stripping back to original paint?

Hey Everyone,
As some of you may have read I'm restoring a mid 1940's arcade machine.
I would like to strip back the playfield to its original coat of paint, because there are two hockey players painted on it..
I used a scraper to make my way from the edge of the paint towards where I thought they should be and I've uncovered an elbow:P

how the crap can I do this without damaging it? a scraper is definately not the answer.

This is what it should look like in the end:
http://www.marvin3m.com/baseball/goalee.htmhttp://www.pinrepair.com/baseball/goalee5.jpg

And heres what I've uncovered: http://i189.photobucket.com/albums/z...7092010195.jpg

http://i189.photobucket.com/albums/z...7092010194.jpg

there are at least three layers of paint on top of the first, and at least two are different types of paint, as one scrapes off powdery like plaster and one of the others comes off in flakes.

any ideas?

a call (then a trip) to Adelaide Museum or gallery is the answer - a conservator and art restorer is who you need to get onside. they do this all the time and have experience in removing even "overpaints" where one student artist may have painted over another's artwork to save on canvas. Also, they are skilled in removing grime etc. .... I reckon go there first. Bloody beautiful piece you have there!


.... just had another thought ..... thinners or similar and "0000" steel wool might help - it is steel wool that is so fine it's used for refreshing the finish on furniture ..... laborious task but worth it.

oh, do you think they would actually be interested in helping me? I dont really have money to offer..
I was thinknig of using medium grit sand paper to get through the first layer then something alot finer to get through the second most of the way then something along the lines of your 0000 steel wool idea. I wouldnt have known what to use though.
I am a little doubtful about what I will find though.. I mean there must have been a reason why it needed a new coat of paint..
I was thinking another alternative would be to sand it back completely, repaint it, then get an iron on transfer made of the original art.
My cousin basically uses photoshop for a living, and he thinks he can get me a good square clear image from the somewhat crappy photos I can find on the net..

are there any methods of attaching a print to wood that's easy to do at home?

where is the one you have in the pic? If you can, get a better pic of that one and simply get a sign-writer to print you a copy of it in the correct size - I say a sign-writer because they can print it onto a special film that will not fade. They also can print large as you need.If you want it to look old your cousin can add dust, grime and speckle to suit.

Rwe: the people who "can" help, I don't know if they'd charge for a bit of advice ... they are usually very kind people who appreciate it when someone is actually interested in restoring something, but who knows until you ask....

BTW if the images on your machine are the same as the example then at least you know where to be careful and where to just go for it when removing the paint.

The one in the picture is in a kind of arcade museum in the us somewhere. I emailed the owner and explained everything and what im doing over about three paragraphs thinking he'd share my interest. My reply was "cant help sorry"
and thats it.
I reckon ill try to get a print made before I attack the playfield with anything.

email me your original photo or let me know where the site is that you found that one on.... also, there will be a club or association somewhere dedicated to these machines .... they'll help you

the first photo in this thread is the best one I've found.. I just pulled it from google images. I searched chicago coin goalee

theres one on ebay in the us at the moment.. I'm about to ask the seller for a photo of the playfield.. see how I go.