I’m sure this question has been addressed somewhere in previous thread/posts… But, I recently purchased a matched pair of TRAINLINE FAs that are decorated for Pennsylvania. I tried using 70% iso-alcohol to remove the lettering/numbering. The factory applied paint would not budge. Is there a safe and harmless paint removal available? Or, should I bite the bullet; remove the body shells and spray paint them? Again, your tips/suggestions are greatly appreciated. Thanks,
G’ Flash
You know, everyone says to use alcohol (or Solva-set) and rub with a Q-tip or pencil eraser, or whatever, but I have NEVER found this to be a reliable method. Usually, the paint surrounding the lettering will come off before the lettering itself.
What I do is to use a Paasche Air Eraser and sand blast off the lettering, using Baking Soda. Yes, you do need to mask off around the lettering to be removed, and yes, you will probably have to dust or wash the shell, but the Air Eraser gives very precise control and allows you to remove only what you want to remove. If the Paasche seems too expensive, then Badger makes a lower cost version.
Greg
try 91& iso alchohol, you can get that at wal-mart.
Flash - Here is another thread on the same thing. There are some good offerings there as well as mine
ratled
http://cs.trains.com/trccs/forums/p/155522/1716779.aspx#1716779
Harbour Freight has one for $20. Yea it’s a cheap knock off but if you are not using it all that often it might be worth looking into.
B&O - how bad is the dust/ over spray when using you air eraser? I realize a dust mask glasses etc is needed. Also what PSI are using?
ratled
I use it in my spray booth, and there is enough overspray that I clean up with the shop vac afterwards. Of course the inside of the booth is coated, so is the desktop the booth sits on. I have it over in a corner of the basement away from my main workbench just as a precaution. As you say, I wear a dust mask and a lab coat (to protect my clothing). Goggles are a good idea but I wear glasses and usually have my optovisor on, so I don’t as a standard practice. As far as PSI, my recollection is about 5 to 10, although it is a matter of setting it so that the baking soda flows fast enough to do the job without being too fast. This is one of those things that I suspect needs to be monkeyed with for each system in service–depending on your compressor, length of air hose, in-line water filter, humidity, etc, you’ll find that you need more or less presssure (and, even on the same system, given the thickness of paint on the model you may need to adjust the pressure). So, the answer to your question is, “enough”. I’ll start low, and raise it if I feel the lettering isn’t coming off at a reasonable rate.
For comparison, the most recent thing I’ve done with the air eraser was etching some plated passenger car sides so that I could paint them and have the paint stick–I had the pressure well up over 40 PSI.
Greg
Greg - Thanks for the quick reply. Just the info I looking for
ratled
I’ve found non-acetone nail polish remover to work on some that I worked on. I just dab some onto the number/decal then scrub it lightly with an eraser.
Onemore possibility stands in removing the lettering, using a battery eraser. Just have to be careful not to damage the paint underneath