Sewar painted black

[Henk]

I picked up a sewar. The blade, hilt and the upper part of the scabbard are painted with black paint. The paint is quite fresh. I cann still smell it.
What is a good and secure way to remove the paint?

[Atlantia]

Originally Posted by Henk

I picked up a sewar. The blade, hilt and the upper part of the scabbard are painted with black paint. The paint is quite fresh. I cann still smell it.
What is a good and secure way to remove the paint?

Hi Henk,
What type of paint do you think it is?

Cheap paint stripper (caustic soda type) should take it off of the blade without incident.

But what's the handle made of?
Paint stripper will completely remove the patina from wood, and probobly from horn.
I'd try carefully flaking it off of the hilt if possible.
Post some pics, might make the problem clearer.

[Battara]

You could also soak the blade in acetone.

Boy crap like that burns my butter!

[Rick]

Start with Mineral Spirits or pure Alcohol .
If no response, then look at more agressive solvents.

[KuKulzA28]

one man's trash is another's treasure...
...and a man's treasure is another man's trash

The painter probably didn't value it at all

best of luck on the removal!

[Henk]

Would like to thank you all for your remarks and support.

Atlantia,
The hilt is as far as i can see now from wood and i think the paint is an acryl based paint. But i'm not a painter so it is a guess. I will post some pictures.

Rick,
I tried to whipe with a cloth and spirits. It is working and i think it is the mildest way to clean it. I'm only afraid it will take some evenings to get rid of the paint. Nice job fot the comming winter .Or should i soak it in a bath?

Kukulza, you are awfully right.

[Rick]

Okay, looks like nice progress has been made .

You may want to consider just how clean it should be for its age .

Do you plan to give the blade a soak to remove the rust ?

[Atlantia]

If its acrylic paint you should be able to flake it off of the surface of the wood with your finger nail without too much loss of patina.

[Henk]

Rick,

It depends how much rust is left. Actually i want to get rid of all the paint. In my opinion it is done by the previous owner out of greed, because i bought it at an auction house. It didn't work because i bought it for fish and chips.
Can you give me a hint how to work it out? Would like to do it as natural as possible.

Atlantia,
I cann't flake it off with my fingernail. Man, wished that was true...... Suppose the paint is a bit different, but removable.

[Atlantia]

Originally Posted by Henk

Rick,

It depends how much rust is left. Actually i want to get rid of all the paint. In my opinion it is done by the previous owner out of greed, because i bought it at an auction house. It didn't work because i bought it for fish and chips.
Can you give me a hint how to work it out? Would like to do it as natural as possible.

Atlantia,
I cann't flake it off with my fingernail. Man, wished that was true...... Suppose the paint is a bit different, but removable.

On the metal TBH any chemical method within 'sensible reason' will 'melt' the paint before it touches the steel.
The wood is a very different matter. The 'patina' is made up of dirt/dust and skin grease combined with gentle compression of the wood fibres.
So, it's a case of how deeply/if the paint has seeped through this coating on the wood.
Acrylic tends to sit on the surface (if the surface is non porous) because it is water based. So the lack of solvents means it's often fairly easy to remove. The greasey coating acts as a barrier to the water based paint soaking in.

An oil based paint will be more of a problem.

On the upside, whatever the offending paint is, it IS black! So some faint traces in the deeper crevasses won't matter too much.

So, first try scraping it off with something slightly softer than the old wood of the hilt and harder than the paint. Like your finger nail.
If you are really getting nowhere with that, then the next phase is to chemically remove it.
So, Ricks suggestion would be first then Battaras, gradually trying harsher chemicals until something starts to move it. After those mentioned I'd go for turps or white spirit.
but as a word of caution, a dryer approach is best so you can control the chemicals dissolving the surface. A small amount of the chemical on a cloth and wiping the surface to get a black stain is preferable to soaking and getting it bubbling off. So basically not wet. just damp, so it never goes further than you want.
Now, whatever seems to work, use until you are getting somewhere, then make it more of a chore by lessening the surface area of the wiping until you are down to using cotton buds/Q-tips.
Basically, if you're using a solvent to remove the paint then it'll remove the patina as well,s o don't go over any area more than you have to.

[Robert]

Hello Henk, If the paint still has a strong smell it is still fresh. If you are married, try using using some of your wifes fingernail polish remover. I have used this before with pretty good success. It is mild enough that it doesn't seem to bother the patina of the wood. Hope this is of some help.

Robert

[Rick]

The entire blade is painted ?

One might want to consider that what is now seen as black paint may be either very old varnish or shellac used by collectors as a preservative .

Just a thought .

For the blade use a strong stripper or acetone .

[Atlantia]

As a final note, if using pure acetone or anything containing caustic soda (like paint/varnish stripper) then it goes without saying to avoid direct exposure to flesh

With anything containing caustic soda (especially if you're mixing from granuals) don't breathe the fumes in too much either.

