Well call me a non conformer but i never strip my shells I remove the decals and spray the shell with a light grey undercoat and away I go , However if you really want to strip the paint 91% alcohol seems to be the way to go.
Colonel and I were seperated at birth because he gave the same answer as I was going to give you.:teeth: Seriously I too just use the alcahol to strip most of the decals off and then spray a coat of Polly Scale Undercoat Light Gray and your good to go. Use 91% as it does the best, a lot of us have been doing this for years. Jim
I guess I am a rebel too. I never completely strip them either. I just remove the decals also, and repaint, then re-decal. Be careful with kato shells, Ihave heard they desolve very easily, so if you use anything, try deluting, and in areas under the shell to watch for destortion.
What! Sheesh - that was _my_ plan. I figured if I anounced it here everyone would jump on me. Seriously I alwready have in my mind who would have said what and how. :zip:
I'm a "me too" on this, especially expensive Kato shells. I try to get the Kato pad printing and decals (if any) off and then prime it. For Atlas I try to purchase an undec shell as Atlas shells are only about 10-12 US$.
Would this apply to removing the numbers from an Atlas shell? I'd like to try a project. I have an extra Atlas GP38 shell, painted for Conrail. I'd like ot try renumbering & patching this to become a Norfolk Southern unit (which in real life they actually did become). Would the alcohol remove the road number from the side while leaving the overall blue Conrail paint job?
I use Scalecoat stripper for almost everything...EXCEPT Kato. I have found that is makes the shells brittle. I would go with alcohol has mentoned earlier. Andrew
I also concur with the rest. I haven't stripped a Kato shell since I had one of the first run GP38-2s turn into something the texture of oatmeal. I usually pick a roadname with the plainest colour scheme and least amount of lettering, and always use a grey undercoat first and use light coats. Atlas and Life Like shells I do the same, but can't do it with athearn, they seem to apply paint by dipping the shell into a can of paint. I've sprayed on undercoat, 2 colours, gloss coat, decals, another coat of gloss coat and one of dull coat without noticeable loss of detail.
91% isopropyl- relatively cheap, not nearly as messy as, say, brake fluid, and you don't even need to leave the shell in for very long before the paint just sloughs off.
Yes it will. An alcohol dip will remove some of the paint, too. Just use a cotton swab dipped in alcohol to remove the pad printed number. Too much rubbing on the number will remove some of the blue paint, too. If it does remove some paint, I consider this the first step in weathering.
HI just to put my 2 cents in I have been stripping kato and atlas shells for over 20 years with pine-sol straight no diluting and have no problem at all . the shells clean down to bare plastic . I only soak them for a day or two .
Im surprised noone has mentioned Chameleon Paint Remover. Basically the same properties as PineSol and BrakeFluid (even smells the same). Its not as abrasive as Pine Sol on the hands and fingers, not as messy as Brake Fluid. Takes only a few hours (if that) to strip a kato to bare plastic. Any stripper will etch plastic (or make brittle) over a period of time. You may need to monitor your practice with products before just "letting it sit". The above being said Chameleon has been the most gentle and efficient means of stripping shells that I have found. T
Well in perspective a trip to your local Costco sounds like the easiest most cost effective solution for stripping paint. Pinesol is probably the most enviormentally sound option. Don't forget the gloves to save your hands, plus you can use them for other purposes 1- 4litre jug Pinesol $13? 1- box 100nitrile gloves $10 (Automotive section) 1- package of tooth brushes $5(replacle the old one) =cheap and effective kit DC
You forget the $50/yr sign-up fees! Anyway I'm bored at work and trolling Trainboards...here's the links for anyone interested Chameleon is relatively cheap, non-caustic, water soluable and biodegradeable. http://www.chameleonproductsonline.com/ http://www.chameleonproductsonline.com/contactordering.html
Yes Chamelon is probably the best paint stripper out there, but a bottle of 91% alcohol is about 98 cents. I forgot what Chamelon is going for now days. For a while it was real hard to get.
WOW! I asked what I thought was a simple question and got a ton of info. Once again guys, thanks for the help. I have been oggling Kato F7 prices on ebay and they seem to be really cheap these days. A F7 in ICG paint is desperately needed on my layout. If and when, I'll give the Pinesol a try.
I tried to strip the C&NW paint from a Kato SD-45. 91% alky removed a little. When I am ready to work on this again I will forget stripping and go with gray under the Reading colors. Len
