I understand what you're saying, just doubtful of any chemical means removing vitreous enamel. Perhaps aggressive grit blasting or extreme temperatures may have more luck, but may not leave the shade in any fit state. I await your solution with interest.
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julianf
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Caustic soda won't touch the enamel.
Mr Muscle oven cleaner... It's caustic soda. Imagine the bother is that started stripping enamel all over the place!
Enamel is basically glass. It's not going to move with chemicals.
You could try heating a point with a mapp torch. Point heating causes enamel to ping off.
Other than that it's blasting. But I think your metal will hole before all the enamel comes off. Blasting enamel is normal on big cast iron, not thin steel.
Good luck.
Mr Muscle oven cleaner... It's caustic soda. Imagine the bother is that started stripping enamel all over the place!
Enamel is basically glass. It's not going to move with chemicals.
You could try heating a point with a mapp torch. Point heating causes enamel to ping off.
Other than that it's blasting. But I think your metal will hole before all the enamel comes off. Blasting enamel is normal on big cast iron, not thin steel.
Good luck.
zx9
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I know your exacting work standards are way above anything I would do but in this instance I think I would be cleaning up the steel in a citric acid bath and refurbishing the rest of it but leaving the enamel inside the lamp shade. Give the inside of the shade a coat of 2K clear to protect it and fit a lamp with built in reflector.
Failing that do as below.
Heating and rapid cooling should see the enamel ping off, hopefully the shade will not distort too much.
daedalusminos
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A bath of hydrofluoric acid would probably remove it in no time...might also affect the base metal, skin, bone, lungs...
zx9
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^^^^^ Hydrofluoric was the stuff used to etch glass in days of old it is very nasty, don't even think about it @spencer 427
WorkshopChris
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I would expect the only realistic option would be to fill and paint if you want the "as new look".
Maker
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It's also not nearly as effective as Breaking Bad would have you believe.
The only other chemical method I know of that touches glass is molten caustic soda which is even more nasty than HF, dont even think about thinking about it. 
I'd try a blow torch, with a face shield and long sleeves on.
It is not impossible to DIY high temperature enamelling, I have done it on a small scale some years back using an electric workshop heat treating furnace. It is just a case of getting the clean object up to temperature and sprinkling on the powdered glass based enamel. Mainly I was doing small broaches and buttons based on silver coins, but I did once manage to re-fuse a cracked copper Edwardian clock face and amazingly the hour figures didn't run all over the place into the white background as I'd expected.
It's rather like the reverse of paint powder coating where you spray the powder then heat, but in this case you heat first to a somewhat higher temperature.
It's rather like the reverse of paint powder coating where you spray the powder then heat, but in this case you heat first to a somewhat higher temperature.
The_Yellow_Ardvark
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Used to do it in metal work at school.
Mainly on copper objects.
I think my mum had some I did. I suspect she threw them out by now.
God mode restorations
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Thanks for the advice guys.
I have had parts stoved years ago. But never had to remove it.. I will give this some serious thought and see what the best approach is..
I have had parts stoved years ago. But never had to remove it.. I will give this some serious thought and see what the best approach is..
God mode restorations
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Update on my machine lamp. I took the lamp to impact coatings. Its getting gently blasted inside and out. And stoves enamel. Inside white. Outside is grey to match machine colour.
