Model Railroading > Glued on handrails Proto 2000

I have a couple painted P2K SW8's, and the handrails etc are glued on and difficult to remove. Any idea if I can soak in brake fluid (or some other trick) to get the glue to break down?
Thanks,
-Alex

Depends on the glue. I think your first order of business is to expose the glue surface by scraping away any paint that may cover it. If you can tell that the glue is cyanoacrylate (super glue), there are debonders available; the brand of debonder isn't too important as it should work on any brand of CA.

If it is a solvent type glue, such as methyl ethyl ketone (MEK), and only a small amount was used, you might be able to use MEK to dissolve the initial bond and pry the handrails off, but it will be very messy.

If some type of epoxy was used, I'd say your best bet is to start over with a new shell and handrails.

I do not know of any glue that is attacked by brake fluid.

Was told by several that WD40 will cut CA, have not tried it but at least it wont attack paint or plastic.

WD 40 will indeed attack plastic since there is a petroleum base involved. It is probably ok to spray a bit on the plastic and wipe it off in a bit but an overnight soak is out of the question.

Avoid brake fluid like the plague! Modern plastics will become distorted and brittle from using it. You will end up buying a new shell.

I have found sprue cutting tweezers, when used extremely carefully, to be very useful in removing handrails.  

Gently place the jaws on each side of the stanchion and VERY lightly close while rocking back on the heel of the tool.

Many 'glued on' handrail posts should come out if a glue wasn't used that dissolved the original material.

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The DOT3 brake fluid the oldtimers (like myself) used for stripping lacquers and enamels is not the same as the current DOT5.1.  Not compatible in cars, and outdated as a modeling tool.
https://www.google.com/search?q=dot5+vs+dot+3&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8
 

Actually many of the handrails on Proto2000 units were melted on the inside of the shell where the mounting stud came through the shell. I've had a lot of lucking using a chisel blade to remove the melted plastic which make the handrail easy to remove.

Ted Curphey
Ontario, OR

Thanks all!