Removal of paint from holster

[Don M]

I need some advice.

I recently inherited the rig picture below. The holster is dated 1937, manufactured by GENSCHOW & Co AG BERLIN, and inspected by Waffenamt inspector 387. The brown staining appears to be paint. At some point, the holster must have come into contact with a freshly painted surface.

<a href="http://forums.lugerforum.com/lfupload/3299q__accessories_reduced.jpg" target="_fullview"><img src="http://forums.lugerforum.com/lfupload/3299q__accessories_reduced.jpg" width="400" alt="Click for fullsize image" /></a>

Should I just accept what I have or is there any approach I could use to remove this material?

Thanks for any help!

Don

[Ron Smith]

Don, Hold tight. Jerry "lugerholsterrepair" will see this and give you the answer. He is the holster "Magic Man". Kind of a crankey ol' duffer <img border="0" title="" alt="[Wink]" src="wink.gif" /> , but knows holsters. I would also add that if you ever should need to have the holster fixed? He's the guy.
Ron

[Edward Tinker]

Paint on it, normally I'd say leave it be, but that is pretty darn obvious...

JERRY!!!!



Ed

[lugerholsterrepair]

Don, Nice looking rig, Pretty pistol!

I would take it down to Home Depo ,get a color match and paint the whole thing...Make it an Afrika Korps holster!

Seriously, paint can be quite a problem. If that's what it actually is. I have had some experience with paint removal and I wish I could be encouraging but I have my doubts if this can be removed without taking a layer of leather with it.
Reason is, leather is pourous.Paint is liquid. When paint contacts this surface it soaks in to some extent, not far if the coat is light but enough to impregnate the top surface. Once this happens you cannot take off the paint without taking off the surface leather. You can try lifting an edge with a razor knife to see what occours. If the leather were oily or heavily treated before the paint job it's entirely possible it is laying on the surface and did not penetrate. Not likely though.
Also depends on whether it is latex or oil based paint. If it is oil based you could try a minute amount of nail polish remover on a Q tip in the center of the paint to see if it will dissolve. Leather is quite resistant to harsh chemicals and if the paint will dissolve it might be possible to get it mostly off. Latex is a different story...I am not familiar enough with it's properties to say what might dissolve it.
Any Chemists care to make a stab at that?
Sorry I could not be more positive but every time I have tried to remove even little spots or spatter it has left a divot where it pulled away the top layer of leather.
Good Luck, and thanks Ron and Ed for your confidence in me! I appreciate it. Jerry Burney

[Edward Tinker]

Okay, now you got me thinking Jerry. Latex is water soluable and the same thing would be true as you said. So, taking your time and using lots of patience, might work ey?

<img border="0" title="" alt="[Wink]" src="wink.gif" />

Ed

[lugerholsterrepair]

Ed, I doubt it. I put latex on my house and no matter how wet it gets it's still there. I think it changes chemical composition as it dries and forms into something that is no longer water soluble. They also make all kinds of latex caulks and water clean up varnishes. You could very well be correct, I am just guessing. I don't know for sure. Jerry Burney

[Edward Tinker]

That is probably true, it dries hard. But I have used a bit of elbow grease and it would come off, at least easier than oil based. But that was a hard surface, such as wood, so leather might make me nervous messing with it, but like you said, some slight elbow grease with a cleaner used very sparingly, might work on it?

Ed

[lugerholsterrepair]

Ed, I would guess anything could be taken off....It really all comes down to how far into the leather did it penetrate? At some point the leather surface is going to become involved and it aint going to be pretty! One Afrika Korps holster coming up! Jerry

[Ron Smith]

Jerry, Would the carburetor cleaner trick work on this? Might be worth a try.

Ron

[Herb]

Don, something you might try just for kicks,is to go buy your self a disposable double edge shaving razor, Gillette comes to mind, and very carefully try to 'shave' the paint off, done carefully you should not cut into the leather. If it is indeed a latex based paint buy some 'Good Off' at your local hardware, it's made to remove old dried latex paint plus a lot of other things. Do it out side, that stuff really smells bad!

