Removing Lettering

[PJM20]

Hello, can you guys spare a few tips on removing lettering and what you use to do it. Thank You for the help. - Peter

[ttrigg]

Peter: This all depends on the brand of equipminet you are removing lettering from. I’ve seen some that are nothing more than a sticker that peeled off, to "printed" on that required scrubbing with toothbrush and paint thinner or other such chemical. "Goo gone", and "Graffiti Remover" seem to work as well. But major word of caution: Take care not to remove the paint (or even remove the siding from the car).

[Greg Elmassian]

 There's lots of liquids that people have used. A tip, try not to soak the entire object in the liquid unless there is no other way.

Lots of people have destroyed plastic that way, and some fluids cause disintegration a day later.

Regards, Greg

[kstrong]

It really is luck of the draw whether something works to remove lettering. The paints used for lettering vary from model to model, color to color, to say nothing of manufacturer to manufacturer. Some of the common suggestions:

1) Denatured Alcohol

2) "Super Clean" degreaser

3) Brake Fluid (DOT-3)

4) MEK (NOT for plastic!!!)

5) Lacquer Thinner

6) Acetone (Again, NOT for plastic)

I'd start with the most innocuous first--the degreaser, then denatured alcohol before breaking out the heavier hitters. And sometimes you do have to soak the part. When I use the "Super Clean" degreaser, I've got to soak the parts in it for around 15 - 20 minutes. The trick is that you want to remove the lettering, not the paint beneath it. Sometimes you'll get something that does the opposite. That's why I generally stay away from the heavy hitters--they usually attack the paint at all levels. Always try it on an inconspicuous part of the model first.

If you can't get something to attack just the lettering, then you're going to have to repaint anyway. At that point, break out the 600-grit sandpaper and water, and lightly sand to remove the lettering. If you've got to remove the lettering over a row of rivets, then use ultra-fine steel wool instead of the sandpaper, so to preserve the details. If you're removing lettering from the side of a simulated wood box car or such, you can use slightly coarser sandpaper, and sand with the grain of the wood.

Truthfully, you really don't need to worry about completely removing all traces of lettering. When the prototype railroads repainted equipment, they didn't. They just painted right over what was there, leaving traces of the old lettering under the new paint. Call it a bit of unintended prototypical accuracy. (Of course, this assumes that you're modeling something that would have been repainted...)

One more safety note - read the precautions on the labels. Some paint removers are particularly nasty and should only be used in very well ventilated areas.

Later,

K