Best way to strip factory paint from a Bachmann steam loco shell?

[Maletrain]

I have been doing research and gathering parts to do a "bash" of a Bachmann USRA Light Mountain (4-8-2) to make it resemble a B&O T3 locomotive.  The loco shell will need extensive rework, including lagging overlays, running boards, etc.  Best to attach those directly to the plastic shell, without an intervening layer of paint.

So, what is the best way to get the paint off the shell without damaging the finish of the plastic used for the shell?

[plas man]

I have heard reports of Detol / brake fluid / oven cleaner and Model Strip (or other brand of paint stripper).
in the past I have used mineral brake fluid it removers paint after a long soak , but you can end up with the plastic becoming soft whilst soaking - so its a case of washing well in soapy water .
as for the other's I cant say or recommend .

[spookshow]

91% alcohol always does the job for me.

-Mark

[Maletrain]

91% alcohol always does the job for me.

Thanks Mark.  91% alcohol sounds less dangerus to the plastic than the other options.  But, I would like to know what your expeerience has been using it.  How fast does it work, and can the plastic be damaged by leaving the shell in it too long?

[spookshow]

It really depends on the paint. MTL's paint comes off within seconds, whereas Kato's paint can take hours (or even days) of soaking. IIRC, Bachmann's paint is somewhere in the middle.

I generally immerse the model in alcohol for a few hours and then use a toothbrush to remove whatever paint doesn't just dissolve. In the case of tough paint (like Kato) it usually takes a couple-three iterations. Fortunately, it's pretty gentle stuff and I've never had any problems with the plastic getting damaged.

-Mark

[RGW]

I agree with Mark, 91% alcohol works good on Bachmann shells. I stripped a Bmann spectrum 2-8-0 and many others  this way.

Side note . Warning... I tried removing the paint this way with a old Arnold F unit and the shell warped really bad. Be careful with older unknown materiels.

[Maletrain]

Thank you Mark and RWG.  It is really nice to learn from other peoples' experiences, rather than to have to learn everything myself the hard way.  Thanks for sharing your knowledge.

[brokemoto]

I will add my voice to the ninety one per-cent,

As Spookshow correctly states, the Kato paint is tough.  I have had the best luck with brake fluid on that, but the problem is that not all Kato shells will stand up to brake fluid.  The PAs, in particular become quite brittle after using brake fluid.

B-mann shells also become brittle after using brake fluid, so I would not use it for them, either.   Ninety one per-cent always has worked on B-mann for me.

LLs absolutely will not stand up to brake fluid.

Atlas will stand up to it, at least the first generation stuff will, although I have found that ninety one per-cent makes short work of Atlas' paint.  Why take the chance with the brake fluid on the Atlas?

[James in FL]

Also another in the 91% ISO alcohol camp.
I use an old cleaned plastic mayonnaise jar (15 oz.) with enough alcohol to completely submerge the shell.
Put the lid on and let it sit overnight, sometimes longer, if I don't have time to fool with it.
The longest I have let a shell soak was 6 days with no ill effects.
A gentle scrubbing with an old toothbrush finishes the job, followed by a 1 minute or so rinse with clean alcohol.
Here's a tip...after the shell is submerged for the first time do not handle it with bare hands again until after decals and final dull coat has dried.
Use either latex or nitrile (powder free) disposable gloves every time you wish to touch it.
Oil from your skin will mess up a paint job.
The alcohol in the jar can be saved for a long time with the lid firmly seated.
Eventually the paint pigments will settle to the bottom of the jar (about a week or so) and the clean fluid can be poured off the top through a coffee strainer doubled over.
I've recycled it this way for almost a year.
Eventually, after a while, the Isopropyl will have absorbed moisture from the air simply from having the lid off and will become less and less effective, becoming about  45-50% water.
You will know when this happens.
Brake fluid can be strained and reused for years.
I have only had one instance where 91% was not effective, when I stripped a couple of old Rocco Gons.
Don't know what they were painted with, but I eventually used brake fluid.
After a three day soak, they were not completely stripped, but just with gentle handling (tooth brush scrubbing), I broke off almost all the stirrups. They were very brittle.

Good luck

[propmeup1]

I just striped seven engines. four are ER Models and the other three Concor. The Bachmann / ER Models paint came off in a mater of minutes soaking in 91% alco.  The Concor took a few days to soak and keep working the paint with a tooth brush.    All bodies are clean and look like new ready for paint,

Keith

[RGW]

I just tried removing the paint from a con-cor caboose and let it soak in 91% for 3 days did not even start to come off.

[propmeup1]

I feel your pain.  Three of my Concor PA1 and B came clean, the second B is not coming clean.  Must have made at a different time then the other ones.  The original paint was Great Northern and the one that is not cleaning up I can't tell what it's factory paint was. Looks like PC green but I don't know if concor ever made the PAs in PC green.    When I got them they were all Pennsy tuscan but I've made them Brunswick green and five stripe.

Keith

[spookshow]

One thing to check for is the color of the plastic. Some manufacturers use colored plastic that closely matches the color of the paint, so sometimes it's hard to tell that the paint is actually coming off.

-Mark

[brokemoto]

Second to what Spookshow posted.  This goes double for black.  Sometimes, you must look really hard even to see if the manufacturer did put black paint on a black plastic body.  If it did, you must look really close to make sure that the paint actually came off the shell.
Most of the steam that I have stripped was black from the factory.  The paint came off with ninety-one per-cent.

Looks like PC green but I don't know if concor ever made the PAs in PC green.    When I got them they were all Pennsy tuscan but I've made them Brunswick green and five stripe.

C-C is known for phantasee paint schemes, but I can not state that I have ever seen PC PAs.  I do  not think that the PAs lasted to PC (not that sucha fact would stop C-C, mind you).   NYCS PAs did not last to PC.  I do not know about PRR's or NYNH&H's.  There were one or two NYNH&H DL-109s that did make it to PC, but I think that they were steam cars or some sort of utility application by the time of PC.   Never have I seen a prototype photograph of a PA in PC paint or lettering, but then, PC did not paint or letter all of its equipment to PC from the component roads.

C-C sold E-8s or E-7s (I forget which) in PRR DGLE as well as in Tuscan.  Never have I seen C-C PAs in PRR DGLE, although C-C did sell them in Tuscan.   LL also sold PAs in PRR Tuscan.  Kato sold PRR PAs in DGLE.  I have two A-B sets that I never ran very much.  In fact, I still wonder why I bought them.

[spookshow]

The first (1967) run of Con-Cor/Kato PA's was available in PC green. No idea if that paint scheme was reproduced in later years.



-Mark