Paint Removal Question...

[Anonymous]

Would it be possible to soak an Athearn loco part in 70% alcohol to remove the old paint? Would it damage the plastic? Would it even loosen the paint?

[Anonymous]

I gave in and tried it. It worked [:D]

[AntonioFP45]

Hi, JWaldo,


91% Alcohol is even more effective and faster at removing the paint. It will not damage Athearn shells. Upon soaking, paint starts to lift off in about a minute! Total soaking time is usually less than 10 minutes but I normally let the shells sit for 15 minutes. Just before I removing the shells from the alcohol bath, I turn them over and over inside the pan and scrub with a toothbrush. This helps to get those "hard to reach places". I then wa***he shell with warm soapy water and let air dry. If there are any "hardwater" stains left in it, just wipe them off with a dab of alcohol on a "lint free" cloth. [:D]

I can never find 91% alchohol at supermarkets so I usually get them at the local drug store.[;)]

Based on previous input, you can soak most HO model railroad manufactur plastic bodies in the alcohol (Athearn, Atlas, Proto, Bachmann). However, DO NOT EVER SOAK A KATO BODY IN ALCOHOL! [:0] Apparently Kato uses a different type of plastic and alcohol will warp it.

Cheers!

[ClinchValleySD40]

QUOTE: Originally posted by AntonioFP45

Hi, JWaldo,


Based on previous input, you can soak most HO model railroad manufactur plastic bodies in the alcohol (Athearn, Atlas, Proto, Bachmann). However, DO NOT EVER SOAK A KATO BODY IN ALCOHOL! [:0] Apparently Kato uses a different type of plastic and alcohol will warp it.

Cheers!

Are you sure about that? I believe Alcohol is one of the safe things to strip Kato with. Yes, their plastic is different and can get very brittle if you're not careful on what you use. But I thought alcohol is safe to use on all of them.

Has anybody done Kato with alcohol? Need some feedback.

[AntonioFP45]

HI Clinchvalley,

Back in the spring (maybe it's on page 100 something by now) a couple of guys posted that the Alcohol damged Kato shells. One of them reported that he soaked three locomotive shells (I think) and after a while the plastic WARPED! [B)][:0]

I felt bad as I had posted my success story with the 91% alcohol when I used it to strip the paint off of 4 HO Scale Bachmann Metroliner shells. [:)][:D][8D][8)]

Hopefully some of these guys will chime in. On that post a wide variety of chemicals were used by the posters, including some automotive products and even Pine Sol! [^]


Hope this helps!

[AntonioFP45]

ClinchValley,

I just pulled the post up. You responded there back in the spring!

[ClinchValleySD40]

91% alcohol is my favorite for stripping paint. I always try it first because it has always been pretty safe. I've had great luck using it on P2K, Atlas, Athearn and such. If it doesn't work, then I go on to something else. Some people swear by Chamelon, but I've never tried it.

[Anonymous]

I now have one unpainted dynamic radiator [8D] There are only a few nooks and crannies with bits of paint, but I hope when it's painted and weathered nobody will notice. Altogether, I saved about $3 [;)]

[AntonioFP45]

Way to go![:D][4:-)][tup][swg][tup]

[Anonymous]

Brake fluid works very well also. On Athearns it works great never tried other yet. Strips the crap off in a few hours and better in days.[:(!][xx(][xx(][xx(][xx(][xx(]

[nfmisso]

QUOTE: Originally posted by sirironhorse

Brake fluid works very well also. On Athearns it works great never tried other yet. Strips the crap off in a few hours and better in days.[:(!][xx(][xx(][xx(][xx(][xx(]

Do NOT use brake fluid on shells from Japan or China - it will eat the plastic, and may or may not affect the paint. Kato shells are especially prone, that is why there are so many RPP SD45 shell running around on Kato SD40 chassis.... 91% alcohol works well on the Chinese models. Made in Japan Kato: PineSol - full strength works okay - and leaves a fresh pine odor (for several years, but eventually it goes away).

[Anonymous]

OOOOOOPPPPPPPSSSSSSSSS! I had a brass engine from made in Japan. It was a Union Pacific GP-9 with a plastic body, but brass frame. I soaked it for a few weeks in the brake fluid (forgot about it) and it was still there when I got back. I don't remember the manufacturer's name but I remember it was from Japan. Oh well, it is now a Tuscan Red GP-9 in the Norfolk Western early 50's. I may sell it if the price is right for a custom jobby.[banghead][banghead][banghead][banghead][banghead][banghead][banghead][banghead][banghead][banghead][banghead][banghead][banghead][banghead][banghead][banghead][banghead][banghead][banghead][banghead][banghead][banghead]

[AntonioFP45]

QUOTE: Originally posted by sirironhorse

Brake fluid works very well also. On Athearns it works great never tried other yet. Strips the crap off in a few hours and better in days.[:(!][xx(][xx(][xx(][xx(][xx(]

Hello SirIronHorse,

It's true. Brake fluid is the way we stripped off paint for many years ( I was around in the 70s!), However, consider trying the alcohol as it is much faster, cleaner and cheaper. As mentioned Brake Fluid will now damage a variety of model locomotive shells.

