I found an exceptional mount of some Dall sheep horns, but someone painted a picture on them. I was wondering if anyone knew of a way to get the paint off without damaging the horns. I remember seeing a show about antiques, where they can remove the paint without a lot of chemical action, but they never said how. Since the set of horns is exceptional, I'd be willing to pay a restorer to remove the paint if need be. I'd prefer to do it myself if at all possible. ANY ideas would be most appreciated. Thank you.
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I haven't taken paint off sheep horns but have plenty of antlers.Just use regular paint remover.I would try a small spot and don't rub or scrub it,but flush it off with a water hose.Rubbing might grind some in the cracks.Excessive scrubbing can remove some of the natural horn color also.There can still be a slight color difference under the paint after you remove it as that area has been protected from daylight that the rest of the horn has been subjected to all those years.For any color matching or blending use artist's acrylic tube colors thinned with water.How big is the picture?
Jim, thanks for your reply. That sounds like a good idea. I can try a small patch first and see if the paint lifts with the paint stripper. I was also thinking of maybe a high pressure sprayer, but that seems like an all or nothing proposition. Someone mentioned hot water, but I didn't know if that would work too well. The paint stripper eating the horns was a concern I had because I didn't want to damage the color of the horns or have it eat away the horns in any way. Any specific paint remover come to mind that may be less harsh than others? Thanks again.
I don't have any particular one stuck in my mind.I wouldn't try any of the real heavy duty epoxy type strippers,just a standard paint stripper.I don't think the stripper will damage the horns but almost any method you use may wash away a little color.It's possible that a pressure washer would take it off but I think it would wash away a fair amount of color.If it were mine,I'd do the paint stripper and I'd just ask the people at the hardware store for one of the milder versions.