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Removing Paint


Papa-Bear-NYC

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There was a very brief mention in the thread on what equipment various folks take when hunting benchmarks about paint. One Person said he brings solvent to clear away paint from a mark. Another asked if that wouldn't hurt the mark.

 

Here is my problem:

 

abd.sized.jpg

(click for full size image)

 

And in closeup:

 

abe.sized.jpg

(click for full size image)

 

The base is a granite block and the mark is a standard USCGS Bench Mark disk set in 1952.

 

Most often when I have found a mark that is painted, I can read enouigh of the inscription through the paint to verify it's the right mark. This one has just too much paint.

 

I would welcome suggestions on how to safely remove this paint as well as any knowledgeable discussion on "You shouldn't do that because blah blah blah ..."; "Yes it's OK because blah blah blah ...", etc.

 

Thanks.

Pb

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Papa-Bear-NYC

 

If the paint is brittle enough, I would try tapping around the edge with a small hammer and see if it will flake & chip off. If the paint is pliable, I would use a utility knife to make a cut just back from the edge of the disk and see if it will peel away.

 

Acetone may work for removing the paint, but it may take quite a bit in small doses. Wipe it on let it evaporate and wipe the paint repeatedly. Have plenty of rags handy. The nice thing about the acetone is it evaporates quickly and shouldn't leave any discoloration with the brass or granite.

 

The key here is patience!

 

Good luck,

 

John

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We use Methyl Ethyl Ketone (MEK) at my shop to take off very stubborn paint. BUT - nasty stuff. Keep it outside, especially rags with it on them. Stronger than acetone, and doesn't evaporate as fast. Keep you sniffer away as much as possible. Gloves recommended. Probably not OSHA approved..... But it sure does work good! No idea what it will do to the surrounding granite or cements used...

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Gasoline and a match? Jackhammer? That is the most painted over mark I have ever seen!

 

Papa-Bear....my apologizes for disrupting your thread.......and my question does not really apply to your case here.

 

We have all often seen BM's that have been hit with red, orange, yellow, blue or white paint. Maybe other colors as well.

 

Can any of our surveyors tells us why this is done? At ground level, the painted marks still can't be seen from more than a couple of feet away and on elevated monuments, it shouldn't be needed for visibility. Does the paint color hold any meaning?

 

I am just curious.

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Papa-Bear-NYC -

 

I recall that 409 brand cleaner (not the 410!) and probably other equivalent brands will slowly dissolve/soften paint. A thick paint job like that would require keeping the cleaning liquid wet on the benchmark for several hours. A big bunch of paper towel soaked with it left there under a brick or something might soften the paint enough for scraping off the next day.

 

Paint strippers, or some of them, are jellylike solutions of a strong solvent. Some of that put on the disk would certainly loosen up the paint much more quickly.

 

The paint job pictured is obviously not a surveyor's light dayglo spraypaint marking but a maintenance painting of the surface.

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As Black Dog says, surveyors generally do not paint any marks with anything other than possibly a light coat of flourescent paint. The idea is for your crew to find it quicker and easier. Generally if any surveyor does paint a mark it is with a temporary paint, generally won't last more than few months.

 

Now what I want to point out in this situation is, be careful with what you do to these types of monuments. Many are on private property and you have no right to be scraping, grinding, chipping, dissolving or any other type of serious cleaning. You might want to make sure that you aren't going to get yourself in some serious trouble.

 

CallawayMT

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