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Head Badge Clean-up ... need tips from experienced CABE'rs please

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Bump for help please. This badge below was just taken off of a 90 yr old frame. I would like to carefully remove(see above posts) the "stuff" on it as you can see below. How do you get this black schlop off without damaging the badge or finish under it? Alcohol?
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Take a cotton swab and test the back of the badge with your alcohol or ??? I'd try Goof Off paint remover. Maybe you don't have to get every last bit of it off. Rubbing will remove the crud, but will shine the higher edges of the lettering up. An old badge looks hastily restored when that's done. Soaking might be better. Make some tests on the back to see what loosens the crud up. The paint almost looks fire damaged, or the bike was repainted and spent the rest of it's days up in a hot attic for fifty years.
 
Thanks Tinker. I don't want to screw it up. Really thin metal. These old badges may be lacquered yes? I will try some goof off and a toothbrush on the back and small area on the front...alcohol is a good solvent and wonder if soaking it may not damage it but loosen the mystery stuff enough to toothbrush it off. If I do, I will watch it closely, thanks.
 
Brake fluid does a good job of loosening old paint- soak it for a few days and even multiple layers of lead based housepaint wrinkle up and come off.
 
Yes, nothing yet has softened the rock-hard, fire-hardened paint/schlop on it yet. I've carefully chipped alot of it off and will try that soak next.
 
Bump for help please. This badge below was just taken off of a 90 yr old frame. I would like to carefully remove(see above posts) the "stuff" on it as you can see below. How do you get this black schlop off without damaging the badge or finish under it? Alcohol?
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That is crazy. So what does the frame look like if the badge is messed up that bad? Did you try denatured alcohol?
 
Yea, looks soft but it is rock-hard. I was able to knock alot off with a razor blade without damaging the surface underneath and now have it in brake fluid to get more off. Alcohol did nothing. Frame was paintless with none of the offending black material on it. I even thought about heating it gently from below over a gas flame(carefully) to try to soften it....A mystery.
 
Whatever it was, it had a death grip on the surface. Nothing and I mean nothing worked. Maybe baked-on through fire or heat. Did not try brake cleaner or goof-off but I did boil it, oven-cleaner it, Simple green soak, paint remover, but no! Not even a two-day brake fluid soak. So I continued with the exacto blade on it's side and carefully scraped most of it off. Scary procedure. Broke off a small piece that was ready to break off. Here it is so far, but will need a little bit more work.
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