time to repave my streets

[johnb]

I have finally started building my layout, and I am going to use Kato Unitram in the middle of a three foot peninsula for street running.  The issue is that the paint on the plates are correct for Japan, not Southern California in the 1950's.  Does anyone have a good way to strip them so I can repaint them?

[brill27mcb]

Kato now offers unpainted Unitram track pieces, in Japan at least.
https://www.1999.co.jp/eng/search?typ1_c=104&cat=&target=&searchkey=Unitram&sortid=0&make=Kato&itemseries=Track

Rich K.

[johnb]

Kato now offers unpainted Unitram track pieces, in Japan at least.
https://www.1999.co.jp/eng/search?typ1_c=104&cat=&target=&searchkey=Unitram&sortid=0&make=Kato&itemseries=Track

Rich K.

those are just the tracks, the plates are the issue, they are expensive amd I already have some

[Dave V]

If you have a spare piece, see if you can strip the markings off with 91% isopropyl alcohol. You could just paint over everything with a gray spray bomb, but I'd bet the striping is slightly raised and you'd see the ghosts through the paint if you don't strip it first.

Also, you could sand off the striping. That's the beauty of modeling pavement; the surface is supposed to be rough. Then paint your favorite gray.

All of this would be 1000 times easier if you can still remove the road pieces, but looking at that photo, it's not clear to be whether they're glued down or not.

[davefoxx]

[Y]ou could sand off the striping. That's the beauty of modeling pavement; the surface is supposed to be rough. Then paint your favorite gray.

^ This.  Sanding would not only get rid of the existing street markings, which would likely telegraph through any paint applied over it, but it would also provide a tooth for the new paint to stick.  I like Rustoleum Light Gray Primer as the basic road color before weathering.

Hope this helps,
DFF

[johnb]

If you have a spare piece, see if you can strip the markings off with 91% isopropyl alcohol. You could just paint over everything with a gray spray bomb, but I'd bet the striping is slightly raised and you'd see the ghosts through the paint if you don't strip it first.

Also, you could sand off the striping. That's the beauty of modeling pavement; the surface is supposed to be rough. Then paint your favorite gray.

All of this would be 1000 times easier if you can still remove the road pieces, but looking at that photo, it's not clear to be whether they're glued down or now.

the Kato paint is, um, difficult,  so far it's fighting alcohol, and it's not styrene. I have yet to lay tracks, it's all apart right now. The Sidewalk has a crapton of paint...about to buy a cheap plastic container and go for a loooong soak

[Dave V]

Then sanding might be your best option. Use a fine grit.

[johnb]

^ This.  Sanding would not only get rid of the existing street markings, which would likely telegraph through any paint applied over it, but it would also provide a tooth for the new paint to stick.  I like Rustoleum Light Gray Primer as the basic road color before weathering.

Hope this helps,
DFF

I used that for the streets on my last layout!

[peteski]

I'm not familiar with this "plates" stuff - why does it need to be stripped since the plastic will be painted over anyway?  Are the markings raised, so they will ghost under fresh coat of paint?  Kato uses ABS plastic for loco body shells but I think Unitrak is some other type of plastic. Still, most paints should adhere well to it.

If you really need to strip the paint, we had few threads here showcasing several different types of plastic-safe strippers.  Isopropyl alcohol is only one of several.  The latest stripper I just learned about is "Dave's Magic Paint Stripper" which can be purchased at  https://icemancollections.com/products/worlds-greatest-stripper or on Facebook. Also direct email davidhartjes at gmail dot com.  I have not tried it yet but it was given a positive review in https://forum.modelcarmakers.com/topic/210490-a-couple-of-things/#findComment-3199883

[johnb]

I'm not familiar with this "plates" stuff - why does it need to be stripped since the plastic will be painted over anyway?  Are the markings raised, so they will ghost under fresh coat of paint?  Kato uses ABS plastic for loco body shells but I think Unitrak is some other type of plastic. Still, most paints should adhere well to it.

If you really need to strip the paint, we had few threads here showcasing several different types of plastic-safe strippers.  Isopropyl alcohol is only one of several.  The latest stripper I just learned about is "Dave's Magic Paint Stripper" which can be purchased at  https://icemancollections.com/products/worlds-greatest-stripper or on Facebook. Also direct email davidhartjes at gmail dot com.  I have not tried it yet but it was given a positive review in https://forum.modelcarmakers.com/topic/210490-a-couple-of-things/#findComment-3199883

I am worried about the plastic type, they are very expensive and I am trying to avoid damage

[peteski]

I am worried about the plastic type, they are very expensive and I am trying to avoid damage

Why not just spray another coat of paint without stripping? Will the painted markings ghost under the layer of paint?
Castrol Super clean (the purple stuff) is widely used in model car hobby to strip paint from plastic car bodies.  So is Easy Odd original oven cleaner. Those are Lye based (sodium hydroxide) and that is totally safe for any modern plastic.

[Dave V]

Why not just spray another coat of paint without stripping? Will the painted markings ghost under the layer of paint?
Castrol Super clean (the purple stuff) is widely used in model car hobby to strip paint from plastic car bodies.  So is Easy Odd original oven cleaner. Those are Lye based (sodium hydroxide) and that is totally safe for any modern plastic.

They almost certainly will...hence our suggestions that sanding with a fine-grit sandpaper might be the best option.

[johnb]

They almost certainly will...hence our suggestions that sanding with a fine-grit sandpaper might be the best option.

yeah, I was thinking that 2000 grit sand paper would be a good choice, the girlfriend's father owns an auo paint supply shop...

[davefoxx]

yeah, I was thinking that 2000 grit sand paper would be a good choice, the girlfriend's father owns an auo paint supply shop...

Way too fine.  First, you’re not trying to polish the road surface.  You want to give the plastic a tooth.  I used a medium-grit foam sanding block on my N scale and HO scale roads.  Besides, it’ll take forever to get those road markings off with a grit that fine.

DFF

[johnb]

John, after destroying multiple packages of unitram track and was never able to remove any of the white striping.
What I did do is respray the road bed with the color of my choice and using Tamiya tape to cover the rails. Unfortunately this is not 100% successful and sometimes I would have to spray Gray sandable Rust-Oleum primer first and then the road bed color

reached out to another N Scale traction modeler and got the needed advice....