I bought a proto 2000 New York Central sw8 hoping to turn it into Strasburg #8618. All I need to do is renumber it, change the side text to “Strasburg” and add a k5la on the cab. I found some decals for 8618, but I’m not sure how I should apply them. Is there a way to remove the original lettering, or should I paint over them? And what kind of adhesive is used to stick the decals on?
You may be able to remove the existing lettering, but I usually remove the details, then drop the bodyshell into a suitable paint stripper.
As for decals, they’re basically self-adhering if you apply them properly.
Here’s my procedure for applying decals (some portions won’t apply, as all you’re adding is a roadname and some numbers, but some other modellers may find some useful stuff, too.):
First, I would suggest that you wash the car (or locomotive, structure, etc.), using warm water and dish detergent, then rinse it thoroughly with water and let it air-dry.
Once it’s dry, airbrush it in an appropriate colour(s), then set it aside to let the paint dry/cure/harden, depending on the type of paint you use.
Once that is done, airbrush the entire areas which will be decalled with Glosscote (or your preferred clear gloss) then let it fully dry until there’s no odour of solvent present on the car. Don’t apply the gloss only where the decals will be applied - for rolling stock and locomotives, those areas are usually the sides and ends - cover them completely with the gloss, even if the amount of decal work will be very minimal. Allow the clear coat to fully cure/harden - there should be no noticeable odour to it, (this minimises the chance of the setting solutions reacting with the clear coat).
Next, use a sharp blade to cut the needed decals from the sheet, keeping as far away from the lettering as possible. Once you have all of the required lettering free of the main sheet, use a sharp blade (re-sharpen or replace as necessary) and working on a hard surface (I use a sheet of glass on my work desk for this), to trim away as much of the blank paper from as close as you can maneuver the blade to the lettering, using a straight down chopping motion, rather than slicing it away. If necessary, do this work under magnification (eyeglasses, Optivisor, or loupe).
The reason for the two-part cutt
You can use an eraser to try to remove the lettering and numbers, or by carefully scraping off the lettering with the edge of a new #11 Xacto blade. Afterwards , after masking off the windows, you can put a clear gloss coating on the shell, as decals prefer a gloss surface.
Do you have written permission from the Strasburg to violate their trademark and/or copyright?
OK, I’m joking - but barely
Back in the late Eighties/early Nineties, some railroads tried to force model manufacturers to pay licensing fees to duplicate their liveries (including that of predecessor roads merged into today’s corporate behemoths). They justified it as “We’re just going to charge a dollar a year so no one can claim in court that we don’t defend our trademark and get to use it in ways we don’t approve of” But that was widely mocked and it was seen as an attempted power grab (would EMD and GE come next saying that they wanted licence fees for duplicating the appearance of their products?) In addition, some wiser heads at corporate HQ’s said, “Do we really want to tick off a bunch of people who should be our natural allies and lose the free advertising we get”? So the idea slunk back into the hole from which it had crawled out of
Second, you can use a pencil eraser - not too much force, you don’t want to damage the paint underneath - to try to remove the factory lettering, then apply glosscoat with a fine brushto that area and decal as per the great instructions above
Most original lettering is paint, not decals. I have had no luck with solvaset. Pencil erasers (and fiberglass brushes) remove paint between the letters and that on top of molded hinges and such.
Stripping modern models, with all the details is somewhat problematic. Done well, it is the best way to go.
I am at the age where good enough is all I need. I will knock down the lettering with a pencil eraser than paint a patch over the lettering and then apply the decals.
It looks like you have lighted number boards. I’m not sure how to deal with that.
Wayne’s method of decaling cannot be improved upon.