Expert: William J Perkins - 2/25/2009

Question
bill, i know you restore many clocks to museum peices,so i hope you can help me. has a nice red finish around the top and bottom, but someone wanted to paint the front & sides, even some glass on the face. now my question, what can i use to get the paint off, without destroying the whole finish. hope you can help me thanks chuck

Answer
Oh Boy!  It is always bad news to find paint on Adamentine.  First of all there are so damned many different paints.  Before one can begin to remove paint, the very first thing that must be done is to identify the paint type, then determine the correct remover.  Often time this can be a vexing problem.  In the dim past I would have gone to a good painter for advice.  My experiences with going this route were not good.  While painters frequently can provide information as to the indentity of the type of paint and routine removal, they know nothing about the properties of Adamentine, nor how to guard against damage through use of their recommended remover.  Early on I learned to heed the advice of museum curators as to possible sources to resolve such dilemmas.  To assist you I would need to see the material myself and if necessary, perform analysis.  Since that is not an option, the best I can do is to refer you to the following web site; <home.earthlink.net/atmosman/earthftp.html> click on item 10 from the resulting index, i.e. The repair of the Adamentine Case Finish.  I Wish you luck, regards WJP