What grade of sandpaper?

Just use a scotch brite pad eh  

Which aluminum cars are you planning to repaint?  I ask because the Illinois Central and NYC cars' striping is not paint; it's similar to pinstriping applied to autos and it will need to be removed prior to painting.

Carl,

I'm repainting two TCA cars that are like the MPC Illinois Central cars. I am ware that the strips on the IC cars are tape. In fact I am repainting the TCA cars to match the MPC Illinois Central cars. I have the yellow tape for the stripes.

Thank you for your reply!

Rockyroad, when I had my HD Electra Glide repainted, the painter told me to "rough up" the very good original paint finish with a 3M product, "Final Stripping Pad," p/n 10113NA.  Available at any auto parts store.  The packaging says it replaces "0" steel wool.

Also, good timing on your project; I'm just starting one of my own to make a GN Empire Builder train using postwar Lionel F3 AA chassis, repro cabs, and smooth-sided LIONEL aluminum, 15" cars, one of which is the TCA full dome coach. 

Just be real careful whatever you use. A ScotchBrite or the 3M pad (I have never used so can't say it's OK) would be best. Never use 'sandpaper' on aluminum as a prep step. Also make sure and degrease them before paint or it make come off after a year or so. If you have a food dehydrator I'd bake on the finish too.....I do that with ALL my repaints. 

Rockyroad, more irony of a sort; two of the cars I'm repainting are IC diner and observation cars.  They'll look good in GN EB livery.

Very nice, Dave.

400 wet/dry paper

Thanks for all the replies and info.

Carl: the two TCA cars I'm repainting are the mail car and the duplex sleeper. 

I'll look into the 3M pad. I currently have a "No" scratch Scotch Brite pad and a "Light Duty" pad. I also have some 400 wet/dry paper that I will give try. Guess the main thing is to use light pressure to prevent deep scratching.

If you are going to use 400 wet/dry for sure use very light pressure.  I was just using some to remove some mold marks from some '80's F3A cabs and that did not require much pressure to accomplish.

I'd like to find an inexpensive RPO TCA car in the $50 range as I was able to do with several other TCA cars from that set.  I actually found a use for the Skytop lounge car of all things.

Good luck with your project.

I use these for alot of painting projects they get in the nooks and cranies not like sandpaper come in different grades fine xfine med coarse etc

Chester,

Do you have a larger picture of the Scotch Brite boxes...I'm having a hard time reading the last two boxes.

Where do you buy them...the only Scotch Brite pads I can find are in the super market.

Thanks for sharing your info.

They sell them here at menards ,home depot,Lowes, Fleet Farm, Farm Fleet etc  in the same isle as sand paper or by the automotive section where there is body repair items 

The last two boxes are Norton brand

Amazon has them too from ultra fine to coarse