General Discussion (Model Railroader)

Hi All,

 I've heard that if you want to remove decals from a locomotive or other rolling stock without damaging the underlying paint, you can take an eraser and simply rub them off. Is this true, and if so, does it matter what kind of eraser (hard, soft?) Also, is this maybe more for older Athearn BB rolling stock or can it be used on modern RTR rolling stock as well? Thanks in advance,

Peter.

 It can be done with an eraser (not sure what type) but you have to be very careful not to mar the paint. I use acetone-free nail polish remover and a bit of a paper towel. It works well enough for me.

 Assuming that the area the decal is on hasn't been covered with Dullcote or something similar, you can use Micro-Sol or similar product to soften and remove the decal(s) with a paper towel. I'd avoid using ANY eraser as they are very abrasive although it may not be apparent at first, they DO leave subtle scratch marks. BE CAREFUL!

Jimmy

Are you speaking of removing decal applied lettering or factory painted on lettering? The procedures for removing them can be different.

Dale Latham

I'm also interested in this process, but in my case it would be removing modern factory applied lettering  on a couple of steam engines and tenders..       

Correct me if I am wrong, but I think most manufacturers use some fairly sophisticated processes for lettering now rather than decals--possibly some form of computer controlled laser printing application that is a lot more sophisticated and precise than anything available to the hobbyist.

I do know that there are a variety of erasers available at art supply stores that have fairly low abrasive qualities so as not to damage high quality art and drafting papers when making corrections..

 Cheers

 Removing factory lettering which is what I think you are asking, I have found using walthers micro sol and a sharp hobby knife, with a fine tip works well. the micro slol softens the paint and the knife scraps it off, then use a paper towel to wipe off the excess. Most of the paint that is applied by the manufacture can be lightly scrapped off. This is specially true for Roundhouse cars. The newer Athearn cars need to have the lettering softened a little before removing. It some times takes off some of the paint along with it. Hope this helps.

I just changed the road name and number on a Bachmann 2-8-0 today. It was decorated for New Haven and I needed it for the New York Central. The lettering looked like it was painted on. I coated the printing with Micro Sol for a few minutes, then using a tiny jewlers screwdriver scraped the printing until it loosened then rubbed it lightly with a pencil eraser until all the printing was gone without disturbing the loco's black paint. I wiped off the residue with a soft cloth and applied my new decals.

 I'm usually able to remove most lettering using Solveset and an eraser.  Some paint is softer then others, so it takes some care to remove the lettering and not the paint.

Nick

Recently I used MicroSol and an ink eraser (papermate) to strip the factory printing from a bunch of P2K 50 foot boxcars.  This does not scratch up the underlaying paint but does leave a shine.  Not to worry though, a quick misting of dulcote takes that away and you cant tell anything was ever there.