All, What about this topic Removing factory applied decals | TrainBoard.com - The Internet's Original how has this .. your Tips changed in 6 YEARS, what have you Learned since then ? Tom
I have been pretty much using the same techniques that are listed in the thread for the last 20 years. I have not found anything else that works better.
I often just scrape numbers off with an exacto knife. Maybe touch it up with some fins sandpaper after. Its difficult to predict what a chemical will do with the underlaying paint. Of course this only work with smaller numbers. Wash away by Scalecoat works fast enough sometimes to remove specific lettering, I just used it on some Atlas ore cars. I did 7 of them and 4 of them had paint damage. the other three were fine. I was repainting the cars anyhow so I sanded the area smooth and repainted the car.
Yeah, don't try to fix what works well. A cotton swab, some 91% alcohol (careful with it as it is flammable) and a round wooden toothpick works well.
Mt lettering and decal remover for years has been Micro Set. Put a small layer on the decal and let set for 5-10 minutes the with a stiff paint brush scrub the area and repeat again as necessary. Works on factory applied also.
Are we actually talking all water slide or dry transfer decals? Or are we also considering anything applied with such as the pad (paint) process?
All 3, water slide, dry transfer and pad printed. Here's a car that I used 91% alcohol on to remove the pad printing. The removal was done to the UP car. You can easily tell the before and after removal.
In the thread that was posted at the beginning it sounds like one suggestion using alcohol involved dipping the whole car??? Are you using just the Q-tip that is shown? How about a tutorial with more info . I need to do this soon to renumber some loco's and I like the results you got above. Thanks, Sumner
I used it for only pad printed numbers but I have also used it to completely remove the factory paint from some LifeLike locomotives (SW9/1200's and GP20's) as well as Bachman tenders. You just have allow it to set long enough, like 24 hours or so. I left one locomotive shell soaking in 91% alcohol for about two weeks with no harm to the plastic shell.
Hi, after removing letters or whatever printing, is any further cleaning required such as rinsing with water ???
I would wash the car with water and a grease dissolving soap like Dawn. That will remove any oils imparted to the car by your handling of it. Thereafter handle the car while wearing latex or nitrile gloves.