How to remove varnish ?

[Philippe DB]

Hi Guys,

Maybe not the appropriate forum but since it is badge related I thought I might get the best respons here.

I have an IAB in white metall that at one time (not by me) was sprayed with clear varnish. Do any of you guys know a way or have experience with removing varnish without damaging the badge.

Thanks in advance

KR
Philippe

[Luftm40]

Acetone will take it right off, and should leave the finish unharmed. Ladies finger nail polish remover is a watered down version of acetone and is a little less harsh...

[mads]

I used something called "White Spirit" here in Norway once..worked great.

Mads

[MH184]

Thinners is also good.......but I'd leave it alone you'll probably do more harm than good at the end of the day Phil.

Kr

Marcus

[Don D.]

Acetone might be a bit too harsh. Try denatured alcohol first, and start with the back no matter what you do.

Don

Acetone will take it right off, and should leave the finish unharmed. Ladies finger nail polish remover is a watered down version of acetone and is a little less harsh...

[skip]

Waschbenzin. But don´t ask my what it is in english. You use it to take stains out of clothes before washing them. Ask the Wife.

Skip

[Yannis]

It depends if you know what type of varnish it is.

If acrylic based alcohol might do the trick, if enamel based Model Paint Thinner ( a more "gentle" form of White spirit) will do it. Those two do not harm metal, as far as I know. You could also try clorene (the household type), but I have never used it on metals so I do not know if it affects them but I think not.

I think it would be best to try using those plastic sticks with cotton ends to do the job.

All the best
Yannis

[keifer kahn]

Phillipe,

Acetone is good for removing varnish but you need to determine the what the actual finish on the badge is.
If it is metal based like the silver used in brennlak finishes(metal laqeur),then acetone wont hurt it as the actual silver is metal.
But if it is a late war badge,and the finish is actually paint,then acetone will definately remove it.

The problem with acetone,is that not all acetone is the same.It varys in concentration and solution between brand name and type.Some are very harsh,some are milder.Some are oil based,which is real bad on period enamel paint.
So unless you can determine what the actual finish is,i would probaly leave it alone.

[Philippe DB]

Hi guys,

Thanks for all the input, much appreciated.

It's indeed a bit a a dilemma. Leave it like it is or try to get the varnish off.

It's in fact an early hollow white metall badge that received a delicated white silver finish. However based upon what I can see through the varnish most of that finish was probablty already gone.

These white metall badges even without finish have a very bright silver look , being the polished base metal but this isn't the case with this example. The varnish somehow gives it a dull look and my only reason for removig the varnish was in fact exposing the original bright base metall again.

Well I give it some more consideration and when I decided to remove it I'll make sure to show you the results.

KR
Philippe