Hello all, I recently acquired a brass loco which was originally professionally painted but was weathered by a rookie. The weathering job looks really bad to my tastes, and the paint job beneath looks amazing. I found a little stamp on the inside of the box saying Mt. Vernon Shops, presumably they were the ones who painted this loco.
In anycase, the paint underneath seems to be in pretty good condition. The seller (who was responsible for the weathering) said he used Humbrol powders and clearcoated it with Humbrol Spray on matte enamel varnish. The clearcoat doesnt seem to stick in certain areas though and with some light pressure my fingernail can scrape off the weathering in some areas without destroying the good paint underneath. (see above)
However in other areas the weathering is well stuck onto the paint. I realize its a bit of a stretch, but does anyone know of any gentle paint stripping liquid that has a chance at removing the clearcoat/weathering outter layer while still preserving the paint underneath? As I said the paint underneath is in great condition, even with heavy pressure using my fingernail it wont scratch. Mt Vernon Shops did a GREAT job on this model.
If I cant save the paint job that's okay too, I can strip and repaint. Its just a shame the fresh paint underneath will be destroyed in the process.
I actually found pictures of before it was weathered...it looks beautiful.
Charles
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Modeling the PRR & NYC in HO
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I would try a little GooGone and a soft tooth brush. Simple Green might be another mild solvent to try.
Sheldon
"Goo Gone" is amazing stuff, even with its unique odor! It's been my "go to" for years when all else fails.
ENJOY !
Mobilman44
Living in southeast Texas, formerly modeling the "postwar" Santa Fe and Illinois Central
Are there areas on the locomotive or tender that you can test ideas on without touching the visible exterior finish (for example did they paint the bottom of the tender, the under side of the cab roof that sort of thing)?
GooGone has been mentioned. You might also want to try (on the topic of distinctive odors!) PineSol because as its name suggests there is a mild solvent in it. Isopropyl alcohol is another thought BUT in my experience the 92% and 70% versions are too strong, too likely to remove the good paint. WalMart sells a 50%, or distilled water could dilute the stronger stuff if that it what you have on hand. Another very mild solvent would be the products meant to soften decals such as solvaset and microsolv.
a swab, or one of those microbrush little swabs is what I would use, for the final control (as opposed to a rag around a finger). A very small area first. Another possibility which I have used with success is a tortillon, sometimes spelled tortillion and also called a Conte pencil. (Found at craft and artist supply stores) It is tightly wound paper shaped like a pencil with a pointed tip, also looking like a pencil. Paper is mildly abrasive, which is why you use crumpled newspaper to clean the baked on residue on glass fireplace doors (it is also why a paper cut can be a nasty cut). A small anount of the solvent of choice on the tip of a tortillion with modest rubbing might produce results
The other feature of a tortillion is that it also polishes. I use it to scrape off weathering and get a semi gloss area for applications of a small decals, such as the ACI labels that freight cars in the late '60s and early '70s had.
I wrote about tortillon in the Frugal Modeler column in the NMRA Midwest Region Waybill here: waybillsum19 (mwr-nmra.org) page 3
Any removal of the weathering involves risk to the finish including total removal of the paint. And it happens in the blink of an eye - believe me. Thus one other possibility might be considered: is it possible or practical to add very good weathering OVER the very bad weathering? Obviously if you want a pristine looking locomotive this won't get you there.
Dave Nelson
I believe he said the weathering is flaking off over much of the visible area, so he'd still have to clean down to the 'stubborn spots'...
Decades after Santa delivered them, I weathered the cars from my first HO train set with artists oil paints. The effect was pretty decent, but another couple of decades later, I wanted to return them to original condition. I submitted the query to MRR and they suggested gently scubbing the weathering off using dish detergent and a cotton swab Q-tip. It worked!
Jim