Brake fluid works well for removing primer - but do not use it if you have cats. They will drink it, and it is a poison. (Yeah, I have a friend who owns a brain damaged cat.... But they got it to the vet mostly on time.)

One thing you have to decide is what the final level of detail that you want is - are you painting an army, a bunch of monsters, a few player characters, or something that will be in competitions.

For painting armies Beasts of War has a series that might help, for the high end there is a series by Dark Sword Miniatures.

A friend of mine, the one with a sweet but brain damaged cat, suggests . Not my cuppa, I either know what it has to say or use another method, but it is not bad.

There is no 'wrong way' for painting minis, as long as you get the results that you want. They learned different methods than I did. But the methods should work as outlined. Give it a look see.

My own method tends to involve using the back of my left hand as a palette and for wiping drybrushes, so it is possible that I am idiosyncratic.

I recommend using a temporary base or handling base for holding a mini while you paint - film canisters work well for standard human figures. Use blue tack, poster putty, or double sided tape to hold the figure in place while you paint. It makes getting underneath easier.

The Auld Grump

The Army Painter just came out with a nice little 24 page booklet, available free in some stores.

I got mine with an order from TheWarstore.com - the method it espouses is nothing like the one I generally use, but it is very useable - I tried something similar when painting 300 zombies, and it was very quick - not quite up to my standard, but definitely good enough for bulk troops, and much better than what I have seen for prepainted. The booklet does not pretend to make you a likely candidate for next year's Golden Demon, but it does show you how to paint a decent looking army quickly.

All in all, I was impressed. I learned a trick with using both Green Stuff and Super Glue together - oddly enough it sounds like they work better together.

It supports their line of paints - and how the primers and paints are matched up. Essentially prime the figure in the color(s) that make up most of the figure, block in the rest of the colors, dip, then base and dull coat.

Worth looking for.

The Auld Grump

This guy did a little research on paint stripping. Seems Simply Green, a house hold cleaner, is the both the safest and one of the most effective methods of stripping paint. I was surprised.

You might also want to check out the DakkaDakka forums for painting tips.

To Gump:
What was the new trick with super glue and green stuff?

Before you get into fancy work, do check out Army Painter. The DIP does work.

I found the DVD from Privateer Press quite good.
http://privateerpress.com/formula-p3/hobby-series-dvds


Sadly, my eyes have started going in my old age (> 40) so I can't do detail work anymore.

easy to find fluids for paint stripping.

US - Pinesol, simple green, oven cleaner.
UK - Oven cleaner, Dettol.

Dettol works on both metal and plastic but if you add water the paint turns to glue.

It would be played through the computer (don't have TV or DVD player), that shouldn't make a difference should it?