devincu Posted April 29, 2016 Share #1 Posted April 29, 2016 So I went to an outdoor flea market in Kansas today and I was very surpised to find this set of Purple Heart and Air Medals still sitting on a vendors table, but my heart sunk when I turned them over and saw that someone had defaced the engraving. The medals were marked very reasonable either way so I purchased them, thinking at first that someone had filed the engaving off. When I got home and took a closer look and found that the engraving had been covered by what looks like epoxy. I tryed using acitone which didn't do a thing, so on the Purple Heart I took an exacto knife using the blunt side I slowly scraped the epoxy off of the engraving. This revealed the vets name, but as you can see left some scratches on the heart. I was wondering if anyone had some ideas for the Air Medal as I would like to removed the epoxy, but I want to cause as little damage to the medal as possible. The Air Medal has a much darker patina and the scratches would be much more obvious. Any help would be much appreciated! I really don't understand why someone would do this to such a beautiful set of medals!?! Thanks in advance, Devin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
devincu Posted April 29, 2016 Author Share #2 Posted April 29, 2016 ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BEAST Posted April 29, 2016 Share #3 Posted April 29, 2016 Very interesting technique to obscure the name. Did you happened to see his uniform on the web? http://www.kansasmemory.org/mobile/i/309465 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
devincu Posted April 29, 2016 Author Share #4 Posted April 29, 2016 Very interesting technique to obscure the name. Did you happened to see his uniform on the web? http://www.kansasmemory.org/mobile/i/309465 No.. I hadn't done any research yet, but it looks like he was with the 486th Bomb Group, 835th Bomb Sq. missing in action 1944. Thank You! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dhcoleterracina Posted April 29, 2016 Share #5 Posted April 29, 2016 Too bad, but it is what it is. Scraping worked well enough to identify the recipient. It may be as good as it gets with this pair. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scottplen Posted April 29, 2016 Share #6 Posted April 29, 2016 How about heat maybe try putting a hairdryer on it maybe it would melt the epoxy ??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kanemono Posted April 29, 2016 Share #7 Posted April 29, 2016 Try methylene chloride based paint stripper. It will probably soften it up enough to remove it if you time it right. You've got to wait until it softens but don't wait too long or the methylene chloride will evaporate, leaving the epoxy buggered up but no longer soft. You can also try lacquer thinner. Take your time they are nice medals you don't want to mess them up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
USdog Posted April 29, 2016 Share #8 Posted April 29, 2016 How about heat maybe try putting a hairdryer on it maybe it would melt the epoxy ??? Those were my thoughts as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
devincu Posted April 29, 2016 Author Share #9 Posted April 29, 2016 I might try the hair dryer it heat gun first because it sounds less invasive. Thanks for the ideas guys! Devin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kanemono Posted April 29, 2016 Share #10 Posted April 29, 2016 If the heat gun gets hot enough to melt the epoxy it has a good chance of the heat discoloring the medal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scottplen Posted April 29, 2016 Share #11 Posted April 29, 2016 if you do try heat i would use hair dryer ! Heat gun might be too Hot ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MWalsh Posted April 30, 2016 Share #12 Posted April 30, 2016 Have you tried Goo Gone? Most hardware stores sell it. Or simple acetone, as in nail polish remover? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
devincu Posted April 30, 2016 Author Share #13 Posted April 30, 2016 Have you tried Goo Gone? Most hardware stores sell it. Or simple acetone, as in nail polish remover? Tried acetone and it didn't do anything. I might try goo gone though. I am away for the weekend but I might try that when I get home. Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wildcat123 Posted April 30, 2016 Share #14 Posted April 30, 2016 Good luck, I'm sure there is some solvent that will do the trick (but to find the one that won't harm the metal). Glad you could bring back at least the name of the veteran. