I have some locomotives I want to repaint and would like to completely remove the factory paint job from the shell first. Unfortunately, I have no idea where to start. If someone could point me in the right direction that would be fantastic. Thanks in advance, Matt
Hi,
First off, it would be helpful if you provide some basic details:
Steamers, Diesels, Electrics?
Scale?
Brand name: (Athearn, Atlas, Kato, Proto 2000, Stewart, Bachmann Spectrum, etc.)
These factors can make a difference as to which approach to take [;)]
Matt, easy and stripping do not go hand in hand! [:D] I was in auto body and paint for 20 years.
I have heard you can soak the shell in isopropyl alcohol, and scrub the shell with a tooth brush to get the paint off. I have repainted a train iteam before. I got in to this hobby to get away from painting! [:D]
Cuda Ken
I use 90 percent (maybe 91) isopropyl alcohol to strip any factory paint from a model. It works like a charm. I always dissasemble the model completely, basically the shell breaks down into the walkway, railings, main body, and the cab. I soak each part for about an hour then use a hard bristled brush (an old toothbrush) and warm water to scrub the shell. Most of the paint come off this way but some doesnt, i just soak the parts for an additional half hour and scrub again. Sometimes the paint in the nooks and crannies such as door frames and what not tends to want to stay put. After the second soak I dip a toothpick into the alcohol and pick the paint out of these tough spots. Afterwards I always have a clean slate to work with and I never have to worry about any damage to the shell itself, pretty easy process.
Don
Many years ago I stripped my complete fleet of passenger cars–Atlas, Con-Cor, MRC–using brake fluid. I gott’er done but I think that in the future when I finally get around to stripping the factory paint from my diesels I’m gonna either go with Chameleon® or Isopropyl 91.
It has been mentioned here and on some other forums that Kato plastics tends to be a little sensitive to alcohol and Intermountain is a real bear to get off.
Cameleon or Polyscale’s EasyLiftOff are 2 good commercial strippers for models, check the local hobby shops or order on-line, you need about a quart to submerge the model. These strippers are reusable, just pour through a screen to remove the paint particles and return the rest to the bottles for the next project.
91% isopropl alcohol can be had at most supermarkets, usually on the shelf under the regular 70% alcohol. It often requires a lot of scrubbing depending on the paint the manufacturer used.
Why are people still recommmending the use of old toothbrushes??? They can be had for 5 for a dollar at the local dollar store. The mouth has more germs than any other animal except certain reptiles, there’s no sense in risking infection if you have an open wound, etc. It just ain’t hygenic!
Sorry, my bad.
The locomotives in question are HO scale Stewart Diesels.
Matt
Those look promising.
I have some (more) homework to do, since I still have not decided how many diesels I’m going to do. Anyone have thoughts on these three products from a price/performance perspective?
Matt
Matt;
My first step would be to give Bowser a telephone call and inquire about the availability of undecorated shells - most of them are well under $20- and it is not worth $20- to try and strip the paint from a painted shell.
If that is not an option, first try the 91% Isopropyl Alcohol (IPA) because it is by far the cheapest, and no models are known to be damaged by it. It doesn’t do anything to Kato models, on P2K models the paint just flakes off. If the does not work, go with one of the commercial strippers listed above. Check your local hobby shop.
Good luck,
I use a media blasting booth filled with baking soda (from walmart) to strip all of my shells now, with the exception of using the 91% on atlas and p2k shells I will never again use any other stripper. The baking soda works so well and does not even come close to damaging the detail for example it took the paint off old 1970 rivarossi paint in seconds.
I stripped an Atlas factory paint job w/ 70% isopropyl alcohol and a toothbrush. Also have stripped some of my own paint jobs on those shells, lol.