Paint removal from locomotives

[Doneldon]

Loco Bill et.al.-
Harbor Freight sells some very low-grit abrasive for models
which will work in their specially designed sprayer on an
airbrush rig. I haven't tried it yet but it could be worth a try.
Or use their airbrush thing with baking soda.
                                                              -- D

[Loco Bill Canelos]

For those who are interested here is what I learned.

I had hoped that ELO would be a better faster way to remove the paint from my USAT GP-7 than using brake fluid.

ELO does not seem to be suitable for complete paint removal on USAT paint, and does not work if the loco is imersed in the stuff, as the instructions stated.   I ended up dumping it into a brake fluid bath for 12 hours on each side then used a toothbrush and soap and water to clean it up.  Worked fine no damage to plastic at all.  Just the usual mess that using brake fluid causes.

ELO did work on the stamped or screened on lettering on an LGB Boxcar and on the lettering on a Bachman Trolley.  I brushed the ELO on and after a few minutes rubbed the lettering briskly using a pink eraser.  Within about 20 minutes I had all the lettering off without hurting the underlying paint.  Some colors came off very quickly while others took a while (black & red).

I will keep ELO handy for when I want to try to remove lettering without hurting the underlying paint.

As Kevin put it, what works on one item may not work on another even if it is the same Brand.  I have custom painted trains for many years and can attest to that. 

If my loco had a simple paint scheme like SP I could have just sandpapered off the lettering with 300 grit wet dry sandpaper and primered it in about 20 minutes, so I recommend that first.  Same with rolling stock unless you are trying to preserve the underlying paint. 



 

[Sleeping Bear]

  Thanks for the info,  Bill.  Sorry the ELO didn't work as we thought or hoped it would.  I will still try it on an Aristo GP40 here in the next month or so and will let everyone know of my results.  I don't feel as a full paint strip will be necessary, as Bill mentioned, I'll be starting with an SP unit, so a mild scuffing is really all that is required.  None the less, I'll try it on a small spot and let ya know how it goes.  Sorry again, Bill.     Later all......S.B.

[Loco Bill Canelos]

SB,

Live and learn,  I just bought some of those cheap ball bearing truck  Aristo box cars from Trainworld, the ones with the Aristo advertizing on them.   I am going to try the ELO on the logos and see what happens. I will pass that on as well. 

I expect the ELO will work on the lettering, but may not on the blody nose,   I will look forward to your report.

[Loco Bill Canelos]

A little update. 

I have tried ELO on the Aristo cars lettering, but it removes the underlying paint as well as the logo, but it does not really work well at all.   Same was true for A Delton caboose.   I ended up using my tried and true super fine grit sandpaper.   While I suspect that the ELO would eventually remove all the paint it time the sandpaper method id far faster and less messy.  If I( ever need to remove paint completely do to bare plastic I would use brake fluid

I now have the loco and six cars ready for primer, but it is too cold here to do it.   

[Sleeping Bear]

  O.k. Bill,........just got a little bottle of the ELO, and here are the results of my initial test(about 5 minutes worth)....  Older Delton U.P. caboose.    Almost instantly liquefied U.P. emblem and writing,a couple passes with an old tooth brush and it was gone, didn't touch base Yellow.  Aristo Lil' critter, circa 1997, softened  the G.N. emblem and orange stripe to a point that 3 or 4 passes with a pink (fine grit) nail file, took it to the green paint under the emblem and wiped out the edge of the stripe. With a little more time I think the strip would go almost completely.  Haven't tried it on the brand new GP 40 yet. Still just kinda lookin at it.  When I do try it, I'll post results.              Later all.......S.B.

[Loco Bill Canelos]

Thanks SB,   My son tried ELO on a USA Trains 50 foot Boxcar, but had no luck. Ended up using 400 grit wet sandpaper to get the lettering off.

[Kevin Strong]

I decided to try the ELO myself on an Accucraft hopper. As expected, lifting off was in fact "easy." Alas, what it easily lifted off wasn't what I was looking to remove. Took the paint right off, didn't touch the lettering. Went to denatured alcohol, which attacked both the paint and the lettering. Fortunately the underlying plastic is also black, and with a bit of weathering you'll never know the difference.

Later,

K

[Loco Bill Canelos]

Thanks Kevin,

Just goes to show you that what is good for one isn't good for all.  It would be great to know what paint the different manufacturers use, lacquer, enamel, acrylic, on the bodies, and on the lettering. 

I suspect that the paints used vary even within a manufacturer.  Just have to stick with the old trial and error. 

[Sleeping Bear]

  As I promised, here are my results with the ELO.    Results were not real  good, The only effect that I can comment on is the slight softening of the lettering. Did not touch the grey or put a dent in the bloody nose on my Aristo GP-40, much as we thought. Will keep it on hand for attempts in the future.   later all....S.B.