Could someone please provide some guidance on the preferred method to strip the paint from Athearn Genesis/Atlas/Kato/LifeLike P2000 locomotive shells? I have read that the old stand by of brake fluid is not effective and may cause damage. PineSol? Commercial paint remover? Simply remove the lettering and paint over? Many thanks.
I’ve soaked the older Athearn shells in brake fluid and have never seen any plastic damage from the stripping, and some of these were in the fluid over a week! (Sometimes you get going on other projects and don’t have a chance to get back to it). The technique I usually use is to put the shell in the brake fluid for about 24 hours, then rinse it off under running water, scrubbing with an old toothbrush dipped in dishwashing liquid. Sometimes a repeat soaking in the brake fluid is needed, so make sure the shell is dry before putting it back in.
I’ve never dealt with the other brands, so I can’t advise on them.
My personal favorite right now is a grit blaster (fine sand, sand blaster). I have used 90% isopropyl alcohol on Proto 2000 engines with good results. kato…everyone says to stay away from the chemical strippers as they can damage the shell. On these I use my blaster only. Something about the Kato’s…supposedly they “paint” these with printers ink and not paint. I don’t know for sure, just what I have heard. I have good luck on the Atlas engines with the alcohol also. I never stripped a Genesis engine yet so I don’t know what will work on them. Brake fluid is mostly alcohol which is why it worked so well over the years. The problem with it is all of the additives that they put in now. If you do try the brake fluid be sure it is not one of the newer silicone based ones. Once the shell hits that stuff you might as well plan on keeping the original paint on it as new paint wont stick unless you can get the silicone off of it
The Kato and older Atlas/Kato bodies are made of ABS plastic not Styrene and are not compatable with brake fluid, Scalecoat or polyscale strippers. Cameleon seems to work ok.
Brake fluid, Scalecoat & polyscale strippers work fine on older BB Athearn, I would be careful with newer RTR & Genesis.
People have used everything from 99% alcohol, pinesol, ovencleaner, etc with the other brands.
I’ve tried several things for stripping paint…brake fluid for older Athearn shells, Floquil ELO (Easy Lift Off) stripper, Pine Sol…I even tried Easy-Off Oven Cleaner once (Much more of a pain than it was worth).
The one I use now seems to work the best for most types of paints…91% Isopropyl Alcohol. I buy it at Walgreens (well, my wife works there, and we get this nice employee discount, see…[:D]). I also found a really nice lock-top container at Wally World that has a silicone gasket all the way around the lid, so it seals nicely. Most locomotive shells fit into it (albeit at an angle, for C-truck locos) and it’s tall enough to hold just enough alcohol to cover the shell.
Oh, and do not, do not, DO NOT use brake fluid for most of the newer shells…the plastics they use these days will become brittle and crack as soon as you touch them if you do.
YMMV [:)]
There are a number of liquid chemical strippers that people have avocated over the years. Brake fluid, 100% isopropyl alcohol, chamelion, Pinesol, Castrol engine cleaner. Without a doubt the most effective way that works on every model is a glass beader or air eraser. It uses very tiny bits of glass or aluminum oxide and abrades the paint off. With Blue Box Athearn I never repainted them. The shells were so cheap to buy new it didn’t make sense to waste time on them.
The easiest way to get paint off most models is 91% iso alcohol. It works most of the time.
If not, Castrol Super Clean do will the job.
Either can be found at wal-Mart for cheap.
I soak shells in their of these in a large–think Costco-sized–glass pickle jar. This also allows me to close it up and save the solution afterwards.
I no longer use (or need to use) anything else; the other alternatives are too pricey, can damage the shell, or annoy my wife with their persistent odor.
I’d try soaking in 91% isopropyl alcohol for a few hours before I’d do anything else. It’s cheap and doesn’t seem to cause any damage. I’ve had very good luck with it on P2K cars.