Model Railroading > Removing Kato Lettring

Does anyone have any tips on removing lettering from a Kato SD40-2? I have several that need different road numbers. (Looks odd when all three units are numbered the same). Thanks, any help would be much appreciated.

First thing i always try is the old take some mircoset and an earser. I then dip the eraser in the mircoset and then try to rub off the numbering. If this does not work you can try matching the paint and probabaly as a last resort try sand blasting. DO NOT USE BRAKE FLUID....it attacks the Kato plastic and makes is craze and crack. Well i wish you the best luck.

"Mountian Goat" Greg

I\'ve had good success removing the numbering and (screwed up) factory lettering from 4 of my Kato UP SD40-2s. I used 99% rubbing alcohol (I think in the US you can only get 91%), a lot of Q-Tips and some patience. I found that anything pad printed on the units can come off with gentle rubbing of a Q-Tip with alcohol on it. Don\'t skimp on the Q-Tips neither, or you may just move the freshly loosed paint around to other parts of the model; use a fresh one often. If you do happen to rub an area too much, you will eventually (but slowly) start removing the base coat, so keep an eye out for the body colour starting to appear on the Q-Tip.

I would also highly recommend testing in an inconspicuous area on the loco first, just in case.

- FE

I\'ve used 99% isopropyl with very good results on my Milwaukee SD40-2s. (Yes, you CAN get 99% isopropyl in the US - I buy it by the gallon.) No damage at all to the underlying paint. In fact, I\'ve never really had much luck stripping KATO base paint with even 99% isopropyl.

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Mark