Removing paint from plaster moldings

Catherine Myers <csmyersc2 [at] aol__com> requests info on paint removal
from plaster:

Have you tried heat for paint removal?  I am assuming the paint is
oil-based and not calcimine (of course there would not be such a
build up with calcimine).  I have had good results using a heat gun
with adjustable temperature setting.  The trick is to not overheat
the plaster to the point that you subject it to thermal shock.  This
is more of a problem with the relatively thin plaster on wood lath.
Unfortunately, by using heat you are probably going to end up having
to remove most of the paint layers as the technique is harder to
control.

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                  Conservation DistList Instance 11:92
                  Distributed: Thursday, May 14, 1998
                       Message Id: cdl-11-92-013
                                  ***