Cheers AND WELCOME ABOARD!

[Anonymous]

Ok, well now I will use Alcohol. I do some custom painting, but CAN NEVER FIND THE DECALS I NEED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! [:(!][:(!][:(!][:(!][banghead][banghead][banghead][banghead][banghead][banghead], but I manage with what I have. I specifically need Norfolk and Western 40' boxcars, which noone seems to make[:(][:(][:(][:(]. Maybe one day, a company will realize the full potential and profit of making them.[;)][;)][;)][;)][;)].

Signed,

Hurricane Bob
[banghead][banghead][banghead][banghead][banghead][banghead]

P.S. I like these thangs!

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by nfmisso
Do NOT use brake fluid on shells from Japan or China - it will eat the plastic, and may or may not affect the paint. Kato shells are especially prone, that is why there are so many RPP SD45 shell running around on Kato SD40 chassis.... 91% alcohol works well on the Chinese models. Made in Japan Kato: PineSol - full strength works okay - and leaves a fresh pine odor (for several years, but eventually it goes away).

Uh oh.

I've just stripped 2 LL P1K shells and a Walthers shell in brake fluid. Paint came right off, washed with them with soap and water. The shells seem fine--what's going to happen now? Will they fall apart?

Gary

[Anonymous]

My friend recently bought a bunch of Athearn shells at a swap meet. He used Pine Sol to strip the paint. It worked well without warping the shells.

[darth9x9]

I love Chameleon stripper. But be sure not to leave your Kato shells in it for 13 months as they will distort over that time period. I learned the hard way.....

BC

[Ballantrae Road]

I'm just starting a re paint on an Athearn SD40 Blue box. I have read the threads about using 91 % alcohol to remove paint.

Now I had quite a time finding this stuff. Home Depot and Walmart (pharmacy nor paint department) didn't have it locally. The drug store had 70% isopropyl alcohol (rubbing)  and lo and behold after about  2 tries I found some 99% Isopropyl alcohol.

So I soaked the shell in it. Well unless I don't have the right alcohol it took hours to dissolve and a lot of toothbrush action.  I started Sunday and although most of the paint is finally gone(it's Wednesday ....soaking all that time) there are quite a few spots  such as corners and hard to reach places that still hold paint.

I certainly didn't have to continually watch the shell to make sure it didn't disolve the plastic. 

I do have brake fluid and some pine sol which I was prepared to use next if alcohol didn't work. So am I doing something wrong? The shell is completely submersed in the stuff. Is 3-4 days unusually long to dissolve the paint?

Another question. I did see Methyl Hydrate available everywhere. Is this the same stuff? It says it contains alcohol.  It says 99.9% on the label. I googled Methyl Hydrate and the information was somewhat unclear as to what Methyl Hydrate is and to what content of alcohol it has. Is Methly Hydrate the same.

I figure some of you experienced painters will have some comments on this.

 

Thanks, 

Tom

[NeO6874]

I believe (possibly incorrectly) that the "Methyl Hydrate" is methyl alcohol (AKA carbinol, wood alcohol, wood naphtha or wood spirits) and rubbing alcohol is isopropyl alcohol.

 

Methanol (methyl alcohol) is CH₃OH, whereas Isopropyl Alcohol is C₃H₈O.  If I remember my chemistry correctly, the rubbing alcohol will work better for stripping paint because its makeup is better at dissolving organic compounds (anything with carbon in it, save for CO, CO2)

[zgardner18]

Guys,

So what is a good stipping liquid to use on Kato bodies?  I'm looking to do one or two here but have heard all the horor stories about Kato's plastic.

I just finished (like about 15 minutes ago) stipping the paint off of a Bachmann Spectrum Dash-8 and it took the paint + weatherning right off.  I used Scalecoat II Paint Remover.  I've esed this one only Bachmann but I'm looking to strip some paint off of some P2K, Kato, and Genesis engines.  Please advise me on what works best for all of these engines.  I did hear that Scalecoat II is okay on all of them but I need a second opinion.