Hey guys, I just opened up an account here, but I've visited the site for years now! Whooo!!!

Anyways, I'm beginning to work on a custom Grimlock and a few other figures from the new Age of Extinction line. I primed the Grimlock, then painted him over, but alas it turned to shit, basically. The paint came out very sticky and gunky. I used normal acrylics basically, and I didn't dry brush properly. I had read yesterday that using acetone works well, so I used 95% acetone used for nail Polish on it without deluding the liquid at all. It melted the head to Grimlock, albeit it got the paint off, it also corroded all the plastic. I recently purchased acetone for my wife's car, and I read it was good for removing paint from certain paints like latex acrylics.

What are the AoE figures made of? Can I use the acetone without destroying the figure itself? Help!!!!!! Any tips from you guys on what works best?

Thanks!
Cheers!

 

whoa who said acetone is good for removing paint on plastic?

acetone is a great solvent, it dissolves EVERYTHING. that includes you if you dip your hand in it for a long time. with plastic, it bonds chemically and it will burn and melt the plastic. you can't use acetone at all with plastic figures.

you can use isopropanol 91% to remove paint from SOLID tf parts, not stuff that is made of rubbery plastic like aoe slug's horns. that removes most paints. if you are using enamels, you can use paint thinner to remove it.

as for removing paint from rubbery plastic, i dont know, someone else might know more

if you have to use nail polish remover, you use acetone free ones. acetone is known to dissolve plastics and that's what happened  

as for it coming out sticky and gunky. you might want to first let your primer cure, this can take up to a week for a good solid cure. then you want to take your time, let the paint cure between coats, acrylics mean you can recoat maybe every hour or later depending on how thick your paint is [best to keep thin coats though]. enamels, i go with 24 hours between coats.

all is not lost though... darkcavecustoms is making a g1 style grimlock head for aoe voyager grimlock, so you could just replace the head with that. not sure when it'll be out though.

 

I read it off a couple sites!! But they were probably posts before the aftermath, aha!!!

Thanks!!!!

 

The only time to use acetone with a TF figure is when you are trying to dye the figure, and Ive also used for some cool damage effects. I wish you luck

 

Thanks!

 

Acetone will also etch or dissolve some metals, like magnesium. Be careful with acetone.

 

Use modelling thinner to remove paint, available from hobby shops, removes most paint without destroying the plastic. it costs more than regular industrial thinner though.