Gentlemen, I picked up 2 CC 4-6-4's and the previous owner painted the cab roofs. Really bad. Anyone with expierience removing this, especially Concors? What do I use,how do I do I do it, can I leave the black color underneath?? V
It's hard to tell from the photo, but it loks like the detail still shows through, so why not just spray bomb black over the "bad" paint? (The Pennsy locomotive would have had oxide red or chromate primer on the roof, but the loco is so much of a foobie that it hardly matters.)
Looks like Testor's paint.Nothing will take off one paint and completely leave the other alone,but Easy-Off oven cleaner should take that off.Get the brush on kind,and carefully dab it on the paint,let it sit a few days,and wash it off.Then,personally,I'd follow David Leonard's advice on repainting the roof a proper color..
Try 91% alcohol on a q-tip, if that does not work try paint thinner on a q-tip. It might remove some of the black also but you could touch that up later. Kevin
Yeah your best bet is removing the paint using Chamelion paint stripper (gel, painted on the specific area you are trying to remove paint). Welcome to Chameleon Hobby Products! Home of the original CHAMELEON, PLASTIC MODEL PAINT STRIPPERS Then repaint after masking properly. My .02 (Canadien), S
It looks like enamel paint from the sheen. Start with 91% alcohol on a q-tip as mentioned above. You should be able to remove the paint layer by layer with this method. You may also want to try using an old sock, since the cotton in the q-tip may attach to the partially dissolved paint not removed. If that doesn't work, try chamelion gel applied to the roof. Chamelion will take a while, also if it is testors acryl, chamelion doesn't work (I've tried). The 3rd option is easy-off. Take the can and apply it to a piece of cardboard, then use a q-tip to swab some of the gelatinous goo onto the cab. This will strip it all the way to the root plastic, and it works a bit faster than chamelion stripper. DO NOT use paint thinner, or acetone, this will attack the plastic! Also judging from the pictures, it looks as if an overcoat of another color would just make the problem worse since the details are already globbed with paint.
SP,I agree,the alcohol will probably work,but since it evaporates so quick,it will probably take a while,and a lot of work.Chameleon will work too,but being alcohol based,I'd be a little nervous about it possibly migrating to the "good" paint,and maybe damaging it,although once again it should work.[kinda expensive,though,and tough to find] Easy off is available anywhere,and will definately do the job.As a substitute for Chameleon on that particular paint,Dot 2 brake fluid would probably be just as good.Oh yeah,don't get Easy Off on your hands,LOL!!
I've always had good luck with brake fluid. The only paint I have found to resist it is some paint Kato uses on their locos.
Try what I use for stripper. Wal-Mart "Top Care" NON-acetone finger nail polish remover. I use it all the time. It may take off the original paint too, but at least you can start over. I have used it and it has no ill effects on plastic (however I have not used it on ALL manufactures, so test it first). If it is enamal, if you think about it, most finger nail polish is enamal too I think.. Test it somewhere on the plastic first, and if it tests fine, slather it on the top, then dip an old tooth brush in it, and start scrubbing. It will take it off.
Re the Hudson in PRR livery, you ain't seen nothin' - I have been looking at some old Model Railroader Magazines from the 1970s, and one of them shows a ConCor N scale Hudson in - I kid you not - an Amtrak paint scheme.
well Ok, so i took the first one, did the qtip n alchohol, and after about an hour there was almost no change. So i switched to the nail polish remover. Some serious scrubbing and lo and behold it started coming off. Now my eyesight aint what it used to be, but it was really working well, so excited I scrubbed harder. We know where this is going right? All the paint came off. so did ALL the little bumps and cast design. It got really rough. So I painted it a flashy black. The second one I qtipped to take off the shine, then painted it a weathered black. I will post pictures tonight. I know they came out bad but live and learn. V
Did you be sure to use NON acetone nail polish remover? I use Top Care non acetone nail polish remover, and scrub with a toothbrush with that stuff, and have yet messed up any plastic or detail. I would NOT use any with acetone however, that stuff is pure evil.
Beware brake fluid! I've had the opposite experience using brake fluid to strip paint - have found it to scar and texture a plastic surface after sometimes only a few minutes. Sometimes it weakens the plastic, causing details to break off easily. Very bad on loco and car shells, I stopped using brake fluid years ago. I recommend using a good paint stripper made for plastic, but I've never found a "smart" stripper that knows how to remove one coat but not the next. Be careful! Scott
Years ago I had a Kato GP38-2 shell crumble into pieces using brake fluid to strip the paint, I've never used brake fluid as paint stripper since, or stripped another Kato shell.
I have always found 99% alcohol to work on Kato paint without attacking the plastic as many other strippers will. I usually let it soak overnight and scrub real well with a stiff tooth brush. However, I found the same stuff is death to some of the older Bachmann shells I tried it on. Each plastic seems to react differently to they myriad of different strippers out there. There does not seem to be one that works on everything but does not harm some plastic being used by the different manufacturers. I have tried them all and have my favorites depending on the shell I am stripping. I can't stand Pinesol as I can never get rid of the smell. Years after, I can pull a locomotive or car out of storage that I used it on, and find it is still leaching out that horrible odor. Reminds me of the smells of cleaning the latriens in Boy Scouts.
I use Pine-Sol to remove unwanted paint. I soak the part in a small glass jar filled with Pine Sol, removing it occationally to remove old paint with a tooth brush and hot tap water. Using this method I can control the speed at which the paint is removed. I have used this method for over 25 years on Floquil, Scale Coat and Testors paints without problems. This method has proved well on plastic and brass locos. If you want very slow results, try it on a rag working very carefully. Good Luck! Richard
I find the paint on most Kato shells to be thin enough to paint over without stripping, if I can't get an undec I look for a roadname with fewest colours and lettering and start with a light coat of gray primer.
