I prefer to use brake fluid.

I prefer to use brake fluid. However, I have had alot of good luck using Pine-Sol to strip paint here of late. Just soak the model in staight up Pine-Sol for about 15 minutes and using an old tooth brush to strip off the old paint. Then just wash it off in the sink with Dawn dishsoap and warm water. If there is still paint remaining do it over until all the paint is removed.

**WARNING** Never soak Kato shells in brake fluid!

Kato shells are made of a type of plastic different from any of the other manufacturers, and they cannot handle brake fluid.  Somebody on the Atlas forum wrecked a Kato AC4400CW shell because the brake fluid he soaked it in made the plastic very brittle and porous, as if it was a giant potato chip.

I used 91% isopropyl alcohol to strip a Kato SD38-2.  Had to let it soak ~12 hours, but it did the job - the old paint flaked right off with the help of an old shaved-bristle toothbrush.

Easy Off

Hi,

I have had good sucess using Easy Off to strip paint.  Its plastic safe and seems to strip most types of paint.

I recently stripped a factory painted brass loco with great results.

Tim Warris

Chameleon works, so does

Chameleon works, so does Testors ELO and Scalecoat Wash-Away. Mostly I start with the 91% alcohol, and put the pieces in an aluminum baking tray covered with foil so the fumes don't go all through the house.

All of them are strained back into the bottle when I'm done.

A lot of the processes that work well on brass will eat plastic, so you have to try them on scrap pieces first.

Kato warning

Good to know on the Kato wrt/brake fluid.  That would have been very bad....

I use Chamelon Gel, works

I use Chamelon Gel, works great on Bachmann and Walthers shells.

The reason brake fluid works

The reason brake fluid works is it has alcohol in it so you could save yourself $$ and just buy the 91 or 99% alcohol for 97¢ at the pharmacy.  It works real well on P2Ks,  clean in about 20min.

Once I had PineSol make a shell the consistancy of Rubbermaid.  That was weird.  You could twist it, bend it and it would just pop right back.  Gomez's dream for sure.

Paul

Rubbermaid?

That must have been, interesting.  OTOH, I guess you don't need to worry about the loco hitting the floor if it bounces....

-

S

Wow, surprisingly my products

Warning: Kato and Brake Fluid

Ken,

I am laughing my head off, I am a witness to that. I had a brand new Kato that I ruined doing that. Life is great !!

So every one, take Ken's advice DON'T DO IT, MON !!!!!!

Things I have learned with model paint & decal stripping:

Polly S brand   Easy-Lift Off   paint & decal remover :  Good for removing AHM-Rivourossi painted on decals

Scalecoat II brand  paint remover: Takes off Walthers decals (brush on wait a few seconds, wipe off with a cloth)

                                                       Not good on Athearn cars at all!

                                                       Life-like  (very good but also short timing is upmost)

Use a small paint brush and experiment for short periods!

Depainting Models

My first line of defence - I have a plastic "shoe box" filled with 91% Isopropyl Alcohol.  This works most of the time.  For those models that don't (currently have a Roundhouse car that won't strip in the alcohol), I use 270-grit aluminum oxide abrasive blasting.

I picked up the "shoe box" at Wal*mart.  Several models will fit at once, and the lid seals to prevent evaporation.  I've had the same alcohol in there for 2 years now, and it's still good.

I use a Paasche LAC#3 abrasive gun in a blasting booth I bought from Harbor Freight.  I had a heck of a time finding aluminum oxide abrasive locally - getting the Paasche abrasive shipped was cost prohibitive, and I didn't have a local Paasche dealer.  Picture of the LAC3 gun is here:

This gun is also great for getting a little "tooth" for better paint adhesion.  It's one of my better tool investments.

Be sure to clean the model afterward, and it should go without saying to keep this away from mechanisms.

I bought my gun 20 years ago at The Train Shop in Santa Clara, CA.  It's from their industrial line, so it isn't regularly stocked by most art stores that carry Paasche products.

Don't confuse this with the larger sandblasters included in many blasting cabinets, or with the airbrush sized AEC/AEC-K "Air Eraser."  This is in between those sizes - just right!

Hope this helps.  Merry Christmas!

 - Arved
Modeling the Southern Pacific, from AC-4s to AC4400CWs.

