Removing markings in British N…

I was interested to experiment and see if my methods for working on North American H0 scale rolling stock can be transferred to British examples, in this case in N on a recently purchased Graham Farish PCA...

In my experiments to date it seems to work on any 'non-white' markings. It will remove pretty much all the original marking with repeated application but the underlying paint may have absorbed some of the colour (as in this case). The approach is very simple. You will need:

1. Microscale 'Micro-sol' liquid
2. A paint brush
3. A small piece of tissue cut to cover the marking you wish to remove
4. Tweezers
5. Scotch Magic Tape
6. A stop watch

Brush some Micro-sol onto the marking you wish to remove. Place the tissue over the marking. Add more Micro-sol to the tissue to ensure it's well soaked. Set a timer for 5 minutes. If the tissue dries out add a little more Micro-sol.

After the timer has run, remove the tissue (carefully with tweezers, you'll need it again shortly) and dab the marking dry. Apply a piece of Scotch Magic Tape over the marking, making sure the piece has no finger prints on. Burnish over the marking (this means rub with a blunt tool, the end of the tweezer might suffice, don't scratch the tape or the model underneath). Peel off the tape. Repeat.

In my Graham Farish Blue Circle cement PCA example here it took four applications to remove the markings, as evidenced in the four bits of tape above. You can vary the look, to represent peeling or faded markings by stopping short of complete removal (like I've done on the Winchester and Western wagons or Wisconsin Central diesel previously). The residue of paint marking that sits in the grey paint of the tank can either be left and weathered over, or gently brushed with some IPA and wiped clean. IPA should dissolve the grey paint, so don't linger. Just a brush should be enough to remove the discolouration.

This non-destructive method has application on locomotive numbers (as I say, sadly it doesn't work on white numbers) and it's quite a gentle solution so doesn't damage the underlying paint. It should work on Railfreight grey locomotives for example, or even EWS markings. I look forward to hearing how you get on with the method, any questions please feel free to leave them here and I'll do my best to answer them. Until next time, more soon...