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How Does One Remove Tender Crests From A Loco?


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Okay, so I'm new to this forum, so if I'm posting in the wrong place please tell me, and I'll do my best to amend any errors I may have made. So before I start my question, I will say that I have effectively no modeling experience. As it currently stands I'm trying to model the time period of about 1949-1952, without locking myself to a specific region because I love designs from here there and everywhere, so a bit of artistic license does get taken.

 

However, this 1949-1952 time period means that my Hornby T9 no. 30313 looks a bit out of place among my other engines so far. The post-1956 tender crests this model came with appear very out of place. I have seen one photo of this T9 from 1949 where she looked to be sporting the BR lined black livery, fresh from the works, with no tender crests (the next earliest photo I've found of her was in 1955 when she sported the BR "Cycling Lion" crest). It seems fitting enough for my time period to have this engine running with no tender crests. Which is where my in experience kicks in, so I must ask; is there a way to remove the tender crests on this model without causing it any damage?

 

My sincerest apologies if this thread is irrelevant due to the presence of a similar one, or if I am posting in the wrong area.

 

~Alex :)

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Firstly welcome aboard. You'll probably get many different suggestions but for what it's worth this is the way I do it. If it won't come off using a cotton bud soaked with IPA or meths I use VERY fine wet and dry paper (at least 800 grit), plenty of soapy water and take my time. If you keep the paper and the surface of the model wet the paper wont pull at the surface. Use very light pressure just on the area where the crest is. Take you time and after a while you'll see the offending crest start to fade. Persevere and you'll be able to remove it without going through the paint finish below. This method will leave a small matt patch where you've been rubbing but a spray over with satin varnish should put things right. Always try the IPA first and take your time. It might be worth practicing on something like an old wagon or coach first.

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Welcome, no need to apologise for anything.

 

Want an 'easy out'? The 'lion on a unicycle' crest was first deployed in 1949, following the use of the 'BRITISH RAILWAYS' title while the crest was being developed. The exact time any particular T9 got this crest is a whole other question; but this crest was in use throughout your proposed time period...

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Firstly welcome aboard. You'll probably get many different suggestions but for what it's worth this is the way I do it. If it won't come off using a cotton bud soaked with IPA or meths I use VERY fine wet and dry paper (at least 800 grit), plenty of soapy water and take my time. If you keep the paper and the surface of the model wet the paper wont pull at the surface. Use very light pressure just on the area where the crest is. Take you time and after a while you'll see the offending crest start to fade. Persevere and you'll be able to remove it without going through the paint finish below. This method will leave a small matt patch where you've been rubbing but a spray over with satin varnish should put things right. Always try the IPA first and take your time. It might be worth practicing on something like an old wagon or coach first.

Awesome, thank you very much for the welcome, and for your advice! Since I am super new to modeling, I'd like to ask where I might be able to get wet and dry paper? And where would I get the correct varnish, or, what kind of varnish would I use. Sorry for the excess of questions here, this is my first time attempting anything serious in modeling, so I'm still highly inexperienced.

 

Welcome, no need to apologise for anything.

 

Want an 'easy out'? The 'lion on a unicycle' crest was first deployed in 1949, following the use of the 'BRITISH RAILWAYS' title while the crest was being developed. The exact time any particular T9 got this crest is a whole other question; but this crest was in use throughout your proposed time period...

Thank you very much for the welcome and the advice! I am aware that the "Cycling Lion" crest was in use during this time, but I thought having a crest-free tender might have its own charm to it, as all my other models either have "British Railways" written on their tenders, or bare the "Cycling Lion" crest. Thank you for the welcome and your advice though, I may keep this in mind in future, if the model looks wrong with the crest removed.

http://www.semgonlin...9class_ten.html

My reference photo is the second one down on this page.

 

Thank you both for your advice, and your welcomes! I really appreciate it! :)

 

~Alex

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Awesome, thank you very much for the welcome, and for your advice! Since I am super new to modeling, I'd like to ask where I might be able to get wet and dry paper? And where would I get the correct varnish, or, what kind of varnish would I use. Sorry for the excess of questions here, this is my first time attempting anything serious in modeling, so I'm still highly inexperienced.

 

Thank you very much for the welcome and the advice! I am aware that the "Cycling Lion" crest was in use during this time, but I thought having a crest-free tender might have its own charm to it, as all my other models either have "British Railways" written on their tenders, or bare the "Cycling Lion" crest. Thank you for the welcome and your advice though, I may keep this in mind in future, if the model looks wrong with the crest removed.

http://www.semgonlin...9class_ten.html

My reference photo is the second one down on this page.

 

Thank you both for your advice, and your welcomes! I really appreciate it! :)

 

~Alex

Any good hardware shop, decorators supplies or car accessory shop should have the wet and dry paper - remember you need at least 800 grit or higher. I use Railmatch Satin varnish through an airbrush but you can get it in rattle cans. Assuming you're in the UK Fox Transfers and Squires Tools both supply online. You can get Humbrol varnish from places like Hobbycraft and some artists suppliers or here. It's purely preference but I prefer Railmatch.

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Any good hardware shop, decorators supplies or car accessory shop should have the wet and dry paper - remember you need at least 800 grit or higher. I use Railmatch Satin varnish through an airbrush but you can get it in rattle cans. Assuming you're in the UK Fox Transfers and Squires Tools both supply online. You can get Humbrol varnish from places like Hobbycraft and some artists suppliers or here. It's purely preference but I prefer Railmatch.

