Stripping paint from Walthers Proto 1000 RDCs

Model Railroader General Discussion (Model Railroader)
1

I have a couple of Walthers Proto 1000 in New Haven livery. The red/orange decal on the car ends is the wrong shade of red/orange, so i’d like to remove the paint from the car ends and re-decal with decals with the proper shade, which i have. If some of the stainless steel-color paint comes off in the process, I’ll just go ahead and strip the whole model and start from scratch.

So–what to use? I have tried 91% isopropanol, Purple Power (which has worked on some stubborn primer on an old model), and old-formula Pine-Sol from the dollar store. None of these has touched the paint in the least.

I’m reluctant to use any solvent, except as a last resort–unless there is a solvent that won’t attack the styrene shell.

Does anyone have experience with these Walthers paint jobs?

Thanks!

Ken

2

The shell may be ABS and not styrene.

Testors ELO (edit to correct as noted below) paint and decal remover is worth a try. It’s basically DOT 3 brake fluid. It can also be applied fairly precisely and locally by paper towel, cloth rag, brush or Q tip.

3

I had forgotten about brake fluid. before I find the testors product I’ll try brake fluid.

thanks

ken

4

While brake fluid may remove the paint, I used it to strip the bodyshell of an Atlas S-2 switcher, and it was so deformed to be almost unrecognisable when I removed it from the glass jar containing the brake fluid.

Wayne

5

Alyth may be refering to ELO (Easy Lift Off). It might be worth a try. I’ve used it to remove stubborn factory lettering. It is not overly aggressive.

Is “Purple Power” anything like SuperClean?

I’ve had very good results with SuperClean. Some paints take quite a bit longer to dissolve, maybe 48 hours or more.

Good Luck, Ed

6

ABS doesn’t much like brake fluid. It should not be used as an immersion stripper. ELO is cut with something which might reduce the damaging effect on ABS.

7

I use Scalecoat II Wash Away Paint Remover. Yeah, it isn’t cheap but it’s meant for the plastics and paints we use. I’ve soaked model car bodies in the stuff. Paint lifts right off and an old toothbrush gets all the little creases. Strain it for re-use and it’s good for quite a while.

added: In fifty years of model car and train painting this is the best paint stripper I’ve used for our plastic models. Never had it damage plastic or fine detailing. Don’t over-think things guys.

8

I have successfully used bar keepers friend. A very gentle scrubbing agent. I put some on the car and scrubbed it with a brush in a Dremel tool. Took a long time but it worked. I suppose any of the household scrubbing agents would work.