The authoritative public forum
  for Metal Finishing since 1989
-----

How to get gold paint off glass candelabra?

I bought a fab tall candelabra clean. To add to the collection, I bought two more but they had gold spray paint on them. I have tried paint thinner, acetone and turpentine. Nothing is working. Does any one know the solution...?

J L Neufeld
hobbyist - Vancouver, BC, Canada
2007

---

Your local hardware store will sell paint stripper. Follow the instructions.

Geoff Smith
Hampshire, England
+++++++

I have tried paint stripper, paint thinner, acetone etc. Hence the need for new ideas.

Neufeld
- Canada
2007

---

Geoff was probably alluding to an MEK^^{methylene chloride}-based paint stripper, sometimes called Aircraft Stripper, which is a nasty material but far more powerful than paint thinner or acetone. You didn't mention paint stripper in your first posting and although you say you tried paint stripper I'm not sure if you've tried a MEK^^{methylene chloride} material.

Ted Mooney, P.E.
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey
2007

----
Ed. note, Feb. 24, 2012: Per www.cbc.ca/news/health/story/2012/02/24/bathtub-refinishing-deaths.html
"Methylene chloride ... has been linked to the deaths of 13 workers refinishing bathtubs in the United States...
To use products containing methylene chloride safely, work areas must be well-ventilated, and when levels of methylene chloride exceed recommended exposure limits, workers must use protective equipment ...
The finding has prompted the CDC to warn ... public health agencies, manufacturers and trade groups to 'communicate the extreme hazards' of the use of the chemical -- also known as dichloromethane -- to employers, workers and the public."

Try 1 part ammonia ⇦this on eBay or Amazon [affil links] and 2 parts acetone,bad smelling but effective. Hope it helps and good luck!

Goran Budija
- Cerovski vrh Croatia
2007

---

2007

Aircraft stripper is MEK? 45341 says methylene chloride which seems much more likely.
Solvents such as Acetone or turpentine are only really useful on lacquers and uncured coatings, and then only if they can be soaked for quite a long time. If the paint is cross linked polymer; epoxy or similar, it will need something more aggressive like methylene chloride or cresols.
Most paint strippers available to the public are caustic based and relatively safe to handle.
Acetone (dimethyl ketone)is a very poor paint stripper because it evaporates so fast. It is also highly flammable. MEK (methyl ethyl ketone) is the next in the chemical series. It is slower evaporating and less flammable.
The good news is that no paint stripper is likely to attack the glass.

Geoff Smith
Hampshire, England

---

Thanks for the correction and additional info. You are, of course, totally correct about aircraft stripper being methylene chloride not MEK. Simply a not-enough-coffee this morning error on my part.

Ted Mooney, P.E.
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey
2007

---

Just an additional thought...
Are you certain the gold colour is paint?
Is it possible that you have a gold coloured metallic vacuum coating?
If the chandelier is high quality, it is not impossible that the coating could be real gold. A little gold goes a long way if it is thin enough.

Geoff Smith
Hampshire, England
2007