% safe and ESPECIALLY for H40, Ends & Kills this is the preferred way. My H40 is the copy James first did and he didn’t remove the paint before working on it. I’m not even sure the debate on it but he assured me with sealing it’d never be an issue.
But, I decided to try my hand at this simply to help a friend in 2018. Ya know back when Remzap emerged from the cracks in the pavement and began charging stupid rip off prices. Maybe i got lucky but the dude directly above you makes me think it works most of the time.
I left it for a bit over 24 hours. Was it annoying? Yes. Did it all come off? No. But I don’t know enough and definitely dont trust myself enough to use mineral spirits or anything to potentially damage the mask. I understand the glue is annoying. I used a dremel only on specific areas that wouldn’t budge. With a soft tip I don’t believe I damaged the mask at all. All I know is if didn’t soften and do that weird shit mineral spirits do and the eyes did not warp. I went extremely soft with the dremel.
I’m no expert on mask work. I do know every overhaul artist considered “great” uses this technique. It definitely isn’t worth paying somebody $800 like Remzap or 7sins because they “…took the time to strip the paint.” They are using this exact method to say it took longer when in reality if you have more than one mask you’re working on you can be working on one and always have another soaking. Definitely safe, doable and only annoying paint that won’t budge I recommend dremel over mineral salts but I’d ask a professional like Rowland Kelly what the pros and cons are
I was recommended Home Strip paint remover on this forum, I think it may go my a different name, it’s a gel like substance and has been safe on all the latex I’ve used it on, doesn’t warp or dry the latex and is eco friendly (no noxious fumes or acidic reaction to skin). I’ll double check as to what it’s called now.
EDIT: Double checked and it’s called Max Strip now.
As far as I remember this stuff actually was extremely helpful when Trick-or-Treat Studios first got licensing and released their H2. I did see a few rot but I’ve also seen a hundred not rehauled that rotted lol. I do think the latex quality was improved over the years and never directly attributed rot to the product and likely was coincidence. I do always recommend the water technique before trying anything else because well, it’s just water I feel awful for the first few guys I saw attempted the H40 in 2018. Genuinely a 3 week process and the “updates” were always 1/2 bits of paint they finally got to budge haha
I wouldn’t use harsh stuff like spirits, they could definitely affect the duration of the mask and can cause swelling, it does go down but that tells you all you need to know about that. Soaking can help but this is mostly effective on the Ends masks and with removing hair. This doesn’t do much for the 2018 masks, the stripped H40 masks above have stripped well because they appear to be the newer copy’s, they are a bad batch with an off shape and softer details like the ends (soft details) so the paint doesn’t cling as much, I have experienced this too with one of the newer masks but I prefer not to use the newer masks as they are a shadow of the previous run’s. The good copy’s that are worth working on still are an absolute pain to strip there is the occasional mask that will strip well but thats rare, I personally shy away from doing them, I do also offer cheaper repainted versions but the stripped masks remain the most popular option among collectors.
To sum it up, if your mask isn’t hand stripping well, even if soaked it’s a carefully pain staking task with a dremel.
H20 TOTS. 1st re-haul attempt ever. I removed most of the hair. To remove the factory paint I tried lacquer thinner at first… to no avail… then decided to just paint over the factory paint, leftover hair/glue along hairlines and all… I messed up on the paint job, being my first re-haul I was discouraged. Then after encouragement and advice from fellow users on here I decided to give it a cold bath all night and afternoon. When I started today the paint I put on it on Friday started coming off, but I wasn’t satisfied. So I tried the lacquer thinner, again… and… to no avail, again. Before I gave up I started pickin at the leftover hair and magically not only the bad paint job I did but also the factory started peeling. It was a battle and I’m not done but after an hour I am almost ready for paint. I will let it soak overnight again. Don’t give up fellas🫡
Get a dremel and a felt head use low speed and those tough areas will disappear alot easier and faster. Just let the dremel do the work don’t push hard into the mask . It’s pretty easy.
Great stuff buddy ! OK clean it with rubbing alcohol to prep for painting , if theres any excess stubborn latex bits dremel them off after you clean it.
Happy to save you a headache, my dude. I also wish i had it awhile back . Cheers
Oh just seen you g2 clean up the ears a bit. Easy peasy🫛
Day 2 of paint, 11/7/25. 1 coat. Entire mask is “chalky/ashy” but the paint is smooth and even. The top of the head cracks slightly when mask is manipulated.
Day 3, 11/8/25. Sanded down surfaces slightly with 1000 grit paper after a IPA wipe down. Then the Aleene’s matte finish acrylic sealer (spray)… after 2 coats the mask now has a silky texture similar to when it was an out the box TOTS. Next is dark washes, eye brow and lip paint, cheek/forehead detail… then I’m on to the hair
% safe and ESPECIALLY for H40, Ends & Kills this is the preferred way. My H40 is the copy James first did and he didn’t remove the paint before working on it. I’m not even sure the debate on it but he assured me with sealing it’d never be an issue.
I feel awful for the first few guys I saw attempted the H40 in 2018. Genuinely a 3 week process and the “updates” were always 1/2 bits of paint they finally got to budge haha
, if theres any excess stubborn latex bits dremel them off after you clean it.
looking clean and smooth.
…