Mike
MikeFFHas anyone had success in removing the lettering from a BLI steam locomotive? I have a NYc Mikado that I want to change from the serif scheme to gothic. I tried Solvaset (it is a bit old-maybe 15 years...how much of this stuff can you go through?) and it didn't work. I would be nice not to have to strip and repaint the whole thing. Thanks, Mike.
I am also interested in this answer. I have a BLI (and some others) that I want to strip the lettering from as well. I haven't attempted anything yet, but the methods I've heard about that I have in mind to try are:
-- A "electric eraser", apparently some people have acceptable results with one of those.
-- A chemical "lettering stripper" that I got off ebay, I can't recall the name offhand at the moment, I'll look it up this evening and update the post. It claims to be successful most of the time in removing decals and lettering, but I haven't tried it yet myself to verify or refute it.
John
jwhitten -- A chemical "lettering stripper" that I got off ebay, I can't recall the name offhand at the moment, I'll look it up this evening and update the post. It claims to be successful most of the time in removing decals and lettering, but I haven't tried it yet myself to verify or refute it.
"You know there's something seriously strange happening when you start quoting yourself..." -- John Whitten
Okay, I found the info on the chemical stripper:
Joe's Gel Detail & Decal Remover
(The product page is here: http://www.joesmodeltrains.com/Paint%20and%20Decal%20Remover.htm)
And here is their web site:
http://www.joesmodeltrains.com/products.htm
And here are the (longer) instructions for use:
Detailed Instructions
My Own Opinion After Use:
Okay, I tried it for the first time the other night, and again some more last night.
-- The first time I tried it to see if I could get the decals off my BLI steamer. I never could get it to work. Although I think I now know why and am reasonably sure I will get it to work when I try again.
-- The second time I tried it out on one of my Bachmann 2-8-0 steamers to remove the road name from the tender. The directions say to apply the product and let it sit for 3 minutes and then it should remove the decal / lettering. That didn't happen. But after my first experience with the BLI steamer, I decided to try again and just let it sit for about 10 minutes or so. Every now and then I used a small bit of paper towel wrapped around a little stick to rub along the lettering and also gently rub in a circular motion around the lettering. After a bit-- maybe more than 10 minutes-- it did finally start noticeably fading the lettering some. So I stuck with it, reapplying the product as necessary, and eventually-- perhaps 30 minutes or so of effort, all the lettering was finally removed.
I also tried it on an old (Athearn probably, not sure) box car to see if I could remove lettering there-- and it started working nearly right away, though it removed the paint faster than the lettering so it wasn't as useful in that regard. I stopped the process (wet with water) before I was able to get the lettering removed because I didn't want to strip the paint. [It was an old box car, was gonna weather it anyway].
So I'd have to say my results were somewhat mixed, but for the loco, it worked. I did have to use quite a bit of water to remove the leftover residue from the tender, but repeated rinses did finally remove it. I only had time to do one side of the tender last night. Tonight I'll try it again to see if I have can do it more smoothly / quickly.
I just removed the lettering from a URSA light 4-6-2. Once I realized there is no black paint under the herald and lettering (GTW roadname) is just used Scalecoat Paint Remover which is outrageously expensive but works great on everything I've tried. Somebody please find the formula for this stuff!
I haven't stripped a BLI but I have other equipment. What I have used is a Bright Boy track cleaning eraser. It has a little bit of abrasive in it. I usually wet it and then work it back and forth across the lettering. It usually comes off without too much difficulty. It might leave trace amounts of lettering around rivets. Occasionally it will take off small patches of the underlying paint but that can be touched up easily. I did a Bachmann steamer about a month ago and after it was done, I sprayed it a flat black and that got rid of any blemishes.
One of the occupational hazards of indiscriminate resurrection of zombie threads is that 'solutions' turn out to be long 'dried up'. As here.
Joe's Model Trains decal removal solution is listed in Walthers, for those frustrated by the lack of a viable Web site. Unfortunately ... it's listed as 'sold out' and is likely as 'out of stock' as something from a company in WTC7 on September 12th.
Generally it's a good idea to start a new thread and reference the old thread in it before you move on with current approaches or thoughts.
I hadn't noticed the date of the OP. It reminds me of the time I posted to a usenet newsgroup. I typed out a lengthy and well reasoned reply. After I posted it and looked at the dates of the other posts, I realized I was the first one to post to that newsgroup in seven years. I was speaking to a usenet ghost town.