This
week’s work consisted of some careful and patient removal of white 1960s gloss
paint to reveal the original 1940s colour scheme - similar to Farrow &
Ball’s no. 52 ’straw left out in the rain’. I don’t use chemical solvents (bad
for the respiratory system and liable to remove too much) preferring a
old Tiranti clay modelling spatula from art school days which has a thin,
strong edge. Flicking and scraping paint off on a small scale is a skill and is
hard on your hands, but the result is worth it. Often this added paint was just
sploshed on over slightly greasy or dirty surfaces which makes the adhesion
poor. The period atmosphere of the house depends on the colour being regained
as much as possible. Repainting needs to be ‘aged’ afterwards to make it blend
with the restored surface. There is lots to be done still. 
Here’s
the original straw-coloured interior decor starting to make its presence felt.
It is glossy around the coloured glass window and matt on the stairs, which I
hadn’t expected. The windows are made from wire mesh, possibly coated with
shellac, an old style ‘varnish’ made from the secretions of an Asian insect.
This has degraded with age and the mesh has rusted, making it a conservation
nightmare to think about at some stage.
Using cream cleaner on a cotton wool bud around the base of the house revealed that the original maker had added a hand painted garden around the outside. This is going to be a really difficult job to reveal! But the flowers seem skilfully done so I shall do my best at some stage!
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