Replies

1. 
   sschefer | Jul 09, 2002 08:58pm | #1

   I wonder if it was a two part paint like Imron (sp). They used that on navy ships, big rigs and airplanes but I think its banned now. In the navy we would sand blast it off and that may be the solution for you too. I would first take it to a furniture refinisher and see what they say. They may be able to dip it repeatedly and get it off.

   Steve - in Northern California

   
   

   ---

   Edited 7/9/2002 2:00:16 PM ET by Steve Schefer

2. 
   uncommontree | Jul 10, 2002 06:19am | #2

   Mike..........

   What you may have there is Milk Paint you will want to look this up in a refinishing guide book but I believe the critter you want for this project is LYE.A proper refinishing book will spell out how to mix this stuff so do look it up. lye is seriously nasty s@#t but from past experience it is very effective on it.

                       Good Luck.         Rick

1. 
   forestgirl | Jul 10, 2002 06:31am | #3

   Hi Rick, I'm gonna rain on your parade here a little.  Lye is nasty, nasty stuff and does nasty, nasty things to wood and any living thing it touches.  Here's a quote from Mr. Johnson

   "In addition to burning off the paint, lye also burns out the life of the wood, raises the grain, removes the color from some woods, darkens others, such as oak, walnut, chestnut, and ash, and simply ruins cherry and mahogany.  To make matters worse, once in the wood, lye doesn't stop burning until you douse it with vinegar."

   I'm pretty sure there's another solvent for milk paint, but not remembering right now what it is.  Most antique pieces of furniture with milk paint are more valuable on the market if they're left in their original paint. 

   forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl   ;-)

   Edited 7/9/2002 11:40:42 PM ET by forest_girl

3. 
   forestgirl | Jul 10, 2002 06:39am | #4

   OK, found it!!  If the paint is in fact Milk Paint, there is a Behlen's product that may well remove it.  It is called P.D.E. Paint Remover.   It comes in powder form and you mix it with water to form a paste. 

   That ugly paint you see may have been put on in the 1800's. 

   forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl   ;-)

1. 
   MtnMike198 | Jul 10, 2002 06:11pm | #5

   I think you guys might be right about it being milk paint. If it hadn't been applied in such a way as to look like the whole damn trunk were dipped in chocolate, it might be worth saving. As is, the wife finds it ugly enough to jeopardize her sentimental attachments to it. I figure if I can dress it up a little, it can at least stay in the family as a keepsake. Thanks for all your help!

   mm

1. 
   Gretchen | Jul 11, 2002 12:41am | #9

   If you get  a really good methylene chloride stripper (the heaviest can) and keep it wet it will eventually lift most of the milk paint.  You need to remove the stripper with coarse steel wool (open out the pads to maximize the surface of the wool).  It will certainly take it off of the metal.  You will probably still have a brownish tint to the wood which is more attractive if the paint is blue or red!.  This brown paint may also not be milk paint but it is no less tenacious--I have dealt with a good bit of it.  I would be (pleasantly) surprised if PineSol removed it.  If you try it, please report.Gretchen

4. 
   BenM | Jul 10, 2002 07:55pm | #6

   If it is milk paint you might try Pinesol to remove it.

1. 
   MtnMike198 | Jul 11, 2002 12:15am | #7

   Now I would have never thought of that! Worth a try. I'll keep you posted on how things go. There were several of these trunks, all painted the same way. There's speculation that they may have been painted in preparation for the covered wagon journey. Not really sure what the benefit would have been to that, unless it was to seal out the dust?

   mm

1. 
   sschefer | Jul 11, 2002 12:25am | #8

   Most certainly my guess about two part epoxy based Imron is wrong. Maybe I can redeem myself with this one. Its just a guess but if you paint everything the color of dirt and dust its hard to see which is dirt and which is not. Could have been they were trying to maintain a clean appearance in an impossible to maintain environment. A brown car will still look fairly clean even when its covered with dust. They chose that paint for its durability no doubt. I would bet that things got tossed around quite a bit on those wagons and there was little room for extra paint so it had to last the entire trip.Steve - in Northern California

2. 
   forestgirl | Jul 11, 2002 01:05am | #10

   Mike, the Behlens mentioned above is recommended by the "Old Fashioned Milk Paint Co." for removal.  Where are the other chests???  If people in the family aren't keeping them and they're still around, you might want to contact an auctioneer and see if there's a market.  I know the antiques market has softened alot in the last few years, but trunks from the 1800's with original milkpaint may well have some serious attraction.forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl   ;-)

