Lettering removal

[Ian Powell]

I think there was a article on the old forum but I cannot remember the content.
I have a number of RTR trucks from which I would like to remove the the lettering without severely damaging the body paint. Any chemicals or method that would be suitable for the job?

 

[Dave Hub]

That depends on the type of lettering.

I have used T' cut, the car scratch remover in the past. Though that did not touch the recent LGB ICE train lettering and I had to use Acetone free nail polish remover. Test this on a small discreet area first as it might damage some plastic.

Some people use brake fluid (personaaly I have nedver tried it so can not vouch for this)

 

[trammayo]

That depends on the type of lettering.

I have used T' cut, the car scratch remover in the past. Though that did not touch the recent LGB ICE train lettering and I had to use Acetone free nail polish remover. Test this on a small discreet area first as it might damage some plastic.

Some people use brake fluid (personaaly I have nedver tried it so can not vouch for this)

Hi,
having seen what brake fluid (as used by car vandals) does, I wouldn't even contemplate it!

Mick

 

[Woderwick]

Gently with meths and a cotton bud, take longer than T-cut, but you have more control and it is less abrasive on the paint and plastic than other applications.

 

[railwayman198]

I had a string of 8 LGB hoppers that I wanted to rebrand. These had a lot of lettering to remove and after trying more gentle methods to no avail I found that brake fluid did the trick. If left on for too long it can leave a bloom on the plastic but as I weather my stock as was not too worried about that. The other thing to note is that although the paint was removed you can still just discern the outline of the original letters. This is visible to the left of the 'after' picture (also visible is that I only seem to have weathered one truck but that's another story...).

 

[Tony]

Try mr muscal it does a Great job of taking the numbers off Triang etc (whoops) but again try it on the paint underneath first. if not try car compond rubbing paste more abasive than t cut but it will shine the original finish if it is matt or satin at the mo
Tony

 

[stevedenver]

i have used meths as well as mineral spirits and....very carefully, lacquer thinner

meths works slowly, and seems to fade or slightly fog or haze the underlying plastic or paint, and removes the flat overspray some LGB paint jobs have-you really need to have something to go back where the removed stuff was-meths also tend to dilute and then smeer ink -you need to continue  to get rid of the smeering-but it could be a consideration with surrounding details and grooves-its fine on a q tip but otherwise i dont recommend it-it does leave a difficult to remove white haze

mineral spirits is also slow, but not quite as slow  and is similar to meths -but no hazing

lacquer thinner is the big gun-will soften the plastic if left too long,
harder to control , either does it or does too much-
but will remove the most stubborn paints and inks-will also usually bugger the underlying and surrounding paint-so really only good for total repaint or cover up of area  IMHO

there are special paint removers designed for plastics-typically you soak the item which means a lot of the stuff for LGB -but it really does strip the paint-and-a byproduct , at least on styrene, is the plastic becomes a bit more brittle-havent used this on LGB 

in removing lettering from LGB stuff, there can be a shadow that remains where the lettering was applied-typically a darker fresher version of the body paint-

ive also tried 600 sandpaper-removes things slowly and is controllable
but changes the sheen on the underlying area-makes for great decal and paint adhesion but also is difficult to use with pin point accuracy

havent tried the brake fluid but on the US MLS forum it is a popular method

 

[Ian Powell]

Thanks for the info lads. I tested out the meths method using a cotton bud. It did the trick unfortunately removed some underlying brown paint in small spots but it has left a smooth unscratched surface to work on. Just need to take it slowly.
Only 11 more coal hoppers to do do but with my job, I can do one a shift during downtimes.

 

[MR SPOCK]

[align=center]I always use a small fibreglass brush, as the lettering is applied after the base coat, careful use will take lettering away, most lettering is overcoated with a clear laquer so touching up after removal would match up the paintwork, also if new lettering is applied then the previous should nearly be invisible.[/align]

 

[stevedenver]

could you elaborate please as im not familiar with a fiberglass brush or how it works

-does the fiber glass brush hold solvents in a hghly contained field, 
so that one can trace over exisiting lettering, soften it and then remove it ?

 

[Gizzy]

could you elaborate please as im not familiar with a fiberglass brush or how it works

-does the fiber glass brush hold solvents in a hghly contained field,
so that one can trace over exisiting lettering, soften it and then remove it ?

It's rather like a pencil eraser, except the rubber is a made of fibre glass strands. In the UK, we can buy these and they are rather similar to a propelling pencil. You turn the knob at the end and the strands come out of the end. The diameter of the bunch is about 1/8 inch. No solvents required; its like having a small piece of fine emery/sand paper on the end of a pen....

http://www.mcmelectronics.com/product/DISTRIBUTED-BY-MCM-SABU10191-/SABU10191

 

[KeithT]

could you elaborate please as im not familiar with a fiberglass brush or how it works

-does the fiber glass brush hold solvents in a hghly contained field,
so that one can trace over exisiting lettering, soften it and then remove it ?

It's rather like a pencil eraser, except the rubber is a made of fibre glass strands. In the UK, we can buy these and they are rather similar to a propelling pencil. You turn the knob at the end and the strands come out of the end. The diameter of the bunch is about 1/8 inch. No solvents required; its like having a small piece of fine emery/sand paper on the end of a pen....

http://www.mcmelectronics.com/product/DISTRIBUTED-BY-MCM-SABU10191-/SABU10191

BUT - don't use it where the fragments can get into bearings or more particularly motors and gearboxes.
It will wreck them.

 

[Neil Robinson]

BUT - don't use it where the fragments can get into bearings or more particularly motors and gearboxes.
It will wreck them.

I also believe that inhaling the dust from these pens isn't healthy as it acts as an irritant.

 

[corgi]

I have used eucalyptus oil on some lettering. It doesn't work with all lettering and should be applied with a cotton bud and rinsed off before it effects the paint underneath.

It is also quite common for railways to paint out the existing lettering and apply new lettering over the top.