Orange paint removal

The tried and true solvent of choice for most old-timers has been Testor's Enamel Thinner, # 1148. Some also use fingernail polish remover (acetone -- CAUTION, under NO circumstance should you use laboratory-grade acetone, as it will literally EAT THROUGH the polymer plastics used on these replicas).

Other solvents have also been tried, and I would highly encourage you to use the "search" feature on the www.airsoftzone.com Forums to find out what other methods there are.

Much of the same procedures and solvents can be used to "recover" trademarks that have been obliterated with modeling putty.

One key item to remember is that most of these solvents are organic -- and that they will NOT mix with water (i.e. think of Italian salad dressing) -- therefore, you CANNOT "dilute" down the solution with water. Any such claims are bogus.

Finally, you'll find that depending on which retailer you obtain your replica from, and the actual "finish" of the replica (i.e. the Western Arms silver or "INOX" finish very much resists orange muzzle paint, and can be restored simply by picking at it with your fingernails), the level of difficulty of removing the muzzle paint and/or restoring the trademarks will vary greatly (hell, some retailers only use electrical tape over the trademarks -- RISKY for importation, as those items can thus be legally seized, but hey, it saves you a lot of work later). As another example, much of the items exported by STTI of Taiwan (Kuan Ju Works products) actually have the muzzle orange "baked on" to the finish of the gun, making it all but IMPOSSIBLE to remove without damage to the piece.