Hi Guys...
I'd mentioned earlier I'd picked up an older Athearn SW-7. It has problems... bad (re)wiring/soldering, corroded frame and various bent bits, but that's not the issue here.
The shell is covered in some sort of flat, clear coating that seems to have been heavily sprayed on. The stuff will come off "grudgingly" by scrubbing with a q-tip and some 91% rubbing alcohol. Just wondering... would it be safe to soak the shell in alcohol for a while and (maybe) get the gunk off a little easier?
Not too worried about the shell, but it's black and a good starting point for my goal of another CI&L locomotive. :-)
As always, Thanks for your wisdom!
Amanda
It will be ok. I've done that, and it seems to work better if the container is covered. I put it all in a zip lock baggie, and set the baggie in a pan or a tray, just in case it leaks.
I also use Super Clean, but when that doesn't work I end up doing the 91% alcohol.
Mike.
My You Tube
Hi Amanda,
Rubbing alcohol won't bother the shell. Just don't leave it in forever.
There is a recent thread on paint stripping:
http://cs.trains.com/mrr/f/88/t/274595.aspx
Dave
I'm just a dude with a bad back having a lot of fun with model trains, and finally building a layout!
I agree, 91% rubbing alcohol is my go to paint stripper for plastic models
George In Midcoast Maine, 'bout halfway up the Rockland branch
Thanks again for the input.
I put the cab in a small jar of alcohol an hour or so ago and it's starting to work, but that glop is pretty tenacious! I'm using an old plastic bore brush to scrape the stuff off.
You could send me your address in a Private Message, and I can send you an undecorated Athearn SW-7 shell.
.
That is a simple solution.
-Kevin
Living the dream.
Updates...
After 12-ish hours in the alcohol "most" of the crud is gone, but there are some small holdouts. I guess this is kind of a testimony to the durability of that particular coating! :-|
Electrically, the frame is clean and the contact areas are polished up a bit, the trucks look kinda grody but seem to pass voltage up from the rails and the motor spins up just fine. Today's task is firing up the soldering station to rework the previous soldering job and add new wiring, and bring a negative lead up from under the motor to power the directional lighting board I'm working on.
On an Athearn, the frame is the negative lead. Just make sure the little pin and the area around it, on the frame, are shiny clean where that pin fits into the truck. Same with the truck surface that touches the frame.
For the tuff paint, I use a Dremel tool with a brush, it looks like a wire wheel, but the bristles are plastic.
when you say older is it 60's 70's or newer ?
Monon Railroadercorroded frame
Hopefully you don't have this, but there is something called "Zinc Pest" Impurites in the Zinc cause an incurable electrochemical reaction that can destroy the chassis.
http://cs.trains.com/mrr/f/88/t/273058.aspx
Henry
COB Potomac & Northern
Shenandoah Valley
j. c. when you say older is it 60's 70's or newer ?
Well, the part number is 41018, but I can't seem to find a corresponding manufacturing date. :-|
Maybe this Ebay one will help jog a memory, although I think it might have been a DIY paint scheme
EBAY
BigDaddy Hopefully you don't have this, but there is something called "Zinc Pest" Impurites in the Zinc cause an incurable electrochemical reaction that can destroy the chassis. http://cs.trains.com/mrr/f/88/t/273058.aspx
Corroded was, perhaps, too strong a description. "Quite tarnished" is a better description. There was just a tiny bit of white crud around one of the coupler mounting screws, but I don't think it too serious.
Time to head off to work... have to make a few bucks to pay for all this fun.
Monon Railroader j. c. when you say older is it 60's 70's or newer ? Well, the part number is 41018, but I can't seem to find a corresponding manufacturing date. :-| Amanda
cant find that # in the 1998 athearn book , what is road is it and road # . the reason for asking is that some of the early ones the shell would get brittle after prolonged soaking .
j. c.some of the early ones the shell would get brittle after prolonged soaking .
Don't use brake fluid on the older Athearn shells, unless you want them to crumble in your hands!
From what I can find in HOSeeker, the 41018 frame was used from the 1966 - 1973 SW locomotives.
j. c. cant find that # in the 1998 athearn book , what is road is it and road # . the reason for asking is that some of the early ones the shell would get brittle after prolonged soaking .
The road name is "Southern". Can't recall the unit number, 'tis long gone in the alcohol.
Mike,I will add this tibit..That's the same frame,trucks and drive Athearn used on their Baldwin S-12.
Larry
Conductor.
Summerset Ry.
"Stay Alert, Don't get hurt Safety First!"
I did come across that Larry, there was a picture of the Baldwin in an auction site, I think it was Worth Point? and they called it an SW7.
So then I checked at HOSeeker, and found that it was the Baldwin.
Thanks Larry!
would not soak it a long time .
Well, after 4-ish days soaking, a LOT of the coating has come loose. Some quality time with a tooth brush, a brass wire brush and an iPod disassembly spudger has yielded a "fairly clean cab. Of course if a tiny HO scale inspector were to come by for a closer look, he might have a good laugh! :-)
Anyway, the hood just went in for a bath. Hoping for the best!
I dunno about a brass wire brush. Toothpicks work though. I never had the fast results from 91% that other people seem to have.
Monon Railroader iPod disassembly spudger
I had to look that up.
mbinsewiMonon Railroader I had to look that up. Mike.
They can be helpful for removing a tight fitting shell from the chassis.