Is it varnish? Can I remove it??

SteamPig · Is it varnish? Can I remove it??

When I washed off the Bowman 265 I bought recently, parts of the LMS red paint-work went opalescent, mostly clearing when it dried off.

When I took acetone to the tender of my BL enterprise to remove some particularly nasty rubbery muck that had been slapped over some scrapes, it revealed shining paint around the scrape, then a cloudy ring, then the dingy paint I was used too.

This suggests to me that the models were varnished over their paintwork, and possibly that the general dinginess and surface distress might be the varnish letting go, with better condition paint underneath.

Wondering if anyone has successfully removed such to reveal brighter paint, and if so how. An issue that stopped me just wiping the whole BL tender over with acetone is the possibility that it might remove detailing paint/transfers too. Anyone know of a solvent specific to these varnishes?

MrDuck

Usually lacquered, yes. Acetone? I would suggest something a bit milder.

ian.allen2

Acetone (aka nail polish remover) is like thinners, can strip back to bare metal.

Dean W

Acetone is a regular paint thinner, and will take paint right off.
For lacquer, naphtha is a common thinner.
For shellac, denatured alcohol.

I would suggest that you do not use strong solvents to clean painted parts.

SteamPig

Thanks for that.

Acetone certainly did a good job on the sticky muck, although the enamel beneath seemed to withstand my onslaught and came up with a shine.

I'll try meths, then petrol (Britspeak for denatured alcohol and gasoline). I'm supposing the latter might be a substitute for naptha - am I right in believing that to be generic Coleman's 'white gas' fuel?

If meths does shift it, the "slather the boiler in meths and put a match to it" burner-lighting technique might not be a good idea for the older locomotive.

Dean W

longbowman

Another tactic is to use CLOUDY AMMONIA. It is a strong very smelly cleaner and will dissolve old varnish. The trick is to slosh it on( Done outside!!) then rinse quickly with lots of water, preferably a hose. It is easier to do several quick applications than one long application which may rip off the paint!!
It does not work on modern paint.
It is a bit radical! You have been warned!
Steve
ps. I was introduced to this by an antique dealer friend sloshing it onto blackened ancient oil portraits and seeing them reappear. Left too long and the portraits were ruined!
pps I think this was smelling salts!?

SteamPig

I have a vague recollection that cloudy ammonia is ammonia dissolved in a sugar-soap solution - seriously caustic, if so.