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doyler Posted April 30, 2016 Share #15 Posted April 30, 2016 I wonder if putting it in the freezer will have any effect? Maybe the metal will contract or make the epoxy brittle from the tempertyre change and make it easier tp scrape off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dhcoleterracina Posted April 30, 2016 Share #16 Posted April 30, 2016 Good ideas Devin, you might have to remove the planchets from the ribbon drapes so they don't get damaged. Too much heat on the heart might melt the plastic or misshape it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BROBS Posted April 30, 2016 Share #17 Posted April 30, 2016 Found this info. Not very encouraging really. "Epoxy, Polyurethane, Structural Acrylic Adhesives: These types of high strength adhesives can be tricky to de-bond. Certain products have both high shear and peel strengths so trying to peel parts apart may not work. Check the maximum operating temperature of the adhesive and assess if you can heat the component parts above this temperature to attempt disassembly. Most 2-part epoxies, acrylics and PUs will start to degrade permanently at 200°C. Single part epoxies will need to be taken even higher. Methylene chloride can be used to remove cured adhesive but if you have a large or complex joint it will only “eat” into the edges very slowly." From: http://www.permabond.com/blog/2014/09/11/adhesive-debonding-stronger-adhesives/ So maybe you could remove the medal from the ribbon, heat to above 200 degrees Celcius, and replace the plastic insert in the PH with one from a donor/damaged PH? I would think you would need to put them in the oven at 450 or so and not use a torch or flame or even direct heat. Anyways.. Just brainstorming. Not sure what is going to be best for you. It looks like any solvent strong enough to remove a 2 part epoxy (my guess as to what it might be) would eat away at the engraving itself. -Brian Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robbo Posted April 30, 2016 Share #18 Posted April 30, 2016 If heat causes to many problems then try freezing it. It may make it brittle enough to chip away at it..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robbo Posted April 30, 2016 Share #19 Posted April 30, 2016 I wonder if putting it in the freezer will have any effect? Maybe the metal will contract or make the epoxy brittle from the tempertyre change and make it easier tp scrape off. Whoops just seen this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
devincu Posted May 1, 2016 Author Share #20 Posted May 1, 2016 Found this info. Not very encouraging really. "Epoxy, Polyurethane, Structural Acrylic Adhesives: These types of high strength adhesives can be tricky to de-bond. Certain products have both high shear and peel strengths so trying to peel parts apart may not work. Check the maximum operating temperature of the adhesive and assess if you can heat the component parts above this temperature to attempt disassembly. Most 2-part epoxies, acrylics and PUs will start to degrade permanently at 200°C. Single part epoxies will need to be taken even higher. Methylene chloride can be used to remove cured adhesive but if you have a large or complex joint it will only “eat” into the edges very slowly." From: http://www.permabond.com/blog/2014/09/11/adhesive-debonding-stronger-adhesives/ So maybe you could remove the medal from the ribbon, heat to above 200 degrees Celcius, and replace the plastic insert in the PH with one from a donor/damaged PH? I would think you would need to put them in the oven at 450 or so and not use a torch or flame or even direct heat. Anyways.. Just brainstorming. Not sure what is going to be best for you. It looks like any solvent strong enough to remove a 2 part epoxy (my guess as to what it might be) would eat away at the engraving itself. -Brian Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk I wonder if putting it in the freezer will have any effect? Maybe the metal will contract or make the epoxy brittle from the tempertyre change and make it easier tp scrape off. Thanks very much for the ideas guys, I just got home and I think I will try the freezer idea first. T tell you the truth I am not 100% sure the substance on the medals is epoxy, I was just guessing that is what it was. The way that it scraped off of the Purple Heart, it seems it might be more like a thick glue. I removed the ribbon drape from the medal as dhcoleterracina suggested and I put it in the freezer. I think I will let it sit in there overnight to see if that has any effect on the substance. If it doesn't seem to make a difference, I may heat it up a bit and then try the freezer thing to see if it becomes brittle. Great Suggestions! Devin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robbo Posted May 1, 2016 Share #21 Posted May 1, 2016 Here's another one. If you DO try heat, use a small soldering iron on the actual substance to see if it melts. That way you can be more precise and avoid damaging the medal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
devincu Posted May 2, 2016 Author Share #22 Posted May 2, 2016 So I froze the medal and then applied heat from a hair dryer and the result was the epoxy became brittle and chipped off nicely. Here are the results. I may do the same with the Purple Heart and see if I can get the remaining substance out if the engraving on that medal. I dont think it turned out too bad! Thank you again for the suggestions everyone.... Devin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MWalsh Posted May 2, 2016 Share #23 Posted May 2, 2016 Very nice! Good luck on the Purple Heart and please do post a pic of the final result in it too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wildcat123 Posted May 2, 2016 Share #24 Posted May 2, 2016 Excellent work Devin!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scottplen Posted May 2, 2016 Share #25 Posted May 2, 2016 Great save !!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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