Chameleon seems to work well

Chameleon seems to work well for me. What helps with Chameleon also is straining it in a paint strainer after use.  I've found if I run it through a paper & mesh paint strainer (local auto parts store item) before it gets put away I can get many more uses out of it before it loses its strength.

Also, as with any chemical, wear some latex or rubber gloves when scrubbing the remaining paint off. These chemicals can, at the least, really dry your skin out. Plus if you have any small cuts, it burns!!!

I am also going to check out an abrasive air brush soon. I have 1 engine that I had "blasted" several years ago, and the paint sticks to the plastic handrails sooooo much better!

91% and 99% rubbing alky is

91% and 99% rubbing alky is available at Wal-Mart pretty cheaply, and does a bang-up job in removing most paint especially on Chinese-made locomotives made within the last 15-20 years. Athearn, Athearn RTR, Proto 2K, Walthers, Atlas, Bachmann even. 

Kato is a whole different story. From what I understand, Kato doesn't use paint so much as printer's ink to paint their models. Due to this, it's hard to remove factory paint completely, often vestiges of the original color will remail on the bare shell. The  upshot is that Kato "paint" is relatively thin and easy to paint over with Tamiya primer especially, and the previous lettering doesn't usually show through.

Ultrasonic

I brought the shells over to a friend's yesterday.  We tossed it in the ultrasonic bath with some sort of paint stripper.  I think it was scalecoat II.  Ripped it off pretty well.  One of the shells ended up somewhat "pitted".  I'm not sure if it was there under the paint like that or if the process caused some of it.  It's just the one shell on one part up near the dynamic brake area so that's probably going to get some rusty sections painted there for effect.  Might as well go with it...

-

S

Another vote for 91% alcohol

I use 91% alcohol. Like others have said. It is cheap and readily available. I can do several shells before needing to change it out.  I have left major mfg. shells in the alcohol for 24 hours and not had a problem.  It also is not oily or destructive like the brake fluid.

Take heed of others!

The advice here can be priceless...

My experience is in plastics.

What has been said here should be regarded as a hard lesson on US... so don't do things to yourself  without comparing notes with others.

Plastics regularly employed in modelling and Injection molding can include:

Acrylic, polystyrene, ABS (a mix of the previous with a rubberizer), and modified versions of the 3 (like SAN).  Also Acetal (delrin by brand name) and Polypropylene, (those cheap lifelike things from the '70s are examples - they look waxy and slightly transparent).  The latter 2 are solvent resistant (read: cannot be adhered without CA).

Each of these are colored and sometimes softened or stiffened with plasticizers and/or fillers.  And molding often requires mold-release additives.  All modifications affect the structures and characteristics of the finished product - including paintability.

The solvents (and paints) you choose can infiltrate the surface and separate the materials, thus ruining your shell. A great no-no is splashing Diesel fuel onto polycarbonate (Lexan) (like that would come to mind) - turns the plastic to swiss-cheese!

Save a few tears: Never go to work on an expensive piece or a cheap fleet without seeking the experiences of others!

-let's be careful out there!

Good Advice

I've seen a lot of good advice on this topic.  Wherever possible, LEARN FROM OTHER PEOPLE'S MISTAKES.

Stew.

I used to tell my kids ...

I used to tell my kids:

"Good judgement comes from experience - and experience comes from poor judgement. If you're wise, you'll make it other people's poor judgement ... don't be one of those people who doesn't listen and always has to learn the hard way."

I've always tried to be

one of those people that learns from the mistakes of others and not just my own.  Doesn't always work, but that's what I strive for and try to instill in my kids, too.  I find, though, that some people just HAVE to learn from their own mistakes.  Learning from others' mistakes doesn't work for them for whatever reason - they just have to do it on their own and find out the hard way, but I guess we're all different.

HI,    One thing that has not

HI,

One thing that has not been mentioned and works great, and is completely bio-degradeable, and I use more often the 99% rubbing alcohol is Castrol Super Clean.  Castrol Super Clean works great, just do not put anything with clear parts you want to keep clear, it fogs them in no time.  I have a couple of 'tupper-ware' type containers with CSC (Castrol Super Clean) in them for various size items, and you just carefully place your shell into it, close the lid, and leave for half an hour or so.  Come bakc and check on it and the scrub with an old tooth brush (wear rubber gloves, and eye protection, this stuff is a degreaser for motors) and rinse under warm or cold water. It works great, somethings will need longer than others, but I have not tried it on Kato yet.

Cheers

Iain