I appreciate your sharing this information Allen.

FYI for those working on TLT 1937 AAR boxcar models, several of us working with the TLT models have found that the orange-based, white coloured, pumice-filled hand cleansers available from automotive stores work great at removing the lettering with no fuss. These cleansers have a goopy consistency that allows one to place a drop on a specific letter, without it spreading to other parts of the car as a liquid would - and so you can easily avoid damage to other lettering. After 5 or 10 or 15 minutes, depending on the amount of material to be lifted, it scrubs away with almost no pressure using a soft watercolour paint brush. A rinse under the tap and the car is ready to decal.

I noticed that the treatment did cause a bit of increased lustre to the paint finish where the lettering was removed. But that was of no consequence once the car was lettered, weathered and dullcoated. This feature was great for removing the unwanted CN on the door, and for changing car numbers and re-weigh dates. I was able to select one or two digits on the car number, remove those and re-letter with Black Cat decals to allow multiple other road numbers.

I do hope that as True Line learns this business and (in my opinion) continues to incrementally improve its products from one project to the next, they continue to use this same paint/ink for the lettering. In fact, I'd like it if every manufacturer would learn that secret and follow suit!

Rob Kirkham



Rob Kirkham