A little while ago I decided to repaint my red HO Bachmann 70 tonner. I originally tried 99% isopropyl alcohol with little success and thought it was already down to the plastic. I painted over it but messed up the job so I stripped off the new paint in alcohol. When I removed the new layers, the red also chipped off in one place to show the actual plastic and also cracked other places but didn’t come off anymore. I then tried Easyoff oven cleaner but that didn’t work at all either. Do I just have to leave it in alcohol for a long time or is there another way?
Hello all,
I have had success with full strength PineSol.
Put the shell in a gallon size, zip-top freezer bag, fill with enough PineSol to submerge the shell and purge the air.
Then place in a container, old baking pans work best, incase of leakage.
Using nitrile gloves; the full strength stuff is pretty caustic, I would scrub the shell with an old toothbrush 3 to 4 times a day.
When the solution got cloudy I would discard it and replace it with new solution.
This worked with a Rivarossi KM4000 that had been repainted over the original paint.
It took a few days and stripped it down to the bare plastic.
Hope this helps.
Try denatured alcohol instead of isopropyl alcohol I have had good success with it and an old toothbrush to remove paint. It won’t damage plastic either like some organic solvents.
Undecorated shells for the Bachmann/Spectrum 70 ton locomotive show up on eBay from time to time. If you cannot get the paint off, that could be an option for you.
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-Kevin
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Don’t let the shell sit for a long time in alcohol. Soak for a helf-hour, then start scrubbing. Long term exposure to the alcohol will damage the plastic, but it will hold up OK to shorter term exposure uising this quicker method.