Please leave the old lettering in place, and paint over it. The old letters will still be there, perhaps to be uncovered in the future.
We had a similar experience on RGS Motor No. 4. We had the old lead-based paint professionally sandblasted. My time lapse video showed old lettering appearing and vanishing as the sanding progressed. A trimmed panel on the old freight box, with lettering "Gran", was repositioned over the old freight doors on the right side, then painted over.
The video exists on my computer. The historic letters are gone.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/16/2015 06:59PM by Rgsgoose4.