So I’m stripping this baby who’s varnish was crackling terribly. The problem is, nothing will take the paint off. The crackling varnish softened up and peeled like dried glue, and some very small spots of paint came off. Now I’m trying to get the rest of the paint off and it just won’t budge I tried thinner, then alcohol, and then I tried…acetone. I’m well aware that’s a no no, but nothing was working. If 100% acetone won’t work, will anything? Any ideas?
I re-did a baby for someone and had to use acetone. The paint was very thick and I swear they used boat varnish to seal it. Even with acetone it took a lot of work to get that stuff off. I had to let the acetone sit on the surface for a few minutes before scrubbing at it. When I got closer to the beginning layers I washed the acetone off and finished removing it with Windsor and Newton. It did eventually all come off. What did you varnish with?
This is a baby I got secondhand. I don’t know what she was varnished or painted with. I love the kit (15” ofelia by Olga Auer). Maybe I’ll try to let the acetone sit like you did.
Ofelia’s really cute. Her artist might have used what’s called an isolation layer. It’s a non-removable substance that separates the paint from removable varnish. Be careful with the acetone because it can melt the vinyl. Any chance you can repair the small areas where the paint came off instead of stripping everything?
Sometimes comet or Ajax will get it off with a microfiber cloth.
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Windsor & Newton Brush Cleaner & Restorer
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