Stubborn Kato paint- how to remove?

[u18b]

When I first tried an air eraser, I was scared.

But all it did was rough up the shell.  It did not damage any plastic details.
Paint soaked in 91% alcohol did come off a little easier.

BTW- air erasing brass handrails and Delryn plastic rails are a must if the rails are to be painted.
Ron

[central.vermont]

When I first tried an air eraser, I was scared.

But all it did was rough up the shell.  It did not damage any plastic details.
Paint soaked in 91% alcohol did come off a little easier.

BTW- air erasing brass handrails and Delryn plastic rails are a must if the rails are to be painted.
Ron

Nice tip on using an air eraser on the Delryn rails. Does this make a big improvement of the
adherence to those flexible railings?
I might have to get one of these, they sure are inexpensive.

Jon

[bill pearce]

If you are concerned about the harshness of the baking soda, you can use corn starch, also available from the supermarket. It is much softer and may not be strong enough for the job.

[peteski]

To comment on some of the responses, brake fluid is *NOT* alcohol!  It is a glycol-ether based compound ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glycol_ethers ).  It can be used as a paint remover and while it is safe for many polystyrene models, it can attack some of them too.

Besides sandblasting and the Chameleon, there are several other paint strippers such as Floquil ELO and Scalecoat Wash Away paint remover.  I have all of the above in my arsenal of strippers.  I also made my own stripper concoctions from various chemicals. This way I have good chances of stripping pretty much any model.  Other important think to remember is that warming the stripping solution increases its potency.  In the winter I often place the tub in which I strip my model, on a lab hot plate which can be adjusted to really low heat settings (to keep the fluid warm (around 80-90 deg F).

[Catt]

I use Acetone and a Q-tip to remove lettering on KATO locos.It does a nice quick job and on the older locos like early run SD45s and 40s does not hurt the paint

[LV LOU]

When I first tried an air eraser, I was scared.

But all it did was rough up the shell.  It did not damage any plastic details.
Paint soaked in 91% alcohol did come off a little easier.

BTW- air erasing brass handrails and Delryn plastic rails are a must if the rails are to be painted.
Ron

Blasting is a good way on stubborn stuff.I have a full size blasting cabinet at my bike shop,I use the same glass beads I use on Harley aluminum engine cases on my trains.I only use it on stuff after alcohol or Superclean in my ultrasound doesn't work.[Not very often at all...] The only thing I do is turn down the air pressure to the cabinet.

[ednadolski]

I use Acetone and a Q-tip to remove lettering on KATO locos.It does a nice quick job and on the older locos like early run SD45s and 40s does not hurt the paint

I once put a little bit of acetone into a plastic cup, and it ate a hole thru the cup.

Ed

[Bremner]

I have used Testors thinner on 3 SP locos to remove the old lettering

[u18b]

Nice tip on using an air eraser on the Delryn rails. Does this make a big improvement of the
adherence to those flexible railings?

Jon

Yes, that's exactly the point.  The paint sticks better.

[Jeff AKA St0rm]

Kato is the hardest paint to get off. Scale Coat II works well for me as long as you don’t leave your model in for more then 45 min at a time. I leave it in for 30 min then take it out and brush with an old tooth lightly then soak for 15 more min and brush again. Leave the Schell out in the air over night and repeat the next day and 100% of the paint will come off.

[Scottl]

I've been busy and can't pick up any of the more aggressive products.  My shell has been soaking in fresh 99% isopropanol and the paint still won't budge...

[fredmoehrle]

For CSXT SD-40-2's I used wood alcohol and a cotton swab to strip the lettering and numbers.
The UP U30C I soaked in Chameleon (ditto the CSX units) which took off some more paint.
Best though was the Badger air eraser with baking soda.
Go with the top shelf baking soda, like Arm & Hammer.
The cost cutter stuff comes to clumpy.  Also wait for dry weather to use.  Here in Michigan that usually means winter.  Moisture traps on ones air supply is a good idea to.

[Scottl]

Still too busy and the LHS is closed in my off hours, so I've been soaking the shell in 99% alcohol.  Tonight (day 5) the herald came off the long hood with some modest toothbrush scrubbing, and most of the paint too.  The herald came off as large flakes.  An interesting observation is that the paint that was exposed to fumes rather than immersed in the alcohol seemed to come off easier.  I'm not sure why that would be the case. 

Anyway, I was all ready to go heavy on this during the weekend, but it seems patience was the stripper I really needed!  Thanks all for the suggestions, I'm still going to investigate the air eraser.