A few years ago I picked up three HOn3 Blackstone/Soundtraxx 20th anniversary boxcars at a discounted price. My plan was to give them a coat of appropriate colored Vallejo paint and then add new decals to add some economical boxcars to the roster.

Out came the airbrush and within a few minutes the purple and lavender paint job was gone and I thought I was on my way. However after the paint dried the underlying lettering was very visible. That is where the project stalled.

Whenever I walked by the layout I could almost hear those boxcars snickering at me...

Enter Joe Fugate and his wonderful homemade HP Acrylic Thinner, it works fantastic with my Vallejo paints and makes cleaning up a breeze.

I wondered what the HP Thinner would do to 5 year old acrylic paint? Well it’s not going to hurt anything so I gave it a try. I puddled up some HP Thinner on the side of the boxcar and let it sit for a few minutes. Then using a microbrush I  was able to get the old paint to come off.

But wait there’s more!

It was also taking off the original lettering under my paint, so now I am back to that purple paint without the factory lettering!

Thanks Joe for all your work on Acrylic painting, it has been very useful .

Ross A