I plan to strip the old UP paint off of a Bachmann caboose, and paint it and decal it it MP red with my new airbrush. It will be my first time and I want to start on something I don't care about. Anyway, to strip paint off, I've heard of using 90% isopropyl alcohol and scrubbing the paint off with brushes. Does this work. If not, what should I do?
Stripping paint
- Thread starter stlgevo51
- Start date
Cjcrescent
Master Mechanic
Alan;
I thought I taught you better than to use BF!
Actually Kato was the only shell(s) that BF ever gave me problems with. Plus with all the additives they have in BF nowadays, I don't trust it at all.
Now, to remove paint from Kato shells, baking soda and about 40psi in an air-eraser works just as well. No damage to the shells but you do have a tendency to cover everything, including yourself, with soda!
(I do this blasting outside.) tycofrieght1969
Member
I read about using the isopropal here on the forum last weekend and thought I'd give it a try. Like you I decided to use something I wouldnt mind messing up so I tried it on an old tyco C430 shell. Worked like a charm. After about 15 or 20 minutes soak time, the paint came right off. Now I need to decide what road to paint it for.
Good luck, and have fun.
Keith
Good luck, and have fun.
Keith
NYSW F45
Active Member
i used 90% alcohol a few months back to strip a athearn bb amd103. I bought a set of 10 inch x 4 wide tuperware dishs with lids to hold it all. 2 bodies and 2 bottles it barely did the job. I tried it again with 2 more shells but i had just recently bought a small tool box/pencil box from pearl paint. I poured 1 bottle of alcohol in it, submersed painted shells and sealed the box up. Let it sit for 2 days. Paint came off alot easier, especially with a stiff brissle hand brush.
Alan;
I thought I taught you better than to use BF!
Actually Kato was the only shell(s) that BF ever gave me problems with. Plus with all the additives they have in BF nowadays, I don't trust it at all.
Now, to remove paint from Kato shells, baking soda and about 40psi in an air-eraser works just as well. No damage to the shells but you do have a tendency to cover everything, including yourself, with soda!
Carey,
I still use BF to remove paint from Rivarossi passeneger cars when I use stripper at all. I have a Skatblast cabinet and a 5HP compressor that does 99% of my stripping these days, then the shell gets a bath in Jim Gibson's big ultrasonic cleaner (bought it off of him during the great liquidation). The fellow who asked seems to be a beginner and I doubt he has all this equipment. As for Kato, don't own any, but as always, test any stripper in an area you can't see before putting it on the expensive stuff. The el-cheapo K-Mart brake fluid doesn't have all of those additives. I've never lost a shell yet, though I agree it's possible!
bigford
loco junkie
ive stripped to meny 1/24-1/25-1/35 plastic models with
brake juice and at least half of the models got brittle. i'm talking
about tamiya,revell trumperter. now i'm sure the plastic is diffrent
but looking at a $30.00 shell to replace if something goes bad
i would stay away from brake fluid
brake juice and at least half of the models got brittle. i'm talking
about tamiya,revell trumperter. now i'm sure the plastic is diffrent
but looking at a $30.00 shell to replace if something goes bad
i would stay away from brake fluid
Cjcrescent
Master Mechanic
The air eraser comment was directed more toward you Alan. Don't you remember using yours to strip some of my old Rivarossi cars? I think we both got more on the surrounding bushes than the cars themselves. I think we both do a lot better now.
Believe it or not, the best thing I've found for Rivarossi passenger cars is Scalecoat stripper. The first batch of Scalecoat I tried on Rivarossi cars many years ago, must have been a bad batch, cause I was given a new pint of it several months ago and it worked extremely well!Those RR pass cars I posted several months ago were stripped in it in less than 20 minutes.
Its not really the changes in the BF so much as the changes in the plastic formulas, and we wll never know what those changes are. Don't know if you 'member or not but right after I taught you the "proper techniques of airbrushing", (which you seemed to have successfully butchered BTW) you showed me your BF tray, I said then not to use the BF on anything that was plastic. I swear, Eyes buy yo' books and send ya t' skool an' ya still don' larn nuttin!!
Really thou, when you have to try and replace two shells that haven't been available for years, (Atlas\Kato RS-2's) because the Brake Fluid brittlized the shells, you don't take any chances. Especially when the damage did not show up until they had been sent back to the customer. This was before the internet, (early 1987), and it took me months to find a hobby shop that actually had them.
I do use denatured alcohol not isopropal, to strip plastics and except for Rivarossi, and Kato, the DA handles everything else quite well for me. It get things that iso won't touch, Grasshopper!
Really, if I could afford it, I'd just buy some Chameleon stripper. But until its price gets way better, I'll stick with the denatured alcohol.
Believe it or not, the best thing I've found for Rivarossi passenger cars is Scalecoat stripper. The first batch of Scalecoat I tried on Rivarossi cars many years ago, must have been a bad batch, cause I was given a new pint of it several months ago and it worked extremely well!
Those RR pass cars I posted several months ago were stripped in it in less than 20 minutes.Its not really the changes in the BF so much as the changes in the plastic formulas, and we wll never know what those changes are. Don't know if you 'member or not but right after I taught you the "proper techniques of airbrushing", (which you seemed to have successfully butchered BTW
) you showed me your BF tray, I said then not to use the BF on anything that was plastic. I swear, Eyes buy yo' books and send ya t' skool an' ya still don' larn nuttin!!Really thou, when you have to try and replace two shells that haven't been available for years, (Atlas\Kato RS-2's) because the Brake Fluid brittlized the shells, you don't take any chances. Especially when the damage did not show up until they had been sent back to the customer.
