Removing lettering without damage

[pete12345]

I've got a stock of older Hornby coaches- GWR and LNER. Being the previous generation, the only seating coaches available were a composite and a brake end. So, given that they aren't perfectly accurate anyway, I thought of altering a couple to make a passable all-third. They also have the same numbers so it would be nice to change that.

So, how is best to remove the original numbers and the "1" from the doors? I might just repaint some GW coaches into blood+custard, but as far as I can gather the ex-LNER Gresleys stayed teak for longer so I'll settle for renumbering them.

[Bigmet]

If you are leaving the Gresley's in 'teak', just scrape them off by gently dragging a really sharp curved edge scalpel blade over them in the 'grain' direction. Yes, that will damage the finish. But if you look at colour pictures of teak coaches in service, you will see both how tatty they could look, and also how variable in finish, both coach to coach and within a coach. If you can find a copy, 'The Big Four in Colour 1935 - 50' will show you so much; on this and a vast range of other topics.

Hornby's rather bland and uniform treatment on their first Gresley coaches is well short of any reality! A little paint of choice for a recently repaired panel, or even a completely recently overhauled coach in a slightly more orange brown tone will fix it. If you like doing that sort of thing!

[stuartp]

If they are the old Gresleys now in the Railroad range then I think they are self-coloured plastic and you can use T-cut or possibly meths to get the printed numbers off.

If they are the more recent superdetailed ones with the teak finish painted/printed on then then what Bigmet said. Dont press on, just let the weight of the scalpel blade do the work.

[pete12345]

If you are leaving the Gresley's in 'teak', just scrape them off by gently dragging a really sharp curved edge scalpel blade over them in the 'grain' direction. Yes, that will damage the finish. But if you look at colour pictures of teak coaches in service, you will see both how tatty they could look, and also how variable in finish, both coach to coach and within a coach. If you can find a copy, 'The Big Four in Colour 1935 - 50' will show you so much; on this and a vast range of other topics.

Hornby's rather bland and uniform treatment on their first Gresley coaches is well short of any reality! A little paint of choice for a recently repaired panel, or even a completely recently overhauled coach in a slightly more orange brown tone will fix it. If you like doing that sort of thing!

I was thinking a coat of varnish or light brown wash might improve the appearance, as well as cover up any slight damage following de-numbering. But it would need to be pale enough not to cover the lettering which is to stay.