Cleaning enamel off a rivarossi 2-6-6-2

[Anonymous]

I just won a rivarossi mallet steam locomotive on ebay. The unit runs well but the previous owner painted parts of the engine and tender in tan enamel. Is there any way to get this off without ruining the engine? I mean it is on thick. Any help would be appreciated thank you

[Anonymous]

Hello jcwiek,

I'm afraid you've got a bit of a job ahead of you. I certainly wouldn't attempt scraping away that tan enamel mess. You can strip away the paint, of course, but in doing so the base coat will come away as well. That means you'll need to repaint the body shells. It's probably the best way, however. I don't think there's any other way to approach this without risking more damage to the body shells.

A heavy-duty stripper such as Chameleon should work. Rubbing (isopropyl) alcohol, the 91 percent type, probably isn't strong enough.

Hope this helps,

Paul Schmidt
Contributing Editor
Trains.com

[emdgp92]

Oven cleaner can be used to strip paint as well. Just remove the body shells, and spray away. Be careful with this stuff. Only use it in a well-ventilated area. When I do it, I place the parts in a ziplock bag. Spray, then seal the bag. The paint should start to bubble. After about an hour, open the bag. Use an old toothbrush and running water to remove the bubbly paint. I've used this method on old model cars for years. It works great!

[dknelson]

Be cautious about any paint remover
I can say that I had used a commercial product quite successfully on other AHM/Rivarossi engines over the years but when I used some on their 2-4-0 "Bowker" it softened the plastic! Why that one engine used a different plastic I do not know. Good luck
Dave Nelson

[Anonymous]

Brake fluid works. No joke

[Anonymous]

Hello smithmodels,

Brake fluid and other solvents such as oven cleaner are quite effective at removing paint. However, the other consideration is what potential damage they cause to the plastic underneath. Using strong solvents is something akin smashing a hornet with a 2x4 -- while it's on the end of your buddy's nose. You got rid of the paint, but now the body shell's durability is questionable. I've had brake fluid turn body shells into brittle castings. Other people report shells turning into mush. The result depends on the kind of styrene used to cast the shell.

Paul Schmidt

[emdgp92]

I quit using brake fluid for that reason. It turned my old Bachmann F9 into a mess. Oven cleaner (or Castol Super Clean) doesn't seem to damage plastic... it just goes after paint. If in doubt, test a small, unseen area--like the inside of a diesel shell or tender, etc.

[Anonymous]

You know, I've got a newer body shell (Atlas I believe) in a road name I don't model. Probably good fodder for an experiment.

Paul

[Anonymous]

Hello Paul, I guess I've been lucky. Knock on wood. When you use oven cleaner do you immediately remove the item? Will the shell soften if left in to long?

Philip Smith

[Anonymous]

Hi Philip,

I certainly wouldn't keep the shell in any longer than necessary. Several lighter applications of oven cleaner, rather than one or two heavy smotherings, would likely be better. Sort of like airbrushing in reverse.

The underlying issue is what these solvents do the plasticizers in the styrene. As John Pryke pointed out, harsh solvents leach the plasticizer, which causes brittle shells. Other solvents can and have turned shells into mush. Much of it depends on the styrene the manufacturer used for that particular batch of shells. Some of the newer shells over the past several years seem more susceptible.

Paul