Question regarding painting RTR models.

[OnTheBranchline]

Hello everyone,

 

I have a question regarding painting and RTR models. Do you need to strip the paint off of the RTR model or can you simply paint over the existing paint job?

 

I hope this is not a silly question.

 

Thank you in advance.

[Jeff Smith]

I converted a black Bachmann 57xx to a London Transport version. It did not occur to me to strip the factory paint. I removed the handrail and brush painted using Testors Acryl acrylic paint, applied transfers and then a coat of semi-gloss varnish.

[blueeighties]

At the very least, any numbers,logos or other markings need to be removed, and the shell then given a good rub down with wet n dry to key the surface for new paint adhesion. I generally prefer to strip back to bare plastic.

[Daddyman]

If you don't strip and then use masking tape between two colours that you apply, the masking tape may lift your paint away from the RTR paint when you pull the tape away. Hence the last poster's suggestion of rubbing down the whole model, but that isn't practical with most models - coaches will have hinges that hinder this, diesels will have grilles, and steam locos will have all sorts of things that get in the way. 

 

If you are repainting a loco just one colour - black, say - then I wouldn't strip the RTR paint as the masking issue will not affect you, and all you need to do is rub down the markings (as said in the last post). I use 1200 or 1500 wet-and-dry from Halfords for this, and a good tip I picked up from Ian Rathbone is to keep a little box full of nearly worn-out wet-and-dry pieces a centimetre or two square to use for just this job (when it's worn it's much gentler and you won't scratch the model surface). 

[Graham456]

I noticed plenty of people are recommending keying the old paint by the use of fine abrasive, but don't forget to degrease the surface befour painting, then it will stick!

[Jeff Smith]

A fibreglass brush is a good substitute for wet and dry. It will gently remove markings and provide a good key. I probably did that with mine but unfortunately can't remember as it was sometime ago.

[John Tomlinson]

I'd concur with Graham in #5 above.

 

Paint won't stick properly on anything if the surface isn't clean. It might be a bit over the top, but my own method is to wash anything I'm intending to paint in warm water and kitchen cleaner such as Jif or Cif which is very mildly abrasive, using a soft half inch paint brush to get in the nooks and crannies without being too brutal. This is followed by rinsing in clean water and allowing to dry naturally. I do all this wearing gloves, the cheap disposable jobs from a supermarket are fine, and I don't touch the work again until after spraying. I've found it difficult to apply masking wearing gloves, but nonetheless try to do this with as little greasy fingered contact as possible.

 

There is nothing more annoying than removing masking tape and bringing off the paint underneath at the same time - its back to square one and all ones previous effort is wasted, hence the relative paranoia!

 

John.