The plan is to strip and paint refinish this P2K L&N E7 to an SCL unt. (Bumblebee scheme). It baffles me that Walthers produced their beautiful HO Budd passenger cars in SCL’s scheme, yet, no SCL E units have been offered from any manufacturer! I had been putting it off long enough, so it was time to get to work.
For the photos, I’m soaking one shell at a time instead of 2 to 3 as I normally would. My hand appears shiny since I’m wearing transparent latex gloves.
After filling a 12" x 9" aluminum bake pan with 91% Isopropyl, I immerse the E7 shell and let it soak for 15 minutes… After 5 minutes, the alcohol was already turning blue. At about 15 minutes, I start scrubbing the body with a toothbrush.
I take my time and don’t rush.
After scrubbing carefully for about 5 minutes, most of the paint has come off. The nooks and crannies actually take longer to do than the larger open body panels and roof areas. NOTE: The red L&N nose herald was more STUBBORN than a UP dispatcher delaying an Amtrak train! It came off in tiny pieces with a pick as I dipped the nose section into the alcohol every 10 seconds for about 2 minutes.
Results after washing in the sink with some warm water and a tiny drop of dishwashing soap. Dawn, Ivory or soap that has no oils or lanolin is preferrable. [IMG]http://i267.photo
I let this shell soak for only about 5 minutes and begin scrubbing. I’ve noticed that silver paint comes off easily on some passenger car models:
First items to come off are the letters:
Now the silver paint. A little more pressure on the toothbrush helps to clear out the paint inside of the corrugated grooves
I scrub the shell with it submerged most of the time, pulling it our occasionally to inspect it. I take my time, inspite of the temptation to rush it.
About 97% done. There’s some silver in the nooks, crannies and stepwells. The toothbrush actually gets the majority of it out. The tiny flakes that are left won’t be noticeable after the paint job:
After a warm bath in the sink, she’ll be ready for the High Gloss NYC Gray followed by the Alclad II metalizer.
Thanks Antonio for the ‘How To’. I have a PK2 RDC (NYC) that I want to apply the red, white and black, visibility striping to, but I have no idea how to proceed.
I’ll keep watching this thread and maybe pick up a few pointers.
Since joining in 03, I’ve read a good number of threads in which questions and info are exchanged regarding paint stripping, yet very few photos of the processes have been posted.
There are other products, such as ELO and SuperClean that work well on some brands. It’s good to experiment as results can vary.
Paint stripping older Athearn BBs can be a challenge with 91% alcohol as it generally takes longer time than with modern shells… Kato shells, reportedly, may become brittle or warp.
Would be good if some of you guys that have stripped Kato, Athearn, and Atlas shells would post your methods and/or photo results here or on a new thread. I discovered that paint stripping older Athearn BB shells can be quite a challenge
No Offense or disrespect guys, but a lof of “FLUFF” threads have been popping up. I read, enjoy, and post on them…but we still need fresh “How to” threads as well so that this forum will continue to be viewed as a very valuable source of good info.
I’ve always used brake fluid or ELO on the old Athearn BB shells with good results. Do NOT use these chemicals on Kato or the old Atlas/Kato shells as they tend to crack, (although they can usually be fixed with a little liquid cement). Kato shells are made of ABS, not styrene. Most modern paints can be removed with Easy Lift Off, (ELO), 99% alcohol or Camelion Stripper. I haven’t tried Superclean. I would not recomend Easy Off oven cleaner as it’s pretty caustic.
With the brake fluid and ELO, it’s best to allow the shell to soak in water for at least as long as it was in the stripping fluid to allow the water to fully neutralize the chemicals and then wash it with some grease-cutting detergent (like Dawn), then rinse very thoroughly and let the shell air dry.
There are a number of pages to look through, but you might find the NYC style striping or something close to it there.
ModelMaker, thanks for that info. It makes sense now why Kato shells can crack with certain chemicals.
