Removing Lacquer from Silver?

[FortHill]

I acquired a silver item that has been lacquered. Some of it peeled off the bottom, but how can I remove the rest? The item is repousse, so I suspect a chemical rather than mechanical means will be required.

Thank you,
Joseph
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[admin]

I have found that commercial acetone, straight from the hardware or paint store, used with cotton wadding, works well at removal of lacquer and some other applied finishes. Follow up the stripping with a standard hand polish.

note - make sure to follow the safety instructions on the container of any chemical substance

mechanical means of finish removal or polishing are really best avoided on any silver or silverplate surface.

Regards, Tom
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[FortHill]

Thanks. I first tried some alcohol, since this item was probably used as a dresser jar, and I thought it may have been cosmetics residue, but no luck. I could flake the lacquer off the bottom with my fingernail, but not all the relief. I didn't want to go the solvent route in case it would stain or damage surface of silver.
The annoying part is that this was a powder-puff jar, and could have been polished in less than 2 minutes, so the lacquer (which had yellowed in spots) couldn't have been that big a time saver.
Thanks and happy holidays,
Joseph
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[silverhammer]

One of the best and least toxic products on the market is Ready-Strip Plus made by Back to Nature Products: http://www.ibacktonature.com/Pages/readystrip-PD.html. It's a thick consistency and will stay where you paint it. And don't worry, it won't harm the silver.

[JLDoggett]

Acetone will not damage the surface nor stain silver. I used it often to remove final traces of rouge and tripoli after polishing. You may find some slight ridges left if it had been polished often after parts flaked off, but a good hand polishing will blend those into a uniform whole.

[bluidbear3]

I just had very good luck using boiling water and Tide Liquid laundry detergent to remove a lacquer coating on an antique sterling picture frame. The silver part of the frame was fully removable from the backing so I could submerge the entire pc of silver in the boiling water, to cover, with a couple of tablespoons of Tide added and let soak for about and hour. Most of the lacquer was softened enough to remove with a brisk scrubbing with an all cotton cloth. An additional soaking removed the rest and the frame is now ready to finish polishing by hand.

[Dory64]

Thank you so much Bluidbear your method worked quickly and efficiently!

[Heamatite]

All very good advice on removing lacquer from silver . Be advised that as well as working well, strong ammonia in a confined space is very unpleasant. It will fume immediatly the container is opened and if poured into an open container will release a powerfully irritating vapour. If at all possible work outside, wear a mask and screw the cap back on immediatly after applying a small amount to your cloth . Put the cloth in a sealable freezer bag during and after use.

Old formula Nitro-Mors worked well but but could sting like hell unless gloves were used! Hope this helps.

Heamatite

[Heamatite]

Comments conncering ammonia. Useful for certain cleaning operations and advice still stands but acetone is also flammable and will evaporate as well. Expensive to buy the good stuff but cheap nail varnish remover will work although slowly.