I have a Kato SD40 that I would like to strip. Now you can't get new SD40 shells so i need the safest most efective way of removing most of the paint. Kevin
That's a tough one, Kevin. I've used Polly Scale's ELO but you have to keep an eye on it and not leave it immersed for any length of time - definitely NOT overnight. It dries it out (leeches the oil from the plastic, I believe) and crazes the body. The worst scenario is it will probably fall apart. I tried to get SF yellow off a SD40 shell and it refused to budge much at all. I opted to leave it as is and lightly sand the demarcation line before pushing my luck with the stripper. Scalecoat stripper is to be avoided for the above reason as well for it does the same but faster! (Been there, done that with a GP38-2 body.) I just read on the N List that someone's Kato suffered the same fate using Chameleon, too. Like me, they managed to rescue the body and glue it back together. It really leaves very few choices. We don't have Pine-Sol in Oz so I can't comment on it apart from it being a slower and possibly gentler way to strip the body. As for brake fluid... anyone? One good option is a modeller down south US in GA (I think) who has one of those sand blasting booths used for glass etching, amongst other things. I hear he has had great success stripping the paint off Kato bodies with no effect on detail, plus he can etch the handrails for better paint adhesion at the same time. I believe he was charging something like US$10 per body plus shipping. Hope this is of help. Gary.
I never risk stripping a shell, but sand down any obvious paint-seperation lines, then prime to see what it looks like, before going on to paint the new colours. The primer will show if anything else needs sanding. Although light coats are needed, or some of the details will be lost. There are so many different types of plastic, that you can not be sure how it will react to stripper, until it is too late
I have successfully used 91% isopropyl alcohol (sold in any drug store) to strip a Kato dash 9. It does not work fast, but did not harm the shell. I let it soak for 30min, scrub with a soft toothbrush under running water. Re-soak as needed until all the paint is removed. There is tremendous variability in plastics and paints, so nothing is guaranteed. I have yet to harm a shell with isopropanol, though.
PINE-SOL not the citrous but the regular. let the shell soak for around 10 minutes and then use a toothbrush to scrub off paint then. works wonders and haven't lost a shell yet. mitch
I usually don't bother stripping KATO shells. I remove the lettering.(accupaint thinner washes it right off)I then scuff any colour seperations with fine wet or dry sandpaper then paint.If I am painting a light colour over dark I will fog on a coat of white or light gray first. <marquee>North American Rail Alliance</marquee> [ 12 June 2001: Message edited by: Catt ]
I used the 99% Alcohol and it worked almost perfect. See I had a BN Whiteface SD40 that I wanted to do in BN green and black, so I soaked the shell and all the white came off leaving me a green and black shell to work with. Well almost all came off, I could not get the actual white face off the cab so I painted over that and Semi glossed it and it looks nearly like everything else. Thanks for the tips. Kevin
Actually, I don't feel its all that necessary to remove the paint before epainting. The Kato paint is not very thick at all. I have many times successfully painted right over the factory paint on both Kato and Atlas locos with floquil paints. Daryl
how to remove Kato lettering on a decorate diesel? I have a project to renumber a factory painted KATO SD45 in SP Roman lettering. It should be quite easy, as I just need to remove the road numbers on 3 spots. However I am worrying how to do it right. What is the best method to remove properly just the numbers without removing the grey or red KATO-factory paint under the white numbers ? 91% alcohol ? Humbrol thinner ? rubbing with a Peco rail cleaner ? any advice is welcome. Jean-Edouard Heller
CAREFULLY, with 91% alcahol. Use a brush and apply the alcahol to the lettering and or number and rub the grafic with the brush until the graphic comes off. I have done this, but take it slow, too much alcahol and too much preasure and you will lose paint too.
Wow, this post is so old I do not even remember the SD40 project I was talking about, hell the only SD40 I do have is a Whiteface BN so I do not know what I even did with the original. Kevin
