As my new decals come in today and I can start work on turning 2 gp38 into patched units ( a BN turning into a WC and a CNW going to WSOR ). Whats the best way to remove the logo from the sides of the cab?
Solvaset and a pencil eraser. Put Solvaset on the logo, maybe a piece of paper towel on it to keep it damp. Let it sit for a few minutes to soften, add a bit more Solvaset and rub gently with the eraser.
Solvaset to remove decals. Hopefully yours are because just removing the painted letters without harming the rest of the paint is far from easy.
If the lettering is painted on then you’ll need something stronger. Solvaset won’t dissolve paint as far as I know.
The best seems to be DOT 3 brake fluid. Safe for most plastics and eventually fairly devastating to paint.
Testors sells this as their branded ELO, Easy Lift Off, and neglects to mention that the active ingredient is “just” brake fluid. There’s something else in there also but how necessary or active this might be I have no idea.
It works fairly gently in the sense that it takes 15-30 minutes to soften the paint enough to allow you to remove the residue it creates.
I predict you may find it very tricky to remove just the lettering.
Looks like Ill be snagging a pint of DOT 3 from work and try not to take all the paint off
But be aware that once you start with the brake fluid, that will be inevitably what you will do to all the areas you apply it to unless you are very careful to watch the progress of the ‘softening’ of the screen-printed lettering, and after you have ‘erased’ it you promptly use a different solvent to wash the brake fluid including any that has soaked into the paint under and around the lettering away, and then carefully dry the shell without further rubbing or contact with the visible paint.
The paint the engine is painted with is a bit different that the paint (ink) the pad printing is done with. That ink will soften just a bit before the base color will. Solvaset tends to work well right on that balance point of softening the ink before the paint.
Use anything stronger (brake fluid, etc.), you are crossing a fine line into softening both the ink and the paint at the same time. Your chances of success aren’t nearly as good.
Mark.
The logo is probably paint. Its pretty thick. I freelance a short line and have removed painted on lettering several times. I find that using liquids of any kind marrs the finish of the paint that surrounds the decal. No way to avoid rubbing the surrounding paint when you are trying to scrub off a logo using a liquid.
I scrape them off dry with a sharp blade held at 90 degrees as to not scour the base paint. If you’re accurate, you can lay small drops of 90% alcohol on the logo to soften it before scraping. Make sure it has dried first as to not spread the alcohol onto the surrounding paint.
Solvaset might work, but that seems more like a substance for decals rather than a substance that softens/removes paint.
If scraping makes little scratches, a new patch job and decal will hide them.
Physical removal of the painted on logo with precise targeted scraping strokes perserves the surrounding paint the best, in my experience.
Try 3M automotive scratch remover on a Q-tip. It is technique sensitive. Rub gently and you should end up with original lettering removed leaving a very smooth base coat for decal application. Finish off with a coat of Dullcote. Done this many times to renumber locomotives with good success.
Hope the solvaset works. Maybe consider trying several methods beginning with the mildest?
I tried a bunch of things while trying to remove painted on road markings. Fairly frustrating as I ended up with the Testors ELO method anyway in the end.
The locomotive was an otherwise unpainted plain black ABS plastic 2-10-2 Spectrum so no worries about damaging the finish under the lettering and road marks with just the solvent.
Scraping works, sort of. Scratch remover helps, sort of. Alcohol has very little effect. Paint remover really didn’t work on dried paint (or “set” I think the “paint” is actually a plastic). Some paint removers also attack some plastics, test on the inside of the shell first. Be ready with soapy water at the first sign of attack. Tamiya makes a specific paint remover for their paints but which slowly attacks ABS.
Be aware that the factory paint may actually create a ghost image on the plastic bodyshell. Removing just the paint with any method may not also remove the image of the road numbers, letters or marks. I tried abrading those off my project with no success. Removing the ghost image by abrasion also may remove any moulded in details under or near the markings you remove.
After this one project I’m inclined to buy undecorated if I can or be ready to fully repaint if not.
The ELO was actually a Floquil product, introduced around the same time that Floquil replaced Polly S with Pollyscale. If it contains brake fluid, I doubt that there’s very much of it, as it’s a fairly slow-working paint softener.
On the other hand, brake fluid will remove paint quite quickly, but I also discovered that it will damage some plastics just as quickly.
I used it on an Atlas switcher, and the bodyshell was destroyed very rapidly, to a point where it wouldn’t even be a suitable stand-in for a severely wrecked locomotive. I ended-up buying a new bodyshell from Atlas.
As has been mentioned, painted-on lettering can be removed using a sharp blade - I prefer X-Acto’s chisel-type blades, held at 90º to the surface of the lettering being removed. Use a light touch, to avoid gouging the underlying paint (or worse, the plastic shell).
Wayne
https://images.homedepot-static.com/catalog/pdfImages/7f/7f663fd7-c05e-45fd-acdc-9451bc7001c6.pdf
safety data sheet confirms the active chemicals (that are required to be identified) are quite low in concentration, under 20% by weight in total. This confirms Testors includes around 80% essentially inert buffering fluid components which conforms to my actual experience.
Take from this the idea that if you use straight DOT 3 instead of ELO then be prepared for quick results! Maybe too quick?
Google says DOT 3 will essentially petrify ABS plastics eventually. The chemical action may not be very fast but it is irreversible. It basically disintegrates the plastic over time causing it to fragment,
I used ELO on my ABS tender and locomotive. I was attentive to the timing and cleaned off the damaged paint promptly with Isopropyl alcohol followed immediately with soapy water.
I’ll have a close look at the unit today and report if it is damaged.
DOT-3 is awesome for removing paint from brass models. If you MUST use it on plastic, you need to be careful. Too long in the fluid and you will have a damaged model.
Simple Green works well, but the model will have an odor afterward. There are a lot of other alternatives.
-Kevin
I’ve made my own patch units using Microscale trim film. Sometimes I actually like to see the “old” lettering under the paint-out.
Have you considered “patch-out” decals?
You could very lightly sand some of the thickness off the underlying lettering using some micro-fine abrasive (or not) and apply your patch out film. Doesn’t even have to match perfectly. Then decal your engine number over that.
Just an option, anyway.
Good Luck, Ed
I agree with the scraping method but I prefer a used Excel No.11 pointed blade held at a 90 degree angle to the lettering you wish to remove, especially if you want to retain the underlying paint. I have used this method to renumber and in some cases, change Cotton Belt engines into Southern Pacific and, vice versa.
Start at a corner of a letter or digit, and let the weight of the knife supply the pressure required to remove it. You are much less likely to gouge your model with a used vs. fresh blade. When all traces of the unwanted lettering are removed, go over the area with a pencil eraser, just like you were rubbing out a mistake, to smooth any microscopic ridges or scratches and remnants of the unwanted lettering. After insuring the surface is clear of any debris, I use a piece of a ladies makeup sponge to apply a very thin coat of Pledge acrylic floor polish or, whatever they call it now. This leaves a smooth, glossy surface ready for decals when it dries. Apply your decals according to their manufacturer’s directions. Practice on a junker first. Once you develope your skill, you will have models ready for the acrylic floor polish in less than 20 minutes start to finish, with no fumes and no damage to the rest of the paint. I’ve successfully used this technique on almost 90 engines and over 200 cars, from simply removing a number to removing all the lettering on a car, leaving only the body color. It also works well on removing decals. The only drawback is, it removes the entire decal film, leaving a bare area much like a patchout would cover unwanted lettering. Don’t throw your used knife blades away, they still have some life in them.