Hi,
I just bought a Lionel 623 on ebay and it has a paint splash on 1 side. It’s a beauty unit but how do I handle the splash? Repaint or leave it? Does repainting hurt value? Can I repaint it myself? Just don’t know how to handle it.
I would try removing it first. What kind of paint is it? Latex paint can be softened and removed with alcohol and a q-tip if done carefully. The decal is toast though. You will need a replacement. The flat black is an easy color to match if you need to touch it up, and if it still doesn’t look good you can always strip and repaint it. It’s a very common (and good) engine so I wouldn’t worry about ruining it’s value, it will be worth more if it looks and runs good even if it’s not original.
Neil
That decal set is available from just about all of the repro parts guys. It would be a fairly easy job to strip and repaint it. A nicely restored engine will be worth more than what you have now.