removing decals?

I wouldn't think so. They are printed on, not waterslide decals. If you remove them, you'll have to apply replacement ones.

"mindesign" wrote

I don't believe that Hornby use decals, all lettering & lining is tampo-printed to my knowledge.

John.

bugger

oh well ..... back to the drawing board

literally

thanks chaps

Steve

Earlier Rovex in NZ used what they called "heat printing". I don't know the details of the process but the Jintys for example have the outline of the number very faintly dished into the plastic once the colour has worn away. I would guess a heated stamp was pressed against a coloured film held against the side of the loco to imprint the number and lining.

Regards, Greg.P.

most transfers are availiable, you may need to look through the catalogues of a few companies to find the correct ones for you.

I had a lot of success recently removing the numbers from an Atlas GP40. You may want to try the same technique as it worked very well for me.

You will need some Surgical Spirit, AKA Rubbing Alcohol and some Q Tips.

Dip the Q tip in the surgical spirit and gently apply to the lettering that you are trying to remove. Wait about 4 mins for the decal to soften, GENTLY rub the decal with the dry end of the Q tip. If lots of the base colour starts coming off then you had better stop here, otherwise re-apply more surgical spirit and give another 5 mins. If the decal is not shifting GENTLY scrape the softened decal with the tip of a scalpel then re-apply more surgical spirit which will now get in all the scrape marks making removal easier. Repeat until the decal is gone.

The watch word here is GENTLE. Take care and rub gently and you should be left with no trace of the numbers and an undamaged base colour ready for your new number.

Good luck and Happy New Year.

Chris Packman

thanks heaps Chris - where would I purchase the replacement lettering and badges from - any ideas?

Steve

If it is a UK model then Fox are probably your best bet:-

will give you all the details.

If it is a US model then you need Microscale:-

they have a very extensive range which can be obtained in the UK via Mac's Model Railroading 01436 677556 or

If it is an Australian model (this is cross posted to the aus group) then I havent a clue sorry !

Hope this helps

Chris

All British Chris, will look up the site now

Many thanks

Steve

If you are repainting you will want to remove them anyway. And apply new decals which are probably of higher acuracy than the originals were. To strip the paint of a model Brake fluid seems to work well with models that have a lot of plastic.

BRAKE FLUID????? Would've thought that would destroy the plastic along with it!

Thanks - will try it

Steve

I paint it on and wash it off after 10-15 minutes. It often seems to soften enamel and then let it harden again at about 20 minutes so multiple applications seem to work for me. I guess it depends on the exact composition of the paint. Try it on a piece of the plastic that isn't visible first!

Regards, Greg.P.

Brake fluid has been used, in North America at least, since the mid 1960s o strip paint from plastic bodies.

-- Cheers Roger T.

Home of the Great Eastern Railway

One can also immerse the body in a jar of brake fluid.

However, keep in mind that water stops the brake fluid action. If you wash the body and then want to put it back into the fluid, it must have all traces of water removed.

-- Cheers Roger T.

Home of the Great Eastern Railway

Works well with diecasts, too. Any solvent should be allowed to dissolve and float off the decal. Rubbing will leave a mark on the surface.

"mindesign" wrote

It can do, so if you go along this route do so with extreme caution.

John.

Sadly modern UK synthetic brake fluid does nothing ! If you want to remove the lot then try Modelstrip it works a treat and is far less toxic.

Chris

Chris Packman offered me a plate of cheese and whispered:

Rather than using Q tips, you could use Flash Mark and Stain Eraser. This is an abrasive plastic block which is available from the cleaning products section of your local supermarket. Slice of a thin section with a craft knife and use in place of the q tip. As Chris has pointed out, the watch word is GENTLE, particularly as the eraser is abrasive. However, I have had good results using this method to remove both Bachman and Hornby numbers.

The eraser is also good for polishing a freshly sprayed surface and for preparing a surface to be sprayed.

It is also good for removing coffee stains from cups and red wine stains from glasses! :-)