How to remove Lionel cab numbers without disturbing the paint??

Dampen a paper towel with lacquer thinner, rub over lettering. It'll take the lettering off without damaging the paint below.

Do not use magic eraser, that will buff the black and leave a sheen behind that you will not like. Try alcohol first. If that doesn’t budge it, a fast swipe of lacquer thinner will remove the white, and not harm the black. If lacquer thinner does the trick, allow that area to “ heal ” before you begin your work. Allow the lacquer thinner to “ gas” out of the black,….in other words, the lacquer thinner will not harm the black, but it will destabilize it, allow it to cure back out before working on that surface,….

Pat

What Pat says.

Pete

Thanks, Pat, Lou and Pete!  I want to send this one to you, Pat.  It has cruise, 4 chuffs, Railsounds but it has the smaller Timko motor.  I bought it at York a few years ago.

@Larry Mullen posted:

Thanks, Pat and Pete!  I want to send this one to you, Pat.  It has cruise, 4 chuffs, Railsounds but it has the smaller Timko motor.  I bought it at York a few years ago.

Timko motor huh?…..so it’s an about face Kline,….🤣🤣🤣….as long as you don’t overload it, it’ll be fine,…ask it to do too much, and it’ll get mad at you,……I still have one stock Kline in the roster, but it’s destiny is to pull three MU cars out of Harmon on commuter duty,….I don’t ask it to do any more than that,,….

Pat

Pat I used the lacquer thinner as you suggested on the MTH RK Mohawk and it worked great on the die-cast engine and tender.  Will it work on painted plastic diesel engines or will it harm the paint or plastic?

@coach joe posted:

Pat I used the lacquer thinner as you suggested on the MTH RK Mohawk and it worked great on the die-cast engine and tender.  Will it work on painted plastic diesel engines or will it harm the paint or plastic?

Not recommended on anything else except black paint used on Lionel and MTH steam.
Paint used on plastic or other colors used on steam will be attacked by lacquer thinner.

Pete

@Norton posted:

Not recommended on anything else except black paint used on Lionel and MTH steam.
Paint used on plastic or other colors used on steam will be attacked by lacquer thinner.

Pete

Pete is absolutely correct on this one!!….Coach!…do not use lacquer thinner on anything made of plastic or painted plastic!!….catastrophic results WILL happen!!,….this is a big no-no!!..

Pat

@Norton posted:

Not recommended on anything else except black paint used on Lionel and MTH steam.
Paint used on plastic or other colors used on steam will be attacked by lacquer thinner.

Pete

What can you recommend for plastic? I've used brake fluid which made the plastic brittle.

-Tony

@TheRambles posted:

What can you recommend for plastic? I've used brake fluid which made the plastic brittle.

-Tony

Plastic is tough. If you just want to remove the lettering I start with Testors Easy Lift Off. Sometimes Isopropyl Alcohol but both can attack the base paint.

Pete

I have used Castrol GTLMA (DOT 4) brake fluid with success and no harm to plastic.

@modeltrainsparts posted:

I have used Castrol GTLMA (DOT 4) brake fluid with success and no harm to plastic.

I wouldn’t recommend brake fluid near any painted surface ever,….perhaps you got lucky, or the process just happened to work for that particular application,…..different manufacturers use different materials to paint their products,….what works on one, maybe disastrous on another,……ALWAYS start with the LEAST harmful products, then work your way up to something as aggressive as even brake fluid can be,…..as mentioned by Pete, starting off with Testors ELO is always a safe start on plastics ….

Pat

This thread is timely for me.  I have an Older MTH Niagara that I would like to renumber.  I will try the lacquer thinner approach.  I also want to remove the white striping on the running boards. I assume this same technique would work on the striping?

@Scott R posted:

This thread is timely for me.  I have an Older MTH Niagara that I would like to renumber.  I will try the lacquer thinner approach.  I also want to remove the white striping on the running boards. I assume this same technique would work on the striping?

It should remove the striping. I've used the lacquer thinner technique to do that in the past as well.

Listen you guys, ….take it from experience please,…….don’t go busting out the gallon of lacquer thinner and start arbitrarily rubbing the death out of your locomotives, …..you do have to use caution, care, and patience!!,…..you have to pay close attention to what’s going on around you to be able to pull this off in such a manner …….let’s look at the Niagara sample above mentioned, so Scott R has an idea on what’s going on,…..the numbers will wipe off,…fairly easily. …I like to use either a microfiber rag, or soft paper towels,….just dampen the the rag in one spot, and wipe LIGHTLY!….do not get all gun ho and start rubbing too vigorously!!,….wipe in one direction, watching the letters and or numbers disappear as I wipe, frequently turning the rag over, as the white numbers dissolve, they’re transmitted to the rag, so if you don’t, you’ll just smear the white right back on your work surface!!…..NOW, those stripes on the Niagara,…..this is where you have to be oober careful ( I’ve made all the mistakes ) ….now you’re working on an edge, rub too hard, and you will remove some black,….I find the stripes to be a bit more stubborn than the cab numbers,….what I try to do, is avoid putting any finger pressure on the edges as I wipe, and let the rag drag along the edge,…..as I’ve mentioned before, the lacquer thinner will not harm the black BUT ONLY TO A POINT!!! ……every time the thinner does touch the black, it has been softened just a wee bit, so once you’re successful at removing the white lettering/striping …leave the model sit and heal back up,….usually I let them be for at minimal one hour, overnight if possible,…..the idea beings that the lacquer thinner has for sure soaked into the black, and although not harming it, it’s best to let it gas back out so it’s not trapped under any new work being performed on top,….hope these tips help…

Pat

Pete and Pat, tank you so much, that's what I thought about plastic but I just wanted to confirm with people who would know.  I do have a Lionel GP38 that someone did a horrible job painting the handrails yellow.  I think I'll give the thinner a try on on the stamped metal handrails.

Thanks for the detailed description Pat.  I have an extra RK Mohawk shell I was planning to repaint anyway.  I’ll practice with that first before I try to tackle the stripe on the Niagara.  It will be awhile before I have an opportunity to tackle this project, but hopefully I can take a swing at it over the Christmas break.  I’ll post pictures if so.  

Scott