I live in Australia, but I'll keep in mind everything you've recommended, thank you! Hopefully I'll have time to get to it this weekend (life permitting, of course). I'll keep you updated as to how it goes - thank you again for your advice! :)

 

~Alex

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I live in Australia, but I'll keep in mind everything you've recommended, thank you! Hopefully I'll have time to get to it this weekend (life permitting, of course). I'll keep you updated as to how it goes - thank you again for your advice! :)

 

~Alex

You're welcome. You should have no problem with the wet and dry in Oz. As regards satin varnish any good brand should do the trick but try on something that doesn't matter first. Good luck.

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If I could just echo what Rex has said about very fine wet and dry. 800 is very fine, but personally I use 1200 - and most importantly, use very little pressure and just let the friction of the wet and dry do the work.

 

Do try and get hold of some IPA though ( IsoPropyl Alcohol ). In England, most industrial chemists sell it and I am very fortunate that I have one in Macclesfield where I live. Costs me about £25 for 2 litres. It's so much better to use that than wet and dry, combined with a couple of cotton buds.

 

cheers

 

Andy

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Having renumbered a number of Bachamnn and Hornby locos of the same production era of the T9 all I have found to be necessary is either rubbing gently over the top with a toothpick (eventually the digit starts to break up from the friction and then dissolves into bits that can be wiped away) or a typists eraser pencil (although not the easiest thing to find these days).Presumably would work with the logos as well.

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Alex, IPA is available from compounding chemists but personally I use T-Cut from automotive parts stores. Gently rubbing with a toothpick will dissolve the decal without spoiling the paint. I don't use wet and dry for this sort of work but if you felt that you wanted to use an abrasive then a ladies' manicure polisher (if that's what they are called) is a handy tool. For varnish I use Wattyl's polyurethane spray but if you want to brush it on then many people down here use Testor's Dullcote.

 

Whereabouts are you? If you are getting serious about modelling UK railways have a look at www.brma.org.au.

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[penant alert] One does not remove tender crests from locos, one removes them from tenders.

 

Right, now I've got that off my chest, some printed crests may come off with warm water and a little persuasion from cotton wool.  The trick is to lift the crest without affecting the surface beneath.  When you replace them they will need sealing with varnish, and I use Tamiya acrylic semi-matt for this.  My layout, and it's work table, are in the bedroom and anything that includes fumes or paint/chemical odours is a no-no.

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I've renumbered several Bachmann locos using no more than Wilko turpintine substitute on a cotton bud, leaves a shiny patch but thats better for the new number/crest. On some locos with better print(stubborn) Tcut . Any abrasive only works if your surface is flat, mine rarely are.

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Hey everyone! Thanks for your advice. Sorry I haven't replied in a while, my laptop lately has seemed to have developed a distaste to my wifi at home :/

Anyway, "removing tender crests from a loco" sounded infinitely better than "removing tender crests from a tender", that's my reasoning for how I named this thread, but granted I do concede that I could've named it much better than I did.

 

Anyway, over the last weekend I got jumbled up between family commitments, work, uni and actually repainting parts of the house...so I haven't actually gotten on to experimenting with any potential methods for removal...I would ideally like to test any theories first on some old and outdated rolling stock I have lying around...so I'd like to be able to make sure I have everything to start with, and the time in which to do everything in. I thank you all very much for your advice, and the warm welcomes into the community. Keep being awesome guys :)

 

~Alex

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T cut or similar cutting compound as used to buff car paintwork applied using a cocktail stick gets my vote and far more gentle than wet n dry so likely to do less collateral damage.

 

It will leave a flat spot on the original finish that will need to be finished with a varnish to bring it back to the original finish. I use Johnsons Klear/Pledge which is a water based acrylic household polish. Not sure about Australia but the original formulation, which was transparent, is no longer available having been replaced with a more milky alternative.

 

Steve

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T cut or similar cutting compound as used to buff car paintwork applied using a cocktail stick gets my vote and far more gentle than wet n dry so likely to do less collateral damage.

 

It will leave a flat spot on the original finish that will need to be finished with a varnish to bring it back to the original finish. I use Johnsons Klear/Pledge which is a water based acrylic household polish. Not sure about Australia but the original formulation, which was transparent, is no longer available having been replaced with a more milky alternative.

 

Steve

Pledge One Go in Australia.

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Thank you all so much for taking the time to drop suggestions, and in a few cases, humorous comments, I really appreciate all of them :) I'm still learning how to use this site a little bit, so please don't mind me if I have any n00bish tendencies still. I'll do my best to correct any of them.

 

Have a great day everyone,

~Alex! :)

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  • 1 month later...

Yo

 

If I could just echo what Rex has said about very fine wet and dry. 800 is very fine, but personally I use 1200 - and most importantly, use very little pressure and just let the friction of the wet and dry do the work.

 

Do try and get hold of some IPA though ( IsoPropyl Alcohol ). In England, most industrial chemists sell it and I am very fortunate that I have one in Macclesfield where I live. Costs me about £25 for 2 litres. It's so much better to use that than wet and dry, combined with a couple of cotton buds.

 

cheers

 

Andy

Electronic switch cleaner cleaner IPA is often "with water"  (w/w) so not 100% and does not work too well. It absorbs water from the air so always close the lid. You can get 99.9% online for ~£6.33/Litre freepost and does not remove rivet detail like wet and dry paper will. Always check solvency on an unseen area first to ensure you don't make an unintended mess of the plastic model or paint finish. You often have to rub quite hard and flood a fair amount of IPA around (leave for a few minutes to soften the paint) to get a result. Underneath any decal/legend it may often be shiny (ok for new decal?) and rubbing will polish the area a little so a refinish will be necessary.

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