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Hey everyone. I have a rare paper mache horn that needs to be refinished. When I got it, it was covered in dirty alligatored shellac. I was able to strip the shellac off with alcohol without damaging the paint or the paper much, but now the question is how I go about refinishing it. My original idea was to use a spray lacquer, my only concern is how difficult that would be to remove without damaging the paint underneath if it needs to be restored again in the (hopefully distant) future. I could also use shellac again, though I'm worried the concentration of alcohol could penetrate into the paper and cause it to swell. Maybe I can start with spray shellac and finish it off by hand? if anyone has experience with finishing paper mache let me know.

I would also like to know, how does one get an even finish deeper inside the horn where its hard to reach by hand or get a spray can close enough?

Thanks

To paint the inside of the narrow end of my paper horns I make a lengthwise cut with my bandsaw, an inch or so into one end of a dowel, then wedge a bit of foam in there. Presto! long handled foam brush.

Mormon S wrote: Thu Sep 05, 2024 12:30 pm I could also use shellac again, though I'm worried the concentration of alcohol could penetrate into the paper and cause it to swell.

Thanks

I have no experience with paper mâché, however, if it already had a coat of shellac, and the swelling, if any, had no ill affect then, why would we worry about using shellac now? Also, you used alcohol to remove the old finish, so why would any added alcohol (a small component in the new shellac?), be any worse? I'm guessing shellac was the original finish, or final coating. Maybe going with the traditional/original method would be best? Lacquers have a tendency to be much more reactive with other coatings.

How about posting a pic of what you are working with? It may need a base coat of Gesso or white glue to stabilize it before applying lacquer or shellac. When I restored my plaster Pathé rooster I coated the raw plaster areas with wood glue, which stabilized the surface to give a solid base to accept paint...

*papier-mâché

JerryVan wrote: Fri Sep 06, 2024 8:26 am

Mormon S wrote: Thu Sep 05, 2024 12:30 pm I could also use shellac again, though I'm worried the concentration of alcohol could penetrate into the paper and cause it to swell.

Thanks

I have no experience with paper mâché, however, if it already had a coat of shellac, and the swelling, if any, had no ill affect then, why would we worry about using shellac now? Also, you used alcohol to remove the old finish, so why would any added alcohol (a small component in the new shellac?), be any worse? I'm guessing shellac was the original finish, or final coating. Maybe going with the traditional/original method would be best? Lacquers have a tendency to be much more reactive with other coatings.

The reason being that when I stripped the horn, I went little by little with the least amount of alcohol I could use. Even then, the use of shellac originally was problematic from a conservation perspective, as it aligatored pretty badly, and some of the paint in certain areas was still damaged in the process of stripping. Just trying to see if there are better options.