Life-Like Spare Parts

[BCR 570]

The only way to acquire spare parts for the C-424 is to pick up spare used locomotives.  I did this when the frame on 812 broke and a new chassis was required.

With CN 3218 I didn't attempt to remove the paint; just the lettering.


Tim

[wazzou]

I sure do miss the product that was called "Chameleon" that stuff was great!!

Jon

Wrong thread Jon. 

Kidding.
My personal favorite outside of 91% alcohol is ELO or Easy Lift Off.
It was/is made by Polly S.  I believe it's still available.

Was Polly S a Scalecoat product or was it AKA PollyScale or for that matter did Scalecoat produce PollyScale?

[peteski]

Wrong thread Jon. 

Kidding.
My personal favorite outside of 91% alcohol is ELO or Easy Lift Off.
It was/is made by Polly S.  I believe it's still available.

Was Polly S a Scalecoat product or was it AKA PollyScale or for that matter did Scalecoat produce PollyScale?

Yes, ELO is one I also mentioned. It was originally Floquil/Polly S product, but it is currently marketed by Testors.  It is a chemically similar to DOT3 brake fluid, but it seems to be safer on plastic.

[wazzou]

Ah, so Floquil made Polly S.  Who made PollyScale?

[nickelplate759]

Ah, so Floquil made Polly S.  Who made PollyScale?

Also Floquil.  At some point they changed the name (maybe also the formula?), then sold it to Testors

[peteski]

Also Floquil.  At some point they changed the name (maybe also the formula?), then sold it to Testors

Actually RPM (large chemical company) owned all those brands for quite a few years before killing off the Floquil and the Polly lines. Then they brought back some items (like ELO) under Testors name).

[brokemoto]

The old LLs do not stand up well to brake fluid.  I had a couple go brittle on me.  When the sills shatter and stirrups fly off as you use the toothbrush, you know that you are in trouble.

Kato Fs will stand up to it, but PAs will not.

Some B-mann will, some will not.  The doodlebug shell will not.  The shorty passenger cars will.

If I use it, these days, I let the piece sit no more than one hour.  After scrubbing carefully, I run it under cold water, then wash off the brake fluid with soap and warm water.  Immediately after that, I rinse it in cold water.  I resort to brake fluid these days only when ninety one per-cent or Pine-Sol™ will not work.

The Rivarossi B&O powder blue paint job will not come off with brake fluid.  You will ruin the paint job, but the paint will not come off the car.

Some people have said that Var-Sol™ also works, but I never have tried it.

 I used to work at a car wash when I was in high school, and I hated that stuff.  We were supposed to tell customers that we could not get tar off the rocker panels, but there were a few hip customers, especially construction bosses, who knew that we had Var-Sol™.  They would insist that we do it.  I got so far behind one time that when the Manager yelled at me, I told him that if I did not have to take off the tar like he told me to, I would not get behind.  You could get off the tar with that stuff, but it took forever and more than a little elbow grease.  We had this one construction boss who had three cars that he brought there every Saturday, all with tar on the rocker panels.  I got stuck with him one Saturday right before lunch time.  It came time for lunch and I started to walk away to get my sandwich and beer.  He screamed and hollered and the Manager made me get the Var-Sol™ and go to work.  Ten minutes into it, I protested to the Manager.  I asked him if I was going to get paid for this.  He said "no".  I handed him the Var-sol™, the scouring pad and told him that he could take off that guy's tar; I was going home and would be back Wednesday to get my pay.  The owner called me and I let him know what was what.  I never had to scrub any of that guy's cars again.

[wazzou]

WD-40 is an excellent tar remover. 
Spray it on liberally, let it sit a bit and wipe off with micro-fiber cloth.

[peteski]

WD-40 is an excellent tar remover. 
Spray it on liberally, let it sit a bit and wipe off with micro-fiber cloth.

Talking about tar, um thread, drift. 

[wazzou]

Talking about tar, um thread, drift. 

It's TRW way. 

[daniel_leavitt2000]

Actually RPM (large chemical company) owned all those brands for quite a few years before killing off the Floquil and the Polly lines. Then they brought back some items (like ELO) under Testors name).

Yep I'm pretty sure there was an avid modeler at Rustolium and that explained the many modeling paint lines. Just after the great recession, the company stated they needed to streamline and dumped everything but their core paint business.

Polly-S had the same pigments as the later Polly-Scale, but the carrier and binder were different. Polly-S was MUCH more brittle and flat than Polly-Scale.

[peteski]

Yep I'm pretty sure there was an avid modeler at Rustolium and that explained the many modeling paint lines.

Rustoleum is just another brand owned by the almighty RPM corporate mothership.  They simply kept on taking over small independent hobby paint lines. Then, probably prompted by a decline in sales in all those multiple product lines, some marketing dweeb decided to kill off the under-performing lines of paints. Typical corporate decision.  Great for share holders, sucky for modelers.