I thought I'd try some Dettol on my old plastic Pelennor Fields boxed set contents. Rohan was my first army, and I want to paint them more in line with my current offerings.

Dettol is a disinfectant cleaner that is meant to be watered down. It can be found in the pharmacy or chemicals section of most places and at the Asian supermarket. It has a strong, though pleasantly clean, smell.

I took a giant glass jar, big enough you can fit your hand through the opening and poured enough Dettol in to cover the miniatures. I just dropped the miniatures in. I can hear some of you cringe. I left them for a few days, then I pulled out the miniatures and their bases and took a used toothbrush to them, using Dettol from the jar to scrub them into a lather. Always wear disposable gloves, you will see why further in the read.

Verdict: It worked quite well, in that most of the paint came off with a minimal amount of effort. However, Dettol softens the plastic. This is especially noticeable on the bases. I would not recommend this treatment for bases. It didn't wreck them, but the oily texture of black base getting all over everything isn't nice. The miniatures themselves also softened. When scrubbing, you could begin to feel and see grey plastic film on your gloves. Not a whole lot of plastic, but it was certainly there. Metal: no problem. Works very well if you don't want to use a tin can full of varsol. It also doesn't dissolve super glue.

I'd completed the job anyway, so I rinsed everyone with cool water, hoping they would set up. That didn't work; they had to dry overnight. Once dry, the regiment of the dead were taken outside and spray painted white with the Citadel spray can primer. They looked fine to me, I couldn't see any real damage from the Dettol treatment. They were then washed to match the paint scheme from the Citadel paint app. They look just fine to me. They haven't been drybrushed yet, but I don't suspect they will suddenly go ugly on me.

Conclusion: Cautiously recommend, at least until something better comes along. Will try a few other liquids, including store brand Simple Green in the future. The paint does slough off quite easily, so if you don't mind a slight bit of damage, which I found largely unnoticeable, this may be the method for you.

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"Diplomacy is the art of saying 'nice doggie' until you can find a rock." -Will Rogers

Did the same thing recently with metal.
A couple of extra tips.

Do all the work in REALLY WELL ventilated area outside your home. Unless you like the smell of hospital.

After leaving the minis for a day, put em in a new jar of clear dettol.

After a day, remove from jar, scrab the last remains of paint and wash the miniatures with WARM water + dish soap. Scrub with a clean toothbrush (bonus points if it belongs to a sibling). It helps get rid of all the oily residues.

For metal models, after washing em and letting them dry, take some steel wool and go over them. It should make all last remaining residue to go away plus you get a reaaally smooth and shinny surface (model almost looks like new). Wash again with warm water + dish soap. There should now be almost none dettol smell and the surface will be good as new.

Let it try and undercoat and paint as normal.

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My WIP: http://www.one-ring.co.uk/viewtopic.php?f=50&t=22962