Spirits, Isopropanol. Nothing is ever 100% effective, it depends on what paint the original owner has used. In fact Dettol had a bad reaction with some Heroquest minis I tried, whitening the plastic and leaving a film the wouldn't scrub off.

[@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring]

That's interesting. I used Dettol for all of my HeroQuest restoration and didn't get that. I have also never had a problem with Dettol failing to remove paint - just sometimes has to be left a while. I've just cleaned a full set of metal DungeonQuest miniatures with Clean Spirit and they came up spotless. As you say, it will depend on what kind of paint you are tackling, how thick it is, whether the miniature was primed, and so on. Thanks for sharing your experience.

[@johnmiddleton4291]

You can keep using Dettol by keeping it in a covered dish until it begins to change color, then it's dead.

[@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring]

Yeah. One bottle of Dettol goes a long way for the cheap price. It’s another tick in its column.

[@justsomeguy5851]

Aaaaaaand off to eBay I go!!

[@seankavanagh3742]

I melted a Carnosaur trying this once 🤣🤣🤣

[@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring]

Good grief. What did you use to melt it?

[@seankavanagh3742]

@@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring Well rest assured that it wasn't detol lol but I still owe my son that Carnosaur 🤔 Wonder if he recalls it was 4 years ago

[@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring]

@@seankavanagh3742 I just wouldn't bring it up with him. Carnosaurs are expensive.

[@seankavanagh3742]

@@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring Everything GW is expensive 🤣 But thanks to you and other you tubers I have discovered 3d printing so I at least have alternatives 🤘

[@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring]

@@seankavanagh3742 That's the truth. I don't mind paying GW prices when I'm completely in love with the product, but recently I've been finding it hard to get too enthusiastic about their aesthetics. I've had 3D prints from three different companies this year (not having a printer myself) and most of them I have liked as much as or more than recent GW output. I like the vampire I featured on the channel the other day more than any of the new GW vampires. Of course, I don't mean to say GW sculpting is poor - it's still technically the best in the business - but the aesthetic isn't appealing to me in a lot of cases at the moment.

[@rking3037]

Biostrip 20

[@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring]

Yeah, Biostrip is one of the products I mentioned in the video and I have used in the past. However, Clean Spirit is £1.95 a bottle and I can pick it up in the store at the end of my road, while Biostrip is around £15 with shipping. It's always nice to have an easily accessible, cheap alternative.