How can one eliminate an engravement on a Gold Pan Chassis

[DAS100]

I must have been going through a dumb phase in the early 90's. First I totally strip down a RC-10 buggy down to every nut bolt and screw for no reason at all, and next I engraved my initials and Social Security Number on the side of the Gold Pan. Is there a good way to eliminate this engravement? It was done with one of those vibrating engravement pens. Barely made it through the Gold anodized material. I've enclosed a pic.

The pic just shows my initials (DAS) but beyone my initials would be my SS number which you can't see. ( I'm smarter now, then what I was back in the early 90's )

[RedScampi]

Well, if you want to preserve the original finish you might be out of luck. An option is to fill, sand and repaint, or as I would reccomend, powdercoat if you are going to run it. Here's a product from a gal I know that does powdercoating:

I have had really great luck with a metal filler Permatex makes though. I can't find it locally but CaswellPlating.com has it for $12 (+ $8 for S&H). It's called "High Temp Metal Filler." Originally formulated for exhaust leaks, it's good to 2000 degrees -- perfect for powder coating -- and is very easy to work with, sandable, grindable, and gets even harder when it's baked. The only thing I don't like about it is that it comes in a little blister tube with a cutoff tab that isn't resealable, so it dries up pretty quickly.

Hope that helps!

[soniccj5]

You would loose the finish, but I am sure you can sand it down until the initials are gone.

[scr8p]

put a decal over it.

[rctenracer]

If you don't plan on selling it just use it as is. Other than that sand it out and have it re anodized or powder coated.

[jwscab]

yeah, think of it as a tattoo now. Maybe you can scratch it into a different shape of some sort.

Or....add more scratches so it's unreadable, and then hit it with yellow/orange sharpie markers. That should make it less noticable.

[shodog]

I'd keep it as is. That's your buggy and you know it cause you marked it just like andy marked woody and buzz in toy story. Shoot I wish that I had even one of my buggies from back in the day. Really it's not that noticable. On one of mine it is, do you think Matt misses his car?

[Brandon G]

put a decal over it.

Ha ha.... X2

The long black AE decal on both sides of the chassis would work nicely.

[DAS100]

That's funny Shodog.

Thanks for your advise, I think I'll leave the mark alone for the time being. Maybe cover it up with a decal, (thanks scr8p for the suggestion) so I can take photos of the car.

Maybe in the future I might sand down that part of the side of the chassis that has the mark on it, and do the samething on the other side, and then buff and polish the parts sanded, so the part sanded on both sides of the chassis looks like chrome. I think it would be rather attractive, and in the future if it's decided to restore the chassis to it's orginal condition, it should be just as easy to do it after this modification as before I made it (as it would have to be re-anodized to remove the few scratches that are on the chassis). What do you think?

I believe this RC-10 is a 6016 model.

[DAS100]

If I use a decal, it would be one that is easily replaceable.

[Kayne]

I'd keep it as is. That's your buggy and you know it cause you marked it just like andy marked woody and buzz in toy story. Shoot I wish that I had even one of my buggies from back in the day. Really it's not that noticable. On one of mine it is, do you think Matt misses his car?

Nice shodog. I kept looking at that when it was for sale. I wanted it bad since my name is Matt. I just couldn't justify the funds for it since I was spending money on other things.

[SteveK]

put a decal over it.

Ha ha.... X2

The long black AE decal on both sides of the chassis would work nicely.

I have been leafing through a bunch of mid 90's RCCAs lately, putting decals all over the chassis was big then LOL Especially the Losi guys. They would actually stamp 'GRAPHITE' on said parts.

[tamiyadan]

.

[DAS100]

Yup. If I ever get rid of the tub, I'll make sure those numbers are permanently removed.

Some here in the USA, might remember that at one time, at least in some cities, you were encouraged to engrave your name and your Driver's License, on anything of value. Then becasue your Driver's License number may have changed overtime, people were told to use their Social Security Number instead.

[SteveK]

You mean that nine-digit number that isn't supposed to be used as a form of identity verification except for Social Security purposes, but that virtually everybody requires to do anything? And to think people are MORE worried about some sort of national ID number program like the kind used in most other first-world countries.

Anyways, maybe go retro and cut the edges of the chassis down to lower than the height of the engraving. You can always run braces down the length of the chassis to stiffen it up.