I reread the PinSol-WOW post because mentioned there was using 91% or 99% rubbing alcohol to strip paint. But I still have a few questions. My mom picked me up a bottle from WalMart today, and I was wondering a bit more on how exactly to do it.
How long do I let the shell soak? An hour? Overnight?
Do I scrub the paint off with a toothbrush? Or try to peel it off with something?
Any tips would be greatly appriciated.
Thanks in advance.
Scott;
It depends on the paint on the shell. For example, most (maybe all, maybe not) P1K and P2K: just soak the shell, at about a half hour, pull it out, scrub with tooth brush, evaluate, and soak more if required.
HO Kato most (maybe all, maybe not); do NOT use 91% IPA, use straight un diluted Pine-Sol.
HO Roco - do NOT use Pine-Sol. I haven’t tried 91% IPA as I only had one Roco shell to repaint, and the Pine-Sol destroyed it.
You will have to get very specific about the model you want to strip. They are different. There is no universal answer.
Give it a try in an inconspicuous place or on something of same make you would be less concerned about… If you have a freight car kit of the same make, try it on the sprues… If it takes the paint off of those without eating the plastic, chances are pretty fair it will work on your project… An old toothbruch works well for cleanup… I use a dish detergent to degrease the plastic.
Remember that on P2K, Kato, probably Modern Athearn, Intermountain, etc, you may still see an imprint of the lettering that was there… I think these things are laser printed on which involves heat…
Good luck,
Jeff
I’ve had good luck stripping MDC and Athearn freight cars with 91% stuff.
I use an old shampoo bottle with the top cut off. This proved deep enough to hold most cars. I soak the cars for a few hours, and when I see the paint shrivel and seperate from the shell, I put on me googles and scrub the car with a stiff old toothbrush. (the googles protect my eyes from potential flying bits of paint & alcohol) And if all the original paint don’t come off, i soak it for a few hours more. And scrub it again until its done. Then the car is soaped up, and prepped for painting.
Good info.
Can’t add much more other then when first soaking your shell(s), check frequently.
On some models the paint will start to curl up in 3 minutes while with others 15 to 30 minutes are needed. Test with a toothbrush. If the paint comes off easily continue to scrub gently. Works quite well on Athearn, Bachmann, Proto, Rivorossi, and Atlas shells.
BTW: If your model has been painted with Scale Coat II or has been metalized with Alcad II, removing the paint can be a bit of a challenge with alcohol. Long soaking and lots of patience in scrubbing. [:P] Been there, done that.
Note:
Do not leave the alcohol bottles open if any is left. Cap them after you finish pouring out what you need; otherwise 91% alcohol will weaken to 70% alcohol.
Re: Katos.
Though I’ve never tried it, I’ve read too many stories on this forum of alcohol damaging Kato locomotive shells…though one poster recently claimed of having no problems with his Kato when he stripped it with the alcohol.
In any case…Kato owners beware.
I recently used pine sol and stripped a Athearn GP35 that was previously painted with generic spray paint! It came off! Now I am using alcohol to fini***he last of the original factory paint. Patience is the key here…
The previous owner used spray paint from Walmart, the generic gray primer. It honestly didnt look TOO bad!
Randy
Thanks for the info y’all, good stuff.
I’ll explain my case a bit further if y’all are curious.
I have two old Atlas C-Liner shells that are custom painted.
Shell One:
Yellow coat, fairly light, looks like it was done by an airbrush. One or two small areas of heavy build up. Roof not completely covered.
Shell Two:
Heavy paint coat, build up in many areas, hiding some details. Blue and yellow, with custom lettering, decals. Looks like it may have just been an aerosol can, but not sure.
TrainFreak,
Alcohol should be ok on these shells. A method I use: Pour a small amount of 91% alcohol into a cup. Position the shell so that only the nose of the locomotive is soaking. (remove the headlight lense).
Check it after 5 minutes and see if there is any effect on the paint and plastic. Scrub the nose with a toothbrush while still immersed. If ithe paint is stubborn, then a longer period will be needed. Keep checking it every few minutes. If it’s one of the tougher solvent based paints, you may need 1/2 hour at least.
After the paint can be scrubbed off, check the plastic itself and make sure it hasn’t crazed or cracked.
Are these the Atlas/Rivarossi N scale C-Liners?? If so, be careful, that old plastic can be brittle… A product I’ve used to remove overapplied paint is Goof Off (found in the paint aisle at homely depot)… If you try it, test it on an inconspicuous area and be ready to wash it off right away… A gentle rubbing with a q-tip should be sufficient to remove the paint… It does smell quite nasty so you’ll want to be ventilated and discard anything (cloth, q-tip) that comes in contact with it… It works on a lot of things, I’ve actually taken off single layers of spray paint with this stuff… Just make sure it doesn’t stay in prolonged contact with the plastic.
Jeff
I have never tried achohol still use that expensive stuff. Polly s. paint remover work great for me, I use it in an ultasonic cleaner works fast, never had a problem with it. Back in the old days before dir I used the old style brake fluid, can’t find it anymore.
I’ve used alcohol several times with great results. I left mine in there for about a half an hour with an Athearn Blue Box factory painted shell, and it was about right. I did a good amount of cleaning with a tooth brush, and it went pretty well.
A note: Pad Printed letters will not come off with Alcohol(or at least not in my experience). I simply picked up a bottle of Polly S paint remover, used a Q-tip, removed the lettering first(Until the paint under the lettering shows through, this will involve a slight amount of scrubbing), and then soak the shell in alcohol.
Noah
Aggro makes a good point about wearing eye protection when you’re scrubbing your models. You should also wear some rubber/latex gloves as well - anything that is strong enough to eat paint will also eat the skin right off your hands, especially the PineSol![:(]
Quick Update.
I poured a couple of bottles of the 91% in an aluminum pan and soaked 3 HO Rivorossi Streamlined cars for 5 minutes. I did the “toothbrush”. The paint and letters on the sign board came off intantly!
Apparently Rivorossi applies one or two very thin coats of silver on their streamlined cars.
“Old style” brake fluid? What do you mean? DOT3?