question on painted numbers

[Joe in Colorado]

Hello members-I'm expecting to receive an 06 Eagle with some white marking fill, which I personally don't care for.
I have a 3 day inspection period with the pistol.
I don't know what was used for the white fill-how can I safely remove unknown white marking fill?
Does the white letter fill sometimes damage the finish underneath?
Will I mess up the original finish if I try to remove the fill?
Thank you, Joe.

[DonVoigt]

Originally Posted by Joe in Colorado

Hello members-I'm expecting to receive an 06 Eagle with some white marking fill, which I personally don't care for.
I have a 3 day inspection period with the pistol.
Don't remove during the inspection.
I don't know what was used for the white fill-how can I safely remove unknown white marking fill? I would use paint thinner, or acetone.
Does the white letter fill sometimes damage the finish underneath?
No
Will I mess up the original finish if I try to remove the fill?
Well that would depend on how you do it! The solvents above won't affect rust or hot blue, but if it has any paint on it- it will be removed also.
Thank you, Joe.

See above comments.

And enjoy your new, old AE.

[Olle]

Originally Posted by Joe in Colorado

Hello members-I'm expecting to receive an 06 Eagle with some white marking fill, which I personally don't care for.
I have a 3 day inspection period with the pistol.
I don't know what was used for the white fill-how can I safely remove unknown white marking fill?
Does the white letter fill sometimes damage the finish underneath?
Will I mess up the original finish if I try to remove the fill?
Thank you, Joe.

As Don said, solvents (acetone, lacquer thinner, paint thinner, alcohol etc) won't hurt the finish. I usually use acetone, it will dissolve just about anything you will encounter. Some kinds (like wax crayon) can even be dissolved with WD-40. Just dab it on with a q-tip, wipe off, dab on some more until it's gone. In deep stamps you may need to help it a bit with a brush, a glue brush (aka acid brush) with the bristles cut short works well for this.

You may want to remove the grips before you do it though, you don't want to get any solvent on them!