Suggestions for refinishing a shutter

[AnselAdamsX]

I have a Wollensak shutter which after I cleaned it the black enamel finish looks a little dull. What do people use to refinish them? Testers black gloss enamel paint? Sprayed on or brushed on? Do you remove the paint with some kind of stripper or sandblaster?

Thanks
Chris

[Mark Sawyer]

Repainted shutters almost invariably look like crap, and lose their historic artifact value. If the paint is still in reasonable condition other than being dull, I'd wax it with a decent carnuba-based car wax.

[AnselAdamsX]

Hadn't thought about a wax or any kind of buffing/polishing compound for that matter. Certainly can't hurt. There are areas where the paint is completely off not just dull. No need to preserve historical value. I had to relace the mirrors in the rangefinder and need to make a new bellows. So it's not a historical restoration project.

Chris

Repainted shutters almost invariably look like crap, and lose their historic artifact value. If the paint is still in reasonable condition other than being dull, I'd wax it with a decent carnuba-based car wax.

[Frank R]

Touch up the lettering with an artists brush and gold paint. Wipe off any overpainting immediately, leaving it just in the grooves.

Do the same with the black paint. Try to make the sheen as close to the original as possible.

Finish everything with a clear coat of lacquer to give it an even sheen.

[Frank R]

Finish everything with a clear coat of lacquer to give it an even sheen.

Just a correction. If you apply a regular coat of laquer over the enamel paint, the solvents in the lacquer will attack the enamel like paint stripper (laquer over enamel=bad).
Either spray the shutter with several very light dusting sprays or spray it first with shellac and then the lacquer.

[resummerfield]

....There are areas where the paint is completely off not just dull.....

Why did the old paint fail to adhere? Did the old paint flake off because of corrosion? If so, you need to carefully remove the corrosion prior to repaint. Sand blasting is too aggressive, but perhaps a gentle bead blasting with very low pressure, or a chemical soak. Of course, the shutter must be totally disassembled prior to blasting and painting.

[AnselAdamsX]

Paint didn't come off due to corrosion. Looks like it was a scrape. By sandblasting I was thinking of a Paasche air eraser with WAO 5 not a real sandblaster.

Thanks
Chris

Why did the old paint fail to adhere? Did the old paint flake off because of corrosion? If so, you need to carefully remove the corrosion prior to repaint. Sand blasting is too aggressive, but perhaps a gentle bead blasting with very low pressure, or a chemical soak. Of course, the shutter must be totally disassembled prior to blasting and painting.