Hello all... I have been reading blog posts written by those that restore or conserve antiques, since it occurs to me that some of the problems they deal with are not unlike those faced by us in the harpsichord world.  Specifically, both groups must sometimes make minimally invasive repairs, as well as deal with previous repairs that were poorly done and are now interfering with the successful resolution of new problems.

I thought it might be of interest to give a link to several posts which talk about the use of a specific formulation of paint stripper to safely remove dried carpenter's glue (i.e. white or yellow PVA glue).  The blog author was, earlier in his career, chief conservator at the Smithsonian in Washington, D.C.

http://donsbarn.com/weeds/
http://donsbarn.com/using-safest-stripper-in-furniture-conservation-i/
http://donsbarn.com/my-favorite-safest-stripper-application/

In a nutshell, a dibastic-ester (DBE) formulation of paint stripper will remove dried carpenter's glue residue, and interestingly enough, has essentially no impact on natural oil or resin finishes (i.e. shellac).

I know it's possible to remove glue by soaking, scraping and/or applying heat, but there might be situations where such techniques won't be entirely successful, so the above information might prove useful.  I, for one, was not aware that there was a chemical means of removing such glues.

BM

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