Has anyone had any real good easy luck in stripping an AZl brass dash 9 for re-painting? If you have I'd like to know about your technique & or products used in the process? I have the need to re-do one so any help would be appreciated.:teeth: Thanks
Tim soaked his shell for 6 months and the paint was still set strong. Baked acid and base proof inert epoxy, not paint, is what it must be. Temperature, solvent, and corrosive proof coating it is I say!
Hmmmmmmmm John, I am going to be nice since I got a BN Husky in the mail yesterday!! Thanks!!! --------------- Did someone say strip an AZL brass shell loco? If you offered me $1,000 to strip an AZL loco for you, I would decline!!!!! I stripped an AZL Norfolk Southern for John. Took near 12 months to strip. I actually wound up scraping about 25% of the remaining paint from the shell. The stripper I was soaking it in was a gel for epoxy paints. The stripper dried out the coating allowing me semi-easy scraping without injuring the brass shell. Every two weeks I would scrub and replace the stripping gel with new gel. Every two weeks. Ugh!!!! No sir, I will not strip any more AZL locos!!!! Just my experience!!!! Have a great day!!! Hobo Tim
Just for the records, we at AZL like to mention the high quality of the paints used. Built to last we say! Actually, I am not exactly sure what Ajin uses, but it is some good stuff... LOL! Rob
Gwyl, I suggest a light coat of primer, and then paint your favorite color scheme. You may lose some detail, but it will be a lot less headache.
Ok, brass is a bad word when it comes to stripping.....but how about the plastic SD70s? I want to repaint some 70s into a different road name. Any experience on AZL plastic? Loren
Loren, I haven't strip a SD70 yet, but I heard someone had sucess with Pine Sol. I do find the paint on the SD70 is different then the ones on the brass, and they do come off easier. So, what are you going to repaint it into. You finally work enought courage to do your first repaint. Well, its not all that hard once you plan the proper sequence for painting your favorite color scheme. Actuallly, the worst part of repainting is the clean up of the airbrush. I do plan to repaint my SD70, but I have to wait for AZL to release the H2 first. I dont want to have a shortage of six axle power in my sub. Come to think of it,Joe, I need more six axle power. I want my SD40 for August. Is that too soon? John
John, Karin says you already know what road name. Yes, I want to begin repainting, but can't find the time to learn it and practice it. Anyone have some time you want to give away? Loren
Loren, I hope she hasn't ask for a fleet of FR Alaska PS2 hoppers. Woman are big on proof that we love them, and It usually involves something expensive. On painting, it is going to be time consuming. One of problems you going to have is how you going to hold the item while being painted, and where you going to leave it dry. You sure dont want to hold it while its drying. Also, everyone has messed up on a paint job. The trick is to wait of it to dry, and strip it again. Let us know if you need tips on how to paint. Oh by the way, I am mailing my free time to you, and dont complain that I am not generous. John
Some Simple Tricks When I airbrush, I use various things to hold the items I am airbrushing. For MTL shells, SW1 shells, and AZL shells, I use a piece of foam zig-zag I got as packaging foam once. Works quite well. Squeeze the foam a little, insert it into the shell as it expands out. Actually any foam could be cut and used the same way. For rollingstock that has one piece shells, like Mark4Designs boaxcars, I use toothpicks gently tightened in the bolster pin hole. All foam has a wooden stick, from long cotton applicators(medical), so I can hold and control the shell without ever touching it. I use a large block of foam to hold the painted pieces while drying. Photos show results!!! That is how I airbrush my items. Used this same application to paint two GP35 Happy Birthday Locos, several boxcars, SW1's, AZL Dash9 & SD40-2 shells. Note, SD40-2 shell was NOT stripped. Was painted in Maersk Sealand colors for Jurg! Micro-Mark has a large, reverse pressure tweezer, that holds shells while airbrushing them. They have other items too. www.micromark.com Have a great day! Hobo Tim
Hemi, I think the paint they used on the brass are two part epoxi paints. I used to use it on my airlines. Once it harderns, the only way to get it off was to sand it. I think they use this kind of paint on cars. The ones that are 1 to 1 scale.
I don't know the composition of this stuff, but is it thin enough to not obscure tiny, delicate details in Z? Apparently it is! Loren, If I bought my wife a FR car of any kind, she'd likely flip her lid--because of the price! Doghouse, anyone? And I don't even have a dog!!
Have any of you folks tried to sandblast or grit blast the paint off. I've even used powdered aluminum to blast paint off plastic shells and it didn't take any of the detail off. And you can do it outside and don't have any mess to clean up. I would think that any blasting agent that is softer than the brass will work OK and not take the detail off. Bob
Hi Bob, I keep thinking of getting that sandblaster that uses a shop vac, but have never gotten around to it yet. I have been so busy that I have not even tried out my Micro Mark Home Etching kit yet, and I bought it over 2 years ago! I still have to make up a bunch more kits for Rob before I make the ones for you, but I have not forgotten Bob!
Good stuff Robert, I look forward to getting them. I need enough time to paint the house exterior. All of the 'Honey Do' jobs are done except the house painting and if the rain here ever stops I'll have that done in a few days. I bought a cheap sand blasting outfit from a local surplus dealer here and using low air pressure, not the 200 lb of the commercial outfits, you can clean paint off nearly anything. And if you can do it outside so much the better, no mess to clean up. And what about one of the new ultrasonic units, will they clean paint off these shells? It seems they can clean almost anything with those units, there using them in radiator shops for commercial use so they must be effective. Bob
