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Questions, Answers & Tips - 4
Chameleon Paint Stripper:
Chameleon is biodegradable and
reusable, and safe for most plastics. When you are done with
the stripper, run the model in water to clean it up. For lettering
removal, dampen a cotton swab and lightly rub the lettering. The
product is sold as a liquid and a gel but can be hard to find.
Citrus cleaners, Simple Green:
Fast Orange and similar brands
work, but can take a while and some companies' lettering is
completely unaffected.
Acetone:
It works very well at taking stamped graphics off of
glossy enameled surfaces. Thin it with water and experiment.
Find it at the hardware and paint store, or in the cosmetics aisle
packaged as fingernail polish remover.
Brake fluid:
Brake fluid was a favorite for stripping metal and
plastic, but it has changed in composition over the years. Most
varieties leave a messy residue. Some eat plastic and dissolve
adhesives. Old-style brake fluid was a mixture of denatured alco-
hol and light oils to lubricate brake system parts.
And here are the links:
“Joe's Decal Remover” at
.
For scale models, we DO NOT RECOMMEND
.
– MRH
TIPS
Insulating lighting
resistors
A recent article on installing
DCC in a locomotive said you
will need to insulate light-
ing resistors in the shell. My
method not only accomplishes
that, but affixes them to the
shell itself. I use a Permatex
Blue RTV Silicone, used for
making automotive gaskets.
“RTV” means “room tempera-
ture vulcanizing,” which means
the product cures without additional heat or special treat-
ment. Being a gasket product it is made to withstand high
heat for a long period of time.
I have used this method for going on 25 years without expe-
riencing an overheating issue and have used the product to
install circuit boards on the inside of shells or to the chas-
sis. I have had as many as four resistors in one hood sec-
tion without heat issues. Blue RTV is also great for securing
and insulating metal or brass light tubes and securing can
4: Permatex Blue RTV
Silicone, a gasket prod-
uct made to withstand
high heat for a long
period of time, can be
used to install and insu-
late lighting resistors in
locomotives.
4
MRH-Mar 2013
