Removing paint from a locomotive

[Anonymous]

I purchased a couple of locomotives and seems like they hand painted them. I wanted to remove the paint. what the easiest way? I purchased some Castrol superclean? any suggestions?

[Anonymous]

The one tip I was given was to use 91% isopropyl alcool (not the 70% as it's not strong enough) and let the locomotive shell soak in it, then gently brush with a toothbrush, perhaps toothpicks for the cracks. Then when you want to repaint, first use a layer of primer, and then you're ready to go.

[Anonymous]

The 91% rubbing alcohol method works great. I just stripped an old Atlas RS-1. The lettering and numbers came right off after an hour soaking. I did have to leave shell in overnight to get the rest of the factory paint off, but now it is completely clean. Just light rubbing with an old toothbrush is all it took.

[nfmisso]

It depends on the paint and the plastic. There are many chemical methods out there, some of the "traditional" ones will attack the plastic, and not the paint - ever wonder why there are so many RPP SD45 shells on top of Kato SD40 chassis?

[Anonymous]

I've used pin-sol liquid cleaner to remove paint from a locomotive. Took a while for the paint to soften so i just left it overnight then scrubbed with a soft toothbrush until clean.

[Anonymous]

If the item is plastic I use a sold by Walthers product called
Chameleon
Its sold in 2 forms Gel and liquid.
mfd by:
chameleon hobby products
www.chameleonproductsonline.com
It isn't cheap but it does work

If the item is ALL metal I use
Savogran Kutzit
available at Lowes etc.
Buy enough to cover the item, wait about 1/2 hour , then watch
any paint etc almost fall off. If you wear rubber gloves and have
a toothbru***o waste you can also "assist" the process. Wash
well after its naked and redo the item.

I've tried MANY other things and none work as well as Kutzit on
metal items.
Joe

[AntonioFP45]

I've been using the 91% Alcohol method mentioned in the July 2003 MRR article about metalizing. I used it to strip 4 HO Bachmann Metroliners. Within 2 to 3 minutes the paint was already floating off. I scrubbed the shells in the pan with a soft toothbrush. Results: The shells were stripped and unharmed.

However, as mentioned time after time on this forum, DO NOT USE 91% ALCOHOL ON KATO LOCOMOTIVE SHELLS! Apparently due to the type of plastic some modelers have experienced warping.

Peace!