Meet "Vicky" the Carousel Horse

[talesofthesevenseas]

Looks like there are some good suggestions on removing the outer layer of paint on that train car restoration forum. I can already see the layers through some of the crazing and chips, I'm hopeful that since the park paint is already lifting and chipping off, that it will give way easier than the original layer. It looks like there are just a couple of layers on some parts but others may have more. There is also a lot of different colors under there. I think I will try the citrus stripper, possibly diluting it. I've used that before with good results. I'll do it in small amounts for short time periods on the underside first, being careful not to be tempted to "John Wayne" the project. I will post some progress photos.

[Pelady]

Tales,

Slow and steady wins the race.  Glad you found the train forum helpful.

PeLady

[talesofthesevenseas]

Yes, I'll be using a LOT of caution and working very slowly. I'm going to start on the underbelly where the cinch is painted and see how long to leave on the stripper for each layer. It looks like some places have more layers than others, which makes sense that it would have been touched up and repaired over the years. I will have to try to get a sense of the lowest layer and then work toward it in each area. The funny thing is there are places on the body like the upper legs and rump where I'm seeing bright teal and bright red showing one layer down. I'm not sure what's up with that, but it appears to be only in some places. It's going to be interesting to see what this horse looked like during different times.

[talesofthesevenseas]

I'm learning that a lot of the small, English carousel horses had their names painted on their necks, on a painted scroll. I wonder if the name "Vicky" was carried over from earlier paint?

[talesofthesevenseas]

I've also learned that there is a name for these small, traditional fairground carousels in the UK. They are called "gallopers" and all the horses are galloping, no standing or prancing horses.

[ghopper1924]

Interesting stuff. A point for you, 'cause I learned something