Stripping Kato Paint

[Arob]

Any good tips for stripping Kato paint?  I am using 97% Alcohol and a stiff tooth brush but I am finding that the paint is only comming off in layers.  Soak, scrub, rinse, and repeat is what I am finding that have to do to get a clean shell.  Takes me a good pit of time to get a clean shell.  I am afraid to use anything stringer than a tooth brush and risj damaging the shell.

Feedback appreciated!

-Arob

[nscalesteve]

Any good tips for stripping Kato paint?  I am using 97% Alcohol and a stiff tooth brush but I am finding that the paint is only comming off in layers.  Soak, scrub, rinse, and repeat is what I am finding that have to do to get a clean shell.  Takes me a good pit of time to get a clean shell.  I am afraid to use anything stringer than a tooth brush and risj damaging the shell.

Feedback appreciated!

-Arob

same here except I am using a dremel #405 brush on a flex with low rpm...
...works fine 4 me

[Hyperion]

Heh, I actually asked Steve about this just about a week ago.  Seems like we're all doing it the same way, and all getting the same results.  Oh you'll eventually get it all off there, but it takes a lot more work than stripping anyone elses' shell.  Just be careful if you go the rotary tool way that you go with a soft brush and a very low RPM -- I long time ago I "melted" some of the detail on a shell using a brush that was a bit too harsh at a bit too fast of an RPM.

[Arob]

Steve/Mark,

Thanks for the direction and maybe I will be brave enough to post some of my efforts soon.

-Arob

[SOUPAC]

Try an ultrasonic jewelry cleaner like you see in a jewelry shop. A good one is not cheap, and I don't know if the cheap ones will do the job. They do generate heat and left running long enough can melt a shell. You might have to pull the shell and let the stripper cool for a while. I don't know if its a fact or not, but I've heard that Kato uses inks and not paint. The Ultrasonic cleaner will do the job with Chameleon liquid paint stripper...

http://www.chameleonproductsonline.com/

[amato1969]

97% isopropyl is all I've ever used on Kato.  No hits, no runs, no errors.  I have hears horror stories about using other methods.  Sure, it takes a while (like soaking overnight between scrubbings) but you'll get there with some patience.

  Frank

[Philip H]

97% isopropyl is all I've ever used on Kato.  No hits, no runs, no errors.  I have hears horror stories about using other methods.  Sure, it takes a while (like soaking overnight between scrubbings) but you'll get there with some patience.

  Frank

Frank, Any idea how well 97% works on Atlas shells in n scale?  I have an MP 15 I need to redo, and since I've been weathering lately with a 97% alcohol/india ink wash, I have a little of the stuf sitting around.

Philip

[Hyperion]

97% isopropyl is all I've ever used on Kato.  No hits, no runs, no errors.  I have hears horror stories about using other methods.  Sure, it takes a while (like soaking overnight between scrubbings) but you'll get there with some patience.

  Frank

Frank, Any idea how well 97% works on Atlas shells in n scale?  I have an MP 15 I need to redo, and since I've been weathering lately with a 97% alcohol/india ink wash, I have a little of the stuf sitting around.

Philip

Works superbly.  I can strip an Atlas shell with 97% alcohol in practically minutes.  I can't tell  you how long it takes to start (I usually drop a shell in and let it sit overnight just for convenience sake) but once I pull it out it just rubs right off with a light touch.  Peels right off almost like a super thin decal most of the time.

[mplsjct]

Hey folks, I have been stripping a lot of Kato shells lately, and until yesterday, I was scrubbing with a tooth brush. I have a motor tool, but it isn't a variable speed model - and I'm sure you all know what happens when you use too much RPM -, so I have been planning to purchase a new motor tool to aid in stripping. In the mean time, my wife had this nifty brush in the shower, for cleaning your finger nails, when a lot of dirt accumulates in them, so I thought how would this little brush work when stripping paint off a shell?

In a word, excellent! This is on a Kato passenger car, soaked in 91% alcohol (the stuff regularly available at the drug store) for about 6 hours or so. Keep in mind, there is a lot of smooth detail on a passenger car, which I have found to be more difficult to strip than a locomotive shell, which have more relief detail. The finger nail brush handled the job with ease.

So, if you also have cause to strip a Kato shell, and don't own a motor tool to aid in the process, give this method a try, I'm pleased to the point where I don't feel the need to purchase a new motor tool for my stripping projects.

Here's a link in case you're wondering what kind of brush I'm talking about....
http://www.walgreens.com/store/c/savi-looking-good-perfect-manicure-mini-nail-brush/ID=prod6210955-product

[Scottl]

99% alcohol, lots of soaking (up to a week) and a toothbrush.  I'm pretty hesitant to use a power tool, even gently.

[ednadolski]

I use the Dremel on its lowest speed with the small plastic (nylon?) bristle rotary brush.  Doesn't need more than ~30 minutes of soak in the 91% IPA (longer does not seem to hurt).  The paint usually comes off with a light touch, and I haven't scratched a shell yet.  The only trick is to keep the surface wet and hold the brush so that it makes good surface contact.  I have a second brush that I trimmed down in order to get into tight areas like step wells.  I work inside the spray booth to avoid the alcohol smell.  Wash with soap & water when done.

Ed

[Scottl]

I've also found some of the Kato logos are resistant to coming off.  I stripped a CSX unit and the CSX logo took a week, while the rest of the paint came off easily in a few hours of soaking.  I think it was the type of paint used for the logo.

[Santa Fe Guy]

Has anybody tried removing Kato paint using Testors ELO, Easy Lift Off Paint and Decal Remover?
I have used it on Kato loco numbers and it worked on those very quickly along with a few N Scale cars I had painted.
Just wondering.
Rod.

[Bob Bufkin]

Never tried to strip a whole car but I have taken numbers and names off their passener cars using nail polish remover and a soft eraser.  Seems to work well without removing the paint underneath.  I've renamed several PRR Broadway cars using this method.

[peteski]

Never tried to strip a whole car but I have taken numbers and names off their passener cars using nail polish remover and a soft eraser.  Seems to work well without removing the paint underneath.  I've renamed several PRR Broadway cars using this method.

Would that be a Non-Acetone nail polish remover? The plain version is just acetone with fragrance and that will take the paint off along with melting of the plastic shell. A very important distinction.