2. 
   MtnMike198 | Jul 11, 2002 06:23pm | #12

   OK, you could have me knocked me over with a feather as I watched Pinesol dissolve that which had shrugged off repeated coats of Jasco! And my trunk smells as fresh as a Carolina pine forest! Thank you, Ben! There's still a lot of elbow work to do, but at least this is making good progress. You guys may interested to know that underneath the milk paint on the metal parts and tin plating was a spackled coating like you used to see on old cookware. This is a tougher job than I anticipated, but it is turning out to be very interesting. I've learned many things already, such as milk paint kicks butt. That paint lasted more than a generation, and that's with the trunk sitting in an old pumphouse for at least three decades! Not one bit of peeling, bubbling or any other sign of deterioration.

   You're right Forest Girl, I will certainly try to track down those other trunks. They were just sitting stacked in the old pumphouse. Thanks for everyone's help. If the trunk turns out looking good, I'll post photos.

   mm

1. 
   Gretchen | Jul 11, 2002 06:50pm | #13

   OK, you could have me knocked me over with a feather as I watched Pinesol dissolve that which had shrugged off repeated coats of Jasco

   That is TERRIFIC news.  However I will also say that except for the brown removing milk paint would be the wrong thing to do to preserve the value of an old painted piece.

   underneath the milk paint on the metal parts and tin plating was a spackled coating like you used to see on old cookware

   Could this be gesso?  White chalky looking stuff?  I really think this paint job may be a "recent" job, particularly if it is over the metal straps--not part of the original trunk which probably had leather or "paper" covering it.  Don't know, of course--it is just what I have seen for the most part.Gretchen

1. 
   MtnMike198 | Jul 11, 2002 10:40pm | #14

   The main reason I suspect that the paint dates back to the 1860's wagon trek is that half a dozen trunks were all painted identically, as if in response to some event. I suppose it's possible that someone thought "I've got these six old trunks lying around, I'm just gonna paint them all at once". Will probably never know.

   Regarding the underlying paint; do you know the cookware I'm referring to? It came back into vogue a few years back when everyone was going for the county look. I usually saw it in a blue color that looks like it was splattered with little specks of white, grey and black. On our trunk, it looks like a black background splattered with specks of white and grey.

   The trunk has leather straps and side handles. Original to the trunk and very brittle at this point. The eight corners have decorative metal protectors, and the sides have what looks to be tin wrapping around 4 inches onto each face. There are two 1-1/2 inch wood bands wrapping around trunk, with what used to be black canvas covering the wood in between those. Maybe I'll take a photo as-is and post it just for kicks if there is any interest.

   mm

1. 
   forestgirl | Jul 12, 2002 04:38am | #15

   Hi Mike, Great news!!!  If any of the paint is still around, maybe you could do an experiment for me.  Apply some ammonia to it and see what happens.  Ammonia was in the back of my mind, but couldn't remember where I heard it or if I was making it up.  Would love to know if it works as well as the PineSol.

   An important hint on the leather:  If you decide to try to preserve the original leather do not put Neatsfoot oil on it!  Neatsfoot oil is H*!L on the stitching.  You can get a good product at any saddlery store sans neatsfoot, one of which I used to use on my saddles and bridles in my dressage days called Hydrophane.forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl   ;-)

2. 
   uncommontree | Jul 12, 2002 05:38am | #16

   Hi mike

   Pinesol...............who new.Ill have to try that out.If your looking for some restoration parts for this trunk you could try   http://www.vandykes.com

   They have a nice selection of trunk hardware as well as furniture and house hardware.Please do post some pics if you can. I am very curious as to how they look ?     Have a good one. Rick...................

3. 
   MtnMike198 | Jul 16, 2002 07:52am | #17

   Here are three pictures of the trunk showing the effects of my heavy hand.  I still think it will turn out well, but doubt that I'll have to worry about any museum curators knocking on my door!  Haven't had a chance to try ammonia to see how it cuts the paint.  Will get back to you on that after the next trip to the grocery store!

   
5. 
   forestgirl | Jul 11, 2002 05:45am | #11

   Mike, have you considered designating the ugly brown paint as "Primer" and painting over it??  There's very good milk paint available from the Old Fashioned.... company mentioned above, lots of cool colors.

   forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl   ;-)