Mr. SP, as I pointed out, I’ve used 91% alcohol on older Athearn BB but the paint didn’t come off fully. I would definetly take the ELO or Superclean route if I were to strip another old Blue Box. I personally prefer not to use brake fluid on modern shells though. [;)]
Both RDCs will be paint metalized with the Alclad II metalizer as they are for a club layout. I’ll post a new thread showing the process (similar to what was done on the “Metalizing Metroliners” thread).
That is exactly what I’m looking for. I have the same image saved for reference.
I checked out the Microscale site. A little more research and I may be able to find what I need there. I’m not sure of the width of the stripes on the RDC but 8-inches looks to be close.
I really enjoyed your “How To” on the passenger cars.
Thanks Antonio, this helps. I have a P1000 RDC in Amtrak that looks…er…like a toy. Always wondered what they put on these as a finish but it looks like it came off pretty easily.
Antonio, I have stripped several Kato shells using 91% isopropyl alcohol with excellent results. Unfortunaltely, I’m too much a ‘kludge’ to know how to post photos effectively, but I’ve stripped 3 Kato NW2s, (one twice!), a pair of SD45s and four GP35s with no problems whatsoever. Hope this helps al bit.
I started using the 91% isopropyl alcohol for stripping last year as a result of reading about it on here. Now I don’t use anything else. I did find a good way to keep the alcohol from evaporating as it works…at Wal-Mart and other home goods type stores, you can find plastic Rubbermaid-type containers with special lids. These lids have tabs that lock down on all four sides of the container to hold it securely. They also have a silicone gasket so the alcohol vapors stay put. Aside from filtering out the old paint every now and then, I’ve been able to safely store the alcohol in the container for about 6 months now without having to bother with pouring it back into bottles for storage. The one I have now is fairly small, and will only fit a short wheelbase (GP, F, or SW) locomotive shell in it, but they do make larger sizes. I’ve been eyeing one meant for storing a loaf of bread for longer wheelbase locomotives and passenger cars.
I also highly recommend a pair of chemical handling gloves (found at Wal-Mart in the paint/tool section) when stripping using alcohol. I learned the hard way how quickly the oils and moisture in your skin get stripped away by it! [B)]
I’m a member of the Scale Auto forum and read about the Krylon tip in 2006. The author of the article reported that he had very good success with the Krylon after he emptied the Krylon can’s contents into a jar and was able to use it in his airbrush…
But yes, it’s good to experiment with the different methods available to see which yields the best results. As always, to help out fellow modelers, results should be shared. [;)]
I found the old Rivarossi passenger cars very challenging to strip. The only thing I could get to work was Easy Off oven cleaner. It didn’t hurt that Rivarossi plastic…can’t say about other manufacturers.
There are some great tips in this thread. If I may, I would like to add some as well.
Instead of a solid sided container for the alcohol I use a large ziploc bag. I foung some gallon sized ones at the store for using in the freezer. I pour the liquid in and put the shell into the bag. I can then remove enough air to ensure the entire shell is covered. I set this into a pail or tray on the shelf in case it leaks.
Regarding brake fluid… It works as a paint stripper because it is an alcohol based product, only it has some chemicals added to it.
Regarding the alcohol itself…Always keep it sealed up from the air when ever posible as it has a great affinity for atmospyheric water (hygroscopic)
Just an FYI, ABS is a type of styrene (Acrylonitril Butadiene Styrene) although not pure polystyrene it is stronger. Not being a chemist I can’t answer as to why the alcohol reacts with it the way it does, but I think it may have to do with the imputities in the acrylonitril.
I very seldom chemicaly strip plastic shells anymore, I have a small blasting booth at work at my disposal and I use that. Loaded with 220 grit Al Ox sand id does a great job quickly removing paint withoud damaging any details such as rivets and weld lines.
Those were Rivorossi passenger cars that I purchased in the early 1990s (orange boxes). When I soaked them in alcohol, the silver pant came off in less than 5 minutes.
It’s been some time since I did that, but I remember getting some alcohol from work, and it very well could have been Ethyl alcohol. Is there something different in isopropyl that would make it strip paint, where the Ethyl wouldn’t?