This was before the internet, (early 1987), and it took me months to find a hobby shop that actually had them.I do use denatured alcohol not isopropal, to strip plastics and except for Rivarossi, and Kato, the DA handles everything else quite well for me. It get things that iso won't touch, Grasshopper!
Really, if I could afford it, I'd just buy some Chameleon stripper. But until its price gets way better, I'll stick with the denatured alcohol.
Last edited by a moderator:
The air eraser comment was directed more toward you Alan. Don't you remember using yours to strip some of my old Rivarossi cars? I think we both got more on the surrounding bushes than the cars themselves. I think we both do a lot better now.
Believe it or not, the best thing I've found for Rivarossi passenger cars is Scalecoat stripper. The first batch of Scalecoat I tried on Rivarossi cars many years ago, must have been a bad batch, cause I was given a new pint of it several months ago and it worked extremely well!
Its not really the changes in the BF so much as the changes in the plastic formulas, and we wll never know what those changes are. Don't know if you 'member or not but right after I taught you the "proper techniques of airbrushing", (which you seemed to have successfully butchered BTW
Really thou, when you have to try and replace two shells that haven't been available for years, (Atlas\Kato RS-2's) because the Brake Fluid brittlized the shells, you don't take any chances. Especially when the damage did not show up until they had been sent back to the customer.
I do use denatured alcohol not isopropal, to strip plastics and except for Rivarossi, and Kato, the DA handles everything else quite well for me. It get things that iso won't touch, Grasshopper!
Really, if I could afford it, I'd just buy some Chameleon stripper. But until its price gets way better, I'll stick with the denatured alcohol.
I have a Gallon of deantured here! Know what though? It won't touch Floquil! I soaked and soaked and it just annoyed the paint a little. Brake fluid took it all off and didn't bother the Walthers car sides...5 brand new 10-5's for my Lark train! all came through fine! Not defending brake fluid, and I sure wouldn't use it on Kato shells, but I've never had it damage anything. It has been my stripper of last resort.
You know how I feel about hobby brand strippers & thinners Mr Xylene!
Got a gallon of that laying around too, right next to my lacquer thinner!We all have our own ways of doing things, and I have built considerably on what you originally taught. The newer customers want way more detail than we were doing 10 years ago.
BTW, I did still do a little Westside shop switcher on my patio two summers ago! Almost as bad as those Rivvy cars we did! Aluminum oxide all over me and everything else' I had to shower & hose off the patio afterward. The blasting cabinet is the best way to go & works on plastic with the right media though these days I paint mostly brass.
Cjcrescent
Master Mechanic
Must be from an old batch Alan. Mine takes care of the Floquil paints faster than Scalecoat paints!
Yeah and as long as its their work I'll paint it if they want me to. I do very little custombuilding like I did when we were in Mobile. I don't even paint much for anyone else now. I decided that after over 25 yrs of custom paint and custom building, it was time to do most of the painting and building for myself. You'd be surprised how much stress disappeared when I did that!
I'll still do most of my media blasting outside. I don't do enough of it to justify the room or expense.
Since it's a Bachmann caboose, you probably snapped off the mounting pins when you removed the roofwalk. You can probably drill them out and have the mounting hole left. Personally, I'd leave them in and use some putty if you need a smooth roof surface. Replace those ugly Bachmann roof walks with much nicer and closer to scale Tichy plastic see-through roofwalks. You can get them at http://www.tichytraingroup.com/index.php?page=view_product.php&id=569&category=Freight+Car+Parts. The roofwalks and ladders are real focal points on a caboose so replacing them with scale parts makes the whole model look better.
Cjcrescent
Master Mechanic
Is the lettering off the caboose? If the lettering is off, there is a good chance that the paint is off, but you can't tell because its molded in yellow plastic. Otherwise just try some other stripper like denatured alcohol (shellac thinner), Scalecoat stripper, or Polly-S Easy Lift Off aka ELO.
PNKFLOYD
Mikey
Alan and Carey- since you both are "experienced", how long should I leave 10-12 years old shells in the alcohol or brake fluid to remove the paint?
I have some old E-unit and Alco shells that were part of a estate sale "grab bag" of parts that I would like to strip and repaint. I think they are Athearn and Model Power shells, so they will mostly be practice pieces for me.
Alan - how old are the kids now? Last time I saw Michael, he was almost as tall as you.
Mikey
I have some old E-unit and Alco shells that were part of a estate sale "grab bag" of parts that I would like to strip and repaint. I think they are Athearn and Model Power shells, so they will mostly be practice pieces for me.
Alan - how old are the kids now? Last time I saw Michael, he was almost as tall as you.
Mikey
Mike,
I usually start off with overnight/24 hours. Carey is correct in his cautions about brake fluid. I'd try the de-natured alcohol first. I have had no trouble with brake fluid on older Rivarossi shells and even on the new walthers cars, but you never know with modern plastics. If the article is stubborn I use 1 day increments.
Michael turned 17 yesterday and Elizabeth turned 18 in July. We'll be empty nesters soon!
I usually start off with overnight/24 hours. Carey is correct in his cautions about brake fluid. I'd try the de-natured alcohol first. I have had no trouble with brake fluid on older Rivarossi shells and even on the new walthers cars, but you never know with modern plastics. If the article is stubborn I use 1 day increments.
Michael turned 17 yesterday and Elizabeth turned 18 in July. We'll be empty nesters soon!
