Model Railway Forum

Hello everyone,
How can I remove decals from a Hornby 0-4-0 steam loco ? Is it easy for a newbie ? Does it leave a shadow behind on the paintwork ? Thanks for your help.

I don't know the R number we have here but I think the detail is printed and and this printing is very hard to remove. I would suggest getting a paint which matches the loco and painting the panel. I would suggest rubbing down the area to be painted (with very very fine wet and dry. Wet Rub) or you may be able to see the raised printing showing under the painted finish. Black is an easy colour to match the hard bit is getting lustier to match. It looks like satin finish.

Thanks for your reply. It's a R3292.

I am sure that would be printed. It was the collectors club model for 2014. So I would pain over and apply what decals you want on the cab. You could try using cotton buds and metal polish or car rubbing down compound.

Thanks. So I can't remove it. Good to know.

I believe T-cut or Brasso and a wooden cocktail stick will do the trick but it takes time. I’ve seen meths mentioned and somebody said they just use a cocktail stick on its own. It would appear you are spoilt for choice.

Thanks for your very helpful reply.

I have removed this printing from Hornby models before using using metal polish or car rubbing down paste (same sort of thing ) with cocktail stick or cotton bud but it has always spoilt the paint finish leaving it shiny. And if you look at the lining, it is a large area to clean up. Which is fine if you are covering the area with another decal. I got the impression you wanted it left Black. If that is the case you will still need paint.
Maybe I am not very good at it and others have had better results.

I have only ever re-numbered one loco and used T Cut polishing compound to remove the numbers. And yes it polished the satin finish to a ‘lovely’ gloss - but that is exactly what the product was designed to do!
I got round it by carefully spraying the area with satin varnish once the decal had dried.

Sorry Steve about that yes vanish forgot to mention varnish. I had a bad experience with varnish once. I used Humbrol satin acrylic varnish and it dried white mist all over it. Ruined the job So avoid using that stuff. I tossed that tender top in the bin and bought another new one.