I posted a question about this but I haven't had much response. Any good pointers would be really appreciated!
i was hoping not to have to repaint if possible.
Thank you in advance!
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What I have done is use 600 grit wet/dry sandpaper and lightly sand away the graphics use 1000 grit when lettering is almost gone to finish smooth.
Another possibility is to try carb cleaner from Walmart. It may strip paint down to the metal, which may save a lot of time
Al
Most if not all paint strippers will work on die cast but you need to remove any plastic beforehand, I think MTH uses plastic stanchions for the handrails, Brasseur may have them:
http://www.brasseurelectrictra...ice/mth/railking.php
or you could replace them with brass from Precision Scale.
I've never had any luck removing just the lettering, I don't know how they put it on but it runs deep into the paint most of the time and leaves a shadow/ghost image unless all the paint is removed.
If it's a black steamer it's not big deal to repaint, other than time and effort.
Mth uses a lot of clearcoats in their decorating process. This is why it takes s long time for many strippers to easily work. The easiest results I found with leaving the paint behind is to SPARINGLY use CA remover from Smith industries along with a microbrush. One the pad printed lettering breaks apart, you quickly use a q tip orpaper and dry the area so the CA remover doesnot eat through the underlying paint. Let the surface dry overnight and you should be good to go.
Okay thank you!
i haven't done this before so I'm a little nervous about doing this to a brand new locomotive and tender. So I don't own a airbrush, do you know of a good spray paint that would work good to do this? The other thing I thought is if I'm going to have to paint anyhow, do I need to remove the lettering or could I just spray over them? Should I use a flat paint or something with a slight sheen to it?
Use a glossy black, needed for decals. Once the decals are fixed in place, spray a coat of gloss clear followed by a couple of coats of clear flat or semi gloss, or gloss, depending on the finish you want.
Rustoleum makes gloss black, gloss and flat clear I think.
If you think you'll be doing more painting go ahead and look for a good airbrush and compressor.
I've had good luck with using 2500 grit sandpaper and wet sanding with a little alcohol. I follow up with automotive polish. The downside of my method is that it leaves the surface glossy, and will remove paint from the rivets. Not a big deal for me, though.
Instead of taking the lettering off in a lot of instances we simply seal the printing out with acrylic floor polish (depending on how raised the edges of the text is) and then match that area to the finish on the unit. After that we apply our decals and then seal them in.
Dave, LBR
