stripping shells

[asciibaron]

i need to repaint 2 locos and need to strip off the current pad printed logos and railroad name.  i have no idea how to do it, any suggestions?  i'm sure it will be a horrible paint job, but i have to learn at some point, right?


-steve

[sparky]

90% isopropyl alcohol.  Soak the shell and scrub off the paint with a toothbrush.  Atlas and Life Like shells will strip in a matter of a few hours.  Kato shells are a little different.  You have to soak them for several days, scrubbing once or twice a day until you're satisfied.  Some Kato shells will never come completely clean, but you can get them to about 95%, the little bit that's left won't show under new paint.  The bonus with the alcohol is it doesn't harm the plastic like other methods can.

[TiVoPrince]

If the intent
is to remove lettering only.  Use 92% alcohol on a cotton swab.  Work slowly to prevent removng base paint.  If you have some touch up paint on hand even better. 

Try all techniques on a spare shell or retired freight car first.  Even if you have to buy a couple of Conductors Choice cars to practice on, it is time and money well spent...

[asciibaron]

the goal is to paint up PC shells with DGLE.  the Penn Central logo and name are not coming off, but the q-tip is turning black.

[wm3798]

For changing numbers on freight cars, I've attacked lettering with a flat blade jeweler's screwdriver, carefully and gently scraping off the printing without marring the paint.

Most of the time... :-\

Lee

[TiVoPrince]

Switch
to ELO.  Alcohol sometimes affects paint more than lettering...

[Frank Amato]

Ooh, be careful with ELO, especially with Kato plastic.  Test a small amount on the inside of the shell first.

[Catt]

If they are KATO shells use acetone and a Q-tip.Easy way to get acetone is to get fingernail polish remover (the straight stuff not the kind with lanolin in it)

[GonzoCRFan]

The trick a friend of mine uses to remove lettering is to apply Solvaset on the printing, and then gently sand it off with 1600-grit sandpaper...

[Chulvis]

the goal is to paint up PC shells with DGLE.  the Penn Central logo and name are not coming off, but the q-tip is turning black.

Can you tell us what Manufacturer's shell/paint and approximate age it is you are working with? 

Might clear up some of the noise.

[nscalesteve]

...and some noise from my side too

take care with alcohol (92-96%) and soaking Kato shells in it for days... !

if Kato, I soak it for maybe 10 minutes and then I start to remove the paint with a reound brush on a dremel tool with a flex...
...soak it again while still brushing the paint off ! once finished, or happy with the result soak the shell in a water/soap mix which will immediately stop the alcohol from doing any damage on the shell.

warning: shell should be wet at all time while using the dremel brush combination and the rpms shouldn't be too fast because of the heat which can destroy the shell or brush off the details !

I strip every Kato shell in 30 minutes with this technique...

[asciibaron]

these are recent Atlas C-630 shells. 

-steve

[nscalesteve]

Atlas C-630 shells...

...let the pad printed numbers and logos soak MicroSol (from Microscale) several times and let it completely dry. apply it with a micro brush or a q-tip and then use a new x-acto #11 blade and just scratch it off (it should come off very easy w/o any damages to the black paint underneath...)