And with caustic soda, warmer=stronger. Apply with a brush, not a rag.
wash off, wear gloves, avoid splashes, in a ventilated area or outside.

[Maurice]

Hello Henk,

I hate it when this happens.
I had the same on a moro kris, but only on the blade.
I removed the paint/varnish with pure aceton, and was not carefull to put it on the blade also. I rubbed it in with a lot of aceton and fine steel wool (first try to use a copper cleaning net instead of steel wool, and if you haven't got that, let me know and I could sent you some, but you could easily can get it everywhere I guess).
After the acetontreatment I cleaned it with water, and than I degreased it with lemon, cleaned it again with water, and than gave it a slight etch with vinegar.

The aceton didn't hurt the blade at all, and after the etching the blade looks great.

If you can't remove the black paint in any way from the wood, I would prefer sandpaper it and than treat it with some kind of varnish (antique varnish), to try and similate to get the old look back.
But that would be the last step to do, and still be better as this black paint in my opinion.

Good luck with the cleaning!
Maurice

[Henk]

Rick, it isn't varnish or shellac. The smell of paint is obvious. If it was only the blade i could imagine it was done as an act of protection. But also the hilt and the upper part of the scabbard gives me doubt about the true reason.

Atlantia, I wil use the damp method. I always want to do the things careful and with ltc.

Robert, I'm married, but decided it was safer to rob my daughter from her fingernail polish remover and tested it. Seems to work well. To keep the peace with my daughter i will buy the remover and cotton buds myself.

Maurice, with the help and advice of everybody here and little tests with the non agresive methods, i think with some work it should work to get rid of the paint. And as Atlantia said the paint is black so the remains in the little deeper crevasses can give a rather natural look.
When i cleaned the blade i will give it an etch for a more natural look.

[Sajen]

Henk,

I have a Sewar in my collection where is the down of the sheat is original painted black and it may be possible that the upper part of your Sewar have had original a black paint. So be careful by removing the fresh paint.

Detlef

[Henk]

Detlef,

Thank you for the warning. I started with the fingernail polish remover this afternoon. I bought the remover and cotton buds by myself and it is mine. When i'm finished i will give it to my daughter.
It looks i have removed most of the paint. The wood of the hilt and the upper part of the scabbard are of a lacquered dark wood with spurs of wearing. If i have time to spare i will do the blade in the weekend. It is pitted and a bit rusty. it looks i will end up with a nice sewar.

[kai]

Hello Henk,

Thanks for rescuing this survivor!

The blade can use a prolonged soak in pineapple juice - this will help cleaning off the rust as well as remaining paint.

Better don't try sandpaper on such a pitted blade. This tends to look weird with smooth and rough surfaces along the blade.

Regards,
Kai

[Sajen]

Here a picture of the black painted Sewar sheath tip.

[BigG]

Originally Posted by Maurice

Hello Henk,

... I would prefer sandpaper it and than treat it with some kind of varnish (antique varnish), to try and similate to get the old look back... But that would be the last step to do... Maurice

Have tried this before... I have a significant space constraint n kids... so using powerful chemicals is a nono in the house... if normal paint thinner cant do it I'll try carefully thats it... sand papering starts n I would slowly strip it down being careful to ensure that the form is not lost wth a good sand paper... then when I have cleared the paint... will give it a gd multiple treatment of wood oil before applying shellac... I shelac to thicker lackers...

[Henk]

Kai, you're welcome. No, certainly no sandpaper. I would in this case ruin the entire piece. I'm not so fond of sandpaper, because you whipe out a great part of history. I only wanted to remove the paint and that worked rather well with the nailpolish remover. I will try this weekend to see if i can get the grain of the wood better, but i won't use agressive stuff on it. Not necessary at all. And i will soke the blade in the juice to clean it off rust and the paint remains.
That will do better justice to the blade.

BigG, I also prefer natural ways in cleaning. Lemon- and pineapplejuice give very good results on blades. And for wood i also try to avoid agressive chemicals. Take your time. Bringing back an abused piece is fun and makes the piece more valueable in my opinion. Emotionaly not in value. When using agressive chemicals always keep in mind, when something is gone it will never come back.

Sajen, such a tip is often painted. Always study and look at comparable pieces before jumping in and discover you wiped something out that should be there. The hilt and scabbard top of my sewar was maid of a nice dark wood. The black paint shouldnt be there.
Btw, I have a sewar with a similar tip. Also black painted.

[BigG]

Originally Posted by Henk

...And for wood i also try to avoid agressive chemicals. Take your time. Bringing back an abused piece is fun and makes the piece more valueable in my opinion. Emotionaly not in value. When using agressive chemicals always keep in mind, when something is gone it will never come back...

Henk... that sentiment is something I respect...