Ok I will try to answer this with old school info.
These handrails were made using an engineering plastic that has some kind of base that leaches out as it ages.
What we are trying to do is seal the plastic from doing so and keeping the paint on the rails.
Some have used a sharpie to this. The sharpie is just coating the outside and providing a seal.
Also keep in mind that the paint is not as flexable as the rails are.
How I have done mine is to clean the handrails with acidtone or diosol from Flowquil straight from the bottle
on a " damp q-tip " not dripping wet just damped. this will leave a dull sheen.
I have never melted a handrail to date using this method.
Have used Tamya yellow for laxan before and this has chipped after a few years use.
Better sucess was achieved by looking at the automotive paint store.
This not cheep.
Buy some laquer base paint aditive for the plastic bumpers " flexitive additive "
and some touchup paint the closely matches the color of handrail paint you want.
Make sure you have laquer base stuff.
Cost for me was $35 US
One part flex additive and 4 parts paint. Adding more flex additive seems to make the paint not
able to dry right. If you have knowledgeable counter person ask him for the best ratio.
And this combo will take about day or two to dry.
I also paint around the backside of the rails as well, think of it as a tube of paint.
I have several locos done this way now and even after 8 years storage the paint is still on the rails.
I read this fix in one of RR mags longtime ago, just dont remember the mag.
Hope this helps
Ron N.
