Damaged, Repair, Clean, Preserve Soviet Awards And Documents.

[Eryk]

Amazing.

So, being the impatient SOB that I am I couldn't wait for a response. Looking under my 10x lens it appears that the original enamel is still there. Badly cracked, missing in a lot of places. But most importantly where it's missing the sickly pink stuff is in its place. So I get out a Q-Tip, dip it in water, and ever so gently rub the obverse of the award.

The Q-Tip turns pink, and the "sheen" is gone, or at least greatly reduced, in the area rubbed!

Water based paint? What the heck is this stuff? :confused: Anyway, no matter. A bid more rubbing, with only a Q-Tip, takes off more. It appears to be adhereing to the patina most of all. I wonder if, in shipping, it got hot and ran out of the letters? Again, no matter. I'll just going to work on this puppy with water and Q-Tips and see if I can't clean it up to its nice "salty" reality.

Cracked and missing enamel is fine, any would be "improvers" out there. For gosh sakes, don't paint anything!