I have a set of Rivarossi passenger cars that I would like to just change the “Pennsylvania” lettering to my fictional “Attleboro and Cape Cod Central” railroad, but keep the PRR maroon color of the car. I know I could soak the whole car body in 90% isopropyl alcohol and dissolve all the paint, but I rather not repaint the entire car. I suppose I could mask off the area and overcoat with the background color then add the decals, but I suspect the background color won’t match.
try brushing the lettering with micro sol, letting it sit, then placing a piece of scotch tape over the lettering. lift the tape up and the lettering might go with it.
Some years ago I was able to successfully remove factory lettering using a plain rubber pencil eraser and liquid dish washing soap. put a drop or two of the soap on the lettering, then gently rub with the eraser. At first there is virtually no friction (and no desired result). But just keep gently rubbing and shortly you will feel the friction build up as the lettering starts to fade. Occasionally add a drop of the soap and keep rubbing. Eventually the lettering disappears. It may leave the finish of the base paint slightly dulled when compared to the surrounding area but if you are covering it up with new lettering it should be barely noticeable when you are done. One caution: be sure to use a pencil eraser, not one designed to remove ink. The latter are too abrasive and will ruin the base paint.
The pencil eraser trick does work, just by dumb luck which is typically the case with me I stumbled on a little easier way of doing it.My dad used to be a draftsmen back in the days of a drafting board, mechanical pencils and T-squares and the like, long before the days of CAD. Well I can remember as a little kid watching him use the electric eraser on drawing. seems it was the hot toy back in the day It was nothing more then a drill motor with a chuck on the end that held a soft cylindrical eraser. it makes very short work of any lettering on rolling stock or locomotives. I once bought a whole slew of hopper cars form a guy at a local train show for around $1.00 /ea. My friend was like but there not your road name and all the numbers are the same. I made short work of that problem in less then an hour the next morning with the electric eraser. I do suggest that once you get the lettering removed you sort of buff up the paint a little with some very fine rubbing compound or diluted tooth paste to bring the smoothness and the gloss back up.
Believe it or not these things aren’t something you would have to hunt for in a flea market or junk store Staples still carries them. I’m not saying invest the $79.00 on the corded model but the second link shows a battery one for around $10.00. For $10.00 it’s worth a try if it doesn’t do what you want it to do just return it.
If ya have a Hobby Lobby or some other craft store around you they might have it. I use Micro sol and an electric eraser with a pink tip that I got from Hobby Lobby with a coupon. Kevin
I’ve used non-acetone nail polish remover and a bit of paper towel to remove letters and graphics from models in the past. It works on some but not on some others. It will take transfers off with no problem but some painted on lettering takes a bit more work. Use sparingly!
Joe’s Model Trains in Erie, PA sells “Paint & Decal Remover” (www.joesmodeltrains.com). It is a gel you apply to the lettered area, let sit for several minutes, and then rub lightly. There are small gritty thingys in the gel that provide the abrasion.
The first time I used it to remove BNSF from an SD75, it removed the background paint and left the lettering. On the last three GP60s, it worked like a charm. It took three applications using a Q-tip, but perfecto - nothing but clean, unblemished silver paint.
Hello…I have had great success with 3M automotive scratch remover. Apply on a wooden Q-tip and rub gently. It is technique sensitive so take your time. I have used this on Athearn, Kato,Atlas, and ETC… with satisfactory results. The process left me with clean and polished surface of the original base color ready for decal applications which was finished off by a air-brush overspray of Dull-cote. I often by locomotives in multiples of 2 and 4 and change the cab numbers. Remember to take your time and work slowly, Good Luck!
I recently bought a GP35 on eBay that had been relettered. I asked the guy how he did it and got the following reply:
Hello,I first took a Qtip with a little scale coat paint remover for plastic on it and rubbed real lighty across the letters and then quickly went over the area a paper towel dipped in water.You can’t leave the paint remover on to long as it will damage the paint.I then thinned some water based E.L.gray and went over the area.The yellow lettering are MicroScale decals.
In the latest DPB video they show Cody using trimfilm decals over the reporting marks then re-lettering the car. This may work better for freight cars. You may try cutting a longer piece to fit the road name, car number, etc.
You can try a Qtip of the Iso being careful to only work over a small area!