# How Do You Remove Painted Lettering and Logos From Lionel Cars?



## Yellowstone Special (Jun 23, 2015)

This has probably been discussed before on in this forum, I just don't know where to look. But what is the best way to remove the lettering and logo from a piece of Lionel Rolling Stock?

I purchased a new Great Northern loco and Vanderbilt tender, just for the tender. I want to change it from Great Norther to Union Pacific (I have the UP decals from Microscale). Is there a way to rub off the lettering and logo with some kind of solvent or compound with a Q-tip, without taking off the underlying black paint?

To those of you who've tried this, what works best?


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## Yellowstone Special (Jun 23, 2015)

So, after 2 days and 59 views, no responses? Come on, forum members. No one has ever done this before? Right.

At least does anyone know where I could send this to perhaps have it refinished?


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## 86TA355SR (Feb 27, 2015)

I've never tried it, but Pine-sol has been discussed in the past.

Put on Q-tip and use full strength. Have patience. 

Good luck.


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## T-Man (May 16, 2008)

Flat black paint over it. If the pain had a gloss I would try a rubbing compound or a finer car polish. They tend to contain wax though. A black tender is just easier to paint. A paint thinner may work.


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## daschnoz (Dec 12, 2016)

Try lighter fluid. It tends to dissolve some paint but not harm most plastics when washed off shortly after use.









Try a small test spot on the inside of the shell to see how the plastic reacts. If the plastic is not harmed, move to the painted-on text.


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## 86TA355SR (Feb 27, 2015)

I don't think I'd use paint thinner or lighter fluid. The decals in the photo look like they're heat stamped to me, which means they'll be stubborn to remove.

My understanding was he just wanted to remove the current decals and leave the original paint intact?


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## DeltaPapa (Dec 19, 2016)

91% rubbing alcohol or Pinesol but don't be surprised if it affects the base paint coat.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro


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## Yellowstone Special (Jun 23, 2015)

So there is a god. 

I want to thank all who've responded. Very much appreciated.

After some researching on the Internet, I tried rubbing alcohol, but not strong enough. Ended up using denatured alcohol which with a lot of rubbing and about a dozen Q-tips, got all of the lettering and the logos off. However, did leave a shiny, noticeable surface where the rubbing took place.

In attempting to refinish only the affected areas to blend in with the rest of the tender, I didn't mask the areas tightly enough with the blue masking tape and used the wrong shade of black. So the one side I did looks awful. My model painting skills just aren't what they used to be.

So now the whole tender will need to be refinished, but I'm hesitant to attempt it myself, since it's a Railsounds tender and if I take the shell off, I may screw it up even more.

So it just went from bad to worse. I still want the tender in Union Pacific lettering. Does anyone know who refinishes cars like this? 

Thanks again.


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## Norton (Nov 5, 2015)

Sorry, late to the party. What works with diecast Lionel is lacquer thinner. I have used it on three engines made from 1999 to 2006. It had zero effect on the underlying paint but removed the lettering in about 5 minutes with a Q tip. 
This tip is limited to die cast Lionel. Not tried on MTH. Not recommended on 3rd Rail or Weaver as it will lift the underlying paint.

On a tender I wanted to strip completely I used methylene chloride. Its the active ingrediant in many solvent type paint thinners. Use both of these outdoors. 

Removing the shell shouldn't hurt anything. Just lift off carefully in case there are controls attached to shell. They will be attched to the boards on the frame with connectors.

Pete


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## SantaFeJim (Sep 8, 2015)

Brake fluid.


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## Guest (Feb 23, 2017)

I used 91% alcohol on N scale models to remove paint and it worked well. I also used lighter fluid to remove lettering in N, and even a pinky eraser to remove lettering. I guess these would work on O gauge models but I haven't tried it myself so I don't know for sure.


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## Norton (Nov 5, 2015)

Here is the result of using lacquer thinner on Lionel diecast. Note on the Q tip no sign of black paint and the sheen has not been altered.

















This tender was stripped bare with methylene chloride and then repainted. It started life lettered for C&O and arrived here in rough shape with many scratches.









After decaling and light weathering.









Pete


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## Yellowstone Special (Jun 23, 2015)

Beautiful job Norton and thank you for those tips. What brand and color of spray paint did you use on the loco and tender?

When I get some time, I may follow that very procedure. Nice work!


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## Norton (Nov 5, 2015)

Thanks Vern. The engine was not repainted only the cab numbers removed. I may have just touched it up bit don't recall as I did this several years ago as gift for a friend.
For the tender I use PJ1 special satin black which is sold at many motorcycle shops. The sheen is close to most Lionel and MTH engines both new and post war. I can get it just down the road from me or in quantity from a friend who repairs bike. When painting a complete body I just spray from the can but for touch ups I spray the paint in a bottle and use my airbrush.










Both got a light weathering job using powders. It was a bit heavier but got toned down when I sprayed it with flat finish. Next time I will use Pan Pastels which don't wash out.

I picked that cab number as Lionel had done this engine in conventional and I was able to get a headlight with that same number for this Odyssey engine. The Odyssey NYC version has a different cab number. This engine also got a deck apron and the drawbar shortened.

Pete


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## Yellowstone Special (Jun 23, 2015)

Wow Norton, your how-to tips and photos are invaluable to me for what I need to do with my botched Great Northern Tender conversion to a Union Pacific tender.

Just a couple of more questions.

Where would I get methylene chloride, and how did you apply it to get the old finish off your tender?

I won't be weathering my tender, just refinishing it and am only hoping that it will look close to your superb refinishing job.

Thanks for letting me know what kind of black spray paint to use. I've been to two LHSs here and neither one had the right shade of black paint. I'll try a couple of motorcycle shops nearby for the PJ1 satin black.

Thanks again for your expertise, Norton. :thumbsup:


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## Norton (Nov 5, 2015)

You can get pure methylene chloride (AKA dichloromethane) at Amazon but its pricey. Some hardware stores may stock it. Go to your local home or paint store and look at the solvent paint strippers. They will have a list of active ingredients on the can. Use it outdoors in a breeze. I just put the whole shell in the smallest container that would fit and covered it in the stripper. 

Pete


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## Yellowstone Special (Jun 23, 2015)

I'll do that. Thank you, Norton!


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## traction fan (Oct 5, 2014)

Yellowstone Special said:


> This has probably been discussed before on in this forum, I just don't know where to look. But what is the best way to remove the lettering and logo from a piece of Lionel Rolling Stock?
> 
> I purchased a new Great Northern loco and Vanderbilt tender, just for the tender. I want to change it from Great Norther to Union Pacific (I have the UP decals from Microscale). Is there a way to rub off the lettering and logo with some kind of solvent or compound with a Q-tip, without taking off the underlying black paint?
> 
> ...


 vern;

Have you tried Microsol decal solvent? It's normally used, (sparingly) to soften decals so they will snug down over rivets and other details. Too much, left on too long, or touched, will destroy the decal. If you put some full-strength on a Q-tip, and scrubbed it across the decal, it might remove it. I'm theorizing here, I have not tried to deliberately remove a decal, but I've messed up a few with Microsol. Try it on a small spot.

Traction Fan 🙂 

Traction Fan


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## KBeyer (Jun 29, 2020)

From Wikipedia "On March 15, 2019, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a final rule to prohibit the manufacture (including importing and exporting), processing, and distribution of methylene chloride in all paint removers for consumer use, effective in 180 days"

I would not use this chemical as it is fairly toxic to breathe or touch.


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