I tried Simple Green, Pine Sol, Windex and combinations of these. They worked somewhat but didn't work well enough. I then tried turpentine, then acetone, much to toxic for my liking and didn't really work that great.
So what did work, well I found Citristrip Safer Paint and Varnish Stripping Gel. This worked like a charm, put some on metal miniatures let sit in a metal pan, wait 15min and wash off with brush.
It doesn't have toxic fumes and is safe for indoor use, though it says to have ventilation. Do read the instructions, it will eat plastic as I found out when using a plastic knife to spread it on the miniatures. I realize there are a few different products under the Citristrip name but this picture is the exact one I bought.
I will add pictures of the before and after effects of using this product after I take a few photos sometime this week.