Mason decoy find

E

ed gagne

Well-known member
Stopped by a local antique place on Wednesday and found a few decoys. I picked up one that I'm fairly certain is a mason standard goldeneye. The current paint is that of some hunter trying to make it into a black duck. I was wondering if any of the decoy men out there have ever tried to take a decoy down to original paint and how they went about it?
I would post a picture but I can't figure out how to resize it with windows 8.


Eddie
 
Ed~

I have only done this a couple of times - certainly no expert - but I have had good luck working very carefully and slowly with 220 grit, one area at a time.

(I am not a fan of Windows 8, either....)

All the best,

SJS
 
Thanks Steve. That's kind of the route I was thinking of taking. I also after looking at what these decoys are going for in good shape I am considering rehabbing this decoy and possibly floating it in my spread. It has a crack in the bottom and in the bill that would need to be fixed. Am I crazy to do such a thing?


Eddie
 
Pic related response.

Ed, get a photobucket account and upload your pic there. Click on your pic to open it and you get a box on the right with several options. Click on the IMG option and you will see that it is "copied". Then simply come back here and right click in your post and "paste". Done. no need to resize.
 
Ed~

I have a couple of Masons that had been re-painted. I have "restored" them - trying to make them look as original as possible - using Goldberger and Haid's "Mason Decoys" as my guide. Not sure what a real collector would say but my thinking was that the "original paint" - or even "in-use re-paint" value had been lost a long time ago. Mine are destined for life on the shelf, though, and not afloat.

I'll try to photograph them and show you what I did.

SJS
 
Has anyone ever used sudsy ammonia to remove an old over paint? I have a few Bob Jones decoys from "The County" and they are badly overpainted but with acrylic paint that is flakey. I peeled some of it back but some areas obviously stuck better than others. I also thought about putting one in the deep freeze to if the CTE of the different paints would cause them to separate. I have a test decoy to start with as of the four, one is pretty bad already. I have also heard liquid sandpaper in small quantities works.
 
Picture posting with Photobucket. HuntinDave posted an easy way to get your picture out of Photobucket. Once uploaded to Photobucket simply place your mouse cursor over the picture and right mouse click and pick "copy". Then come back here and right mouse click and pick "paste" where you type your message. Easy Peasy as one member would say!

Hope this helps.
 
A direct quote from Paul Fortin - DECOY RESTORATION. "OK, go very slowly and avoid doing anything irreversible. Be extremely careful removing overpaint going slowly from weak to stronger chemicals."
Originally published in a abridged form by the Havre de Grace Museum 1995.
 
wood alcohol and a cotton ball will also work, BUT, try on an inconspicuous place, like under tail first. Had great luck taking mallard paint off of a John Glenn sprig a while back--Worked like a charm.
Take your time
 
Hi,
Do you still have Bob Jones decoys? I am trying to collect those decoys as my wife's great grandfather carved them. I'm collecting them for my kids.

Thanks
Steve
 
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