[Darklen]

OK, after +30 years of modelbuiling, I may have some insight into this. There are two ways to remove paint, chemically (thinners, strippers, etc) and physically (sandpaper & mediablasting). Chemical is by far prefered on plastic as the item being stripped won't be damaged if the right remover is used.

Since you didn't say what kind of paint it's painted with (acrylic or oil), start with isopropyl alcohol (rubbing alcohol). It will strip pretty much any acrylic paint I've encountered. You might have to let it sit and probably scrub it with an old toothbrush.

If that doesn't work, try paint thinner then turpentine if that don't do much. But don't soak the plastic in these as it will do damage if you let it sit too long. Put it on, want a few minutes & scrub with aforementioned toothbrush.

If that doesn't work, Easy Off will almost certainly work. Same rules as above, but it may take a but longer to start working. This will damage plastic if left on too long. making the finish crackle (cracklike). Do not leave unattended, keep area well ventilated and use gloves & newpaper to protect you and the work area.

If by some freak of nature that doesn't work, brake fluid will. Be advised, this is last resort and can severly mess up the plastic if you leave it on too long. This stuff will strip off pretty much anything short of powder coating. Hopefully you won't need to go this far.

With all the stripping methods, disassemble the gun as much as you can, wear proper ppe and wash off the area in some warm soapy water when you're done. Let dry and go over it again if you couldn't get it all off the first go around.

Repainting is much easier. Poison of choice is Krylon camo paint from Crappy tire. It's fairly cheap, sprays easy and wears really well. Comes in khaki, olive, brown & black, all matt colors. I painted one of my G36's with it and didn't use a primer and it's holding up really well. Just don't paint it on in one thick coat. Thin, multiple coats will give the best results. One little trick I like to use is after you shake up the can, put it in a pot of hot (not boiling, but hot out of the tap) water about half way up the can and leave it for about 5 minutes. It increases the pressure in the can a bit and the paint "atomizes" better for a smoother finish.

Hope this helps.