A friend of mine has some 1930s frosted glass embossed lampshades,
basically minute detail with frosting added in.

Someone has in the past decided that painting them was a good idea...

She's tried pretty much all the 'gentle methods' (elbow grease, hot
water, soap, etc.) to remove the offending paint (appears oil based)
but has been very reticent about using anything stronger.

Does anyone have any 'handy hints', and would caustic soda be a bad
idea or a good one? I regularly use it on plastic phones for paint
removal but wasn't sure if there might be something other than 'plain
glass' in the lampshades. Also she suggested Nitromors or an
equivalent, but if caustic soda would work I'd try that first as it's
cheaper and disposal is easier.

We're fairly certain the paint dates from the 80s so should be lead
free.

--
"I think computer viruses should count as life. I think it says something
about human nature that the only form of life we have created so far is
purely destructive. We've created life in our own image." - Stephen Hawking

Chip wrote:
A friend of mine has some 1930s frosted glass embossed lampshades,
basically minute detail with frosting added in.

Someone has in the past decided that painting them was a good idea...

She's tried pretty much all the 'gentle methods' (elbow grease, hot
water, soap, etc.) to remove the offending paint (appears oil based)
but has been very reticent about using anything stronger.

Does anyone have any 'handy hints', and would caustic soda be a bad
idea or a good one? I regularly use it on plastic phones for paint
removal but wasn't sure if there might be something other than 'plain
glass' in the lampshades. Also she suggested Nitromors or an
equivalent, but if caustic soda would work I'd try that first as it's
cheaper and disposal is easier.

We're fairly certain the paint dates from the 80s so should be lead
free.


Caustic should be ok if it's oil based paint. Washing soda often works
just as well, and is easier to handle. AFAIK neither has any effect on
glass or metal (apart from aluminium).
If it's an acrylic paint, a water washable Nitromors type remover

"Stuart Noble" wrote in message
...
Chip wrote:
A friend of mine has some 1930s frosted glass embossed lampshades,
basically minute detail with frosting added in.

Someone has in the past decided that painting them was a good idea...

She's tried pretty much all the 'gentle methods' (elbow grease, hot
water, soap, etc.) to remove the offending paint (appears oil based)
but has been very reticent about using anything stronger.

Does anyone have any 'handy hints', and would caustic soda be a bad
idea or a good one? I regularly use it on plastic phones for paint
removal but wasn't sure if there might be something other than 'plain
glass' in the lampshades. Also she suggested Nitromors or an
equivalent, but if caustic soda would work I'd try that first as it's
cheaper and disposal is easier.

We're fairly certain the paint dates from the 80s so should be lead
free.


Caustic should be ok if it's oil based paint. Washing soda often works
just as well, and is easier to handle. AFAIK neither has any effect on
glass or metal (apart from aluminium).
If it's an acrylic paint, a water washable Nitromors type remover

Caustic soda does etch glass though very slowly so should be OK particularly
if the glass is already frosted.

My first choice would be Nitromors or similar.

On 31 Mar, 14:54, Chip wrote:
A friend of mine has some 1930s frosted glass embossed lampshades,
basically minute detail with frosting added in.

These aren't just glass are they, there will be some framing metalwork
involved?

So stay away from the caustics and go straight for an organic solvent.
Water-washable Nitromors or equivalent, and a plastic scraper.