Stripping paint off shellac

Does anyone know a way of doing this. I need to remove a coat of paint

Andy Dingley...

Nope. Shellac is a standard barrier coating underneath paint, simply
because it's so easy to remove the shellac without further surface
damage. Shellac is just the ideal consumable coating. Whatever you use
on the paint will probably shift the shellac too. Any shellac left
behind will come off with alcohols (methanol or ethanol, if you have
it). If it's _really_ stuck, then you might find ammonia shifts it - but
be warned that will darken some timbers and corrode metalwork.

Shellac is a nice finish to work with, because it's so endlessly
reworkable, This also means that shellac age is judged almost entirely
on condition -- it you re-work a shellac surface well it's
indistinguishable from the orginal finish (just in better condition).

Don't use heat. Shellac melts when hot and the trouble of removing blobs
and runs is worse than the trouble of taking it off neatly in the first
place.

to reveal the original finish of an old Columbia Grafonia. Any way of
removing the paint without removing the shellac underneath?

HannahR...

If you are restoring an old phonograph there is a great webboard of

There is a poster there named Covah who has done some amazing saves on
old cabinetry, but all the folks there are very knowledgeable in this
field.

As for your question, the only thing you might try is VERY carefully
with a heat gun, you may get the paint to bubble, leaving some of the
shellac below to be reconsolidated.
This risks burning the surface below though, unless you are very skilled
indeed.

As far as I know, any chemical strong enough to remove paint will
certainly do the same to shellac.
You may indeed be facing a full refinish.

mike wilcox...

There is no point in saving the finish on this piece, it's not a 18th
Century Goddard highboy we are talking about here ;~)

mike wilcox...

I wouldn't worry about it, just use a standard paint remover and take
off both the paint and shellac, chances are very good the old shellac
finish is toast.

USSEnterprise...

But what will that do to the value?

mike wilcox...

Improve it ;~) These things were made in the hundreds of thousands and
are not rare.

Kris Baker...

It's already been painted. YOU aren't the one who hurt it by
painting it. Mike's right; the old finish was probably painted
over just to make it look "better".