[Herb]

Don, something you might try just for kicks,is to go buy your self a disposable double edge shaving razor, Gillette comes to mind, and very carefully try to 'shave' the paint off, done carefully you should not cut into the leather. If it is indeed a latex based paint buy some 'Good Off' at your local hardware, it's made to remove old dried latex paint plus a lot of other things. Do it out side, that stuff really smells bad!

[lugerholsterrepair]

Herb, As good an idea as any...Jerry Burney

[John Sabato]

I would try freezing the holster and see if you can flake it off while frozen...

Just my

[ken d]

Don: Try a rag damped with lacquer thinner. Hard on the leather but will remove the paint.
Regards Ken D

[Don M]

Thank you all for most of the suggestions...I think I'll pass on the Afrikakorps idea! When and if I work up the courage to try something, I'll post the results.

One more question...Is the use of shoe polish on these holsters as much of a sin as Marvin Cook indicates in his "Holster Care and Preservation" article on this forum? The temptation to bring out my tin of Kiwi black polish is hard to resist. Surely, the German military polished their holsters!

Don

[Don M]

<img border="0" alt="[cheers]" title="" src="graemlins/beerchug.gif" /> I did it! I used my "precision" pocket Swiss Army knife and gently scraped the paint with the blade vertical or sloped away from the motion. It took some patience and left some of the leather a little scuffed but at least I don't have to go the Afrikakorps route.
<a href="http://forums.lugerforum.com/lfupload/holster_after_paint_removal.jpg" target="_fullview"><img src="http://forums.lugerforum.com/lfupload/holster_after_paint_removal.jpg" width="400" alt="Click for fullsize image" /></a>

I still have a strong temptation to break out the Kiwi!

Incidentally, this holster has a metal D-ring attached to each of the belt loops. I assume this must be an aftermarket feature that I could remove without penalty.

Don

[lugerholsterrepair]

Don, Great job! Shoe polish has oily pigment in it that is meant to repel things found at shoe level, water, dog doo etc. Please stay away from gunking up your holster with it. It looks like your holster has no white thread so dying it wouldn't be a problem. Dye is much different than shoe polish. Meant to do a different job totally. I will give out a trade secret...Go to Wall Mart and go to the shoe section.There you will find a Kiwi product in a 2.5 oz bottle with a sponge applicator on top. It is BlacK Leather dye. It says it restores color and finish before polishing. What they mean is, it requires no shoe polish. Once it dries thouroughly and I mean completely, wait an hour or two, set it in the sun or a dry place. Once it is completely dry take a soft cotton rag and lightly rub and polish the surface. It is an amazing product. It will really dress up your holster. Put it on pretty liberally but don't let it drip or pool. Use the applicator to feather it out. Try not to create bubbles and if you do, blow on them. If I want to doll up a doggy holster this is the stuff I pull out of my bag of tricks. Only costs $2.49.You will never use it all in your lifetime. Let me know what you think if you try it. It's not oily and has no smell. Good Luck! Jerry Burney

[Don M]

Jerry - I went out and bought some black Kiwi Leather Dye and was about to apply it when I noticed that the stitching on the holster is brown, a noticeably different color from the leather. I then looked at the holster again and decided it really doesn't look that bad, after all! So I didn't do anything. Thanks very much for gently talking me out of doing something I might have regretted later.

The metal D-rings on the belt loops...I assume I can remove them without messing with any historical significance.

Don

[Pete Ebbink]

Hi Don M.,

Could you post a photo of the D-ring tabs on the back.

Once Jerry sees them, he might be able to advise you that they might be period-correct and just part of your holster's honest use/history...

Might give you a reason to leave them in place...

P.s. You have a very nice rig ! Any chance of seeing more photos of your pistol, as well !

Regards,

Pete... <img border="0" alt="[typing]" title="" src="graemlins/yltype.gif" />

[Don M]

Here's a photo showing the D-rings.

<a href="http://forums.lugerforum.com/lfupload/holster_with_d_rings.jpg" target="_fullview"><img src="http://forums.lugerforum.com/lfupload/holster_with_d_rings.jpg" width="400" alt="Click for fullsize image" /></a>

Pete, there are a bunch of photos and a lot of discussion about this rig on the thread "My first Luger!!" on the New Members Forum.

Don