Hi guys and gals, I have an older unit and when I was younger, I spray painted it several times… It is a Bachmann GP40 and I have found that sanding it in some areas works and in other area’s, using nail polish remover works…However, is there any way to remove the layers of spraypaint without ruining the original paintjob, or am I screwed?
Go on Ebay and buy a new shell. Using sandpaper and nail “polis” remover are not good stategies for removing paint. The sandpaper will destroy details and the nail “polis” remover will tend to melt plastic.
That being said, the shell you buy on Ebay will be worth more than the locomotive is worth…food for thought.
David B
I don’t use just regular old nail polish remover, I know it melts plastic from experiance…I mix it with water and that seems to be slowly working…slowly…
Edit: Never mind…brake fluid will remove all the paint, which isn’t what you wanted. 
Yes, try and use the brake fluid. Let it soak for about 24 hours. Just remeber to dispose of it apropetly.
“simple green” is a much safer, non toxic,nice smelling alternative to brake fluid. let it soak for a few hours and scrub. most paint will flake off in a few hours but u can let it soak for days with no worry it’ll attack the plastic or make it craze… not so with acetone or brake fluid. U can get it at ur local big box store for 3-4$
Thank you guys so much for the help!
Will simple green work on brand new shells to strip the paint down to the original shell?
Yes does “Simple Green” work on the Athearn engines? We have several AMD-103’s that we want to strip and repaint in the VIA blue and then decal. I would like to know before I go and buy the wrong paint remover.
After reading this thread yesterday, I picked up a bottle of Simple Green on the way home to try it on a couple of projects I have in progress. I’ve been trying to strip the silver paint off a set of plastic Athearn sideframes using 91% alcohol, have tried soaking them overnight at least twice, and the paint still wouldn’t completely come off. I tried soaking them in SG last night and could see some paint washing off right away. This morning, I took them out and scrubbed w/ a toothbrush and pretty much all the silver residue was gone (yay!). There was just a little remnant of silver left in some nooks & crannies, so I left them to soak again before I left for work.
I have an old Athearn FP45 (early 80’s vintage) that I also want to strip.Haven’t tried any stripping material yet, but will give the SG a try first. I’ll report back on how it turns out. Probably in its own dedicated thread. Might take a few weeks to get around to doing it, though.
I tried to strip a older Athearn AMD 103 with 91%, the stripes came off quick and easy, the silver didn’t come off well at all, I soaked it for a couple weeks… Didn’t try simple green though, have to try that next time.