Red Banner.

[Nota Bene]

I would suggest some toothpaste, a Q-tip, and a lot of patience. Rubbing compound may be a bit too rough.

Alexei

[EricFG]

This is a very rare, and very beautiful award. It deserves a lot of love.
I want to know what happens to this order.

[Lapa]

Eric,

Personally, I would start with acetone. It is inert with regard to metals and enamels, but works very efficiently on artificial substances (glue, silicon, and a wide variety of other compounds).
I'd soak the order face down in a glass jar that tightly closes and leave it there for several days at least, gently shaking it once in a while during daytime. That may actually be enough to get rid of the yellow substance.
If not, I would then try toothpaste on either an old toothbrush or a Qtip.

Marc

[MONDVOR]

Try nail polish remover. Its structure based on acetone.
And let us know about the results :)

[Sergei]

Have you tried the ordinary soap and water? The red enamel, where it's gone, is gone. I get a feeling thet the yellow and blue paints on the obverse have been applied artificially - the reverse does not show that much coloration. Who knows, maybe 'the kids' used a water-based paint? Sergei

[MONDVOR]

Guys, this conversation started a month ago. We all gave many advices, but Dat Nguen did not reply so far. Maybe he already took care about the order? I would suggest to wait until he would appear again and tell us how is going with the order.

[Dat Nguyen]

Hello to ALL,

My original plan was to use a little bit of everything to see what works best, but the first solvent tried did so well I didn't bother with the others.

The winner is : MEK ... that is methyl ethyl ketone to those who fell asleep in chemistry class...like me.

Use a little bit of it on a cotton swab and the yellowish flux came right off with little effort. I even experimented MEK on a old silver badge with a nice dark patina and it did not affect the patina whatsoever. It did remove the dirt and grime off the silver.

My next goal is to have the enamel repaired....:eek: .... I currently live in northern Italy and there are a few jewelry and glass factory near me. This Red Banner is now my Frankenstein and one day I will scream...a la Gene Wilder..."It's ALIVE! It's ALIVE!!!"

Dat

[Nota Bene]

Dat,

I would love to see it as well. Maybe it would look Ok without the enamel repair...

Alexei

[EricFG]

Maybe it would look Ok without the enamel repair...

I'm glad somebody else feels the same way.
I think there are several reasons not to try and replace the enamel:

First, as a non-period repair it diminishes the aesthetics of it. Plus, if it ever gets sold it might then be re-sold as something other than a trial repair.

Second; I think some of the enamel damge may be due to wear in combat. Or at least from years of wear by the awardee on a day to day basis. To me that sort of "damage" makes an award more personal.

Third; Cleaning or fixing a botched repair or an attempt to 'gild the lily' can return an award to it's former glory. But when one goes so far as to alter the actual physical properties of an award by melting glass particles through high tempuratures it seems to me the history of the award might get melted away at the same time.

Dat, before you go too far show us what it looks like with that yellow gunk gone.. Those mirror reverse ORBs are so pretty. There are a lot of MR-ORB fans. Well, at least one that I know of... :)

[Dat Nguyen]

Greetings to ALL,

Here she is for your nakid viewing pleasure.

OK, I'll leave her alone for now. Personally, I think that most of the enamel damage happened during the conversion to the pentagonal hanger and the post replacement.

I have always been a sort of person who likes to "fix" things or find solution to problems. I've been trying to figure out how to economically replace/repair enameling on Soviet medals/orders for years. To do it properly so they look like the day they were awarded. Well, that is just me. I'll get back to this quest again one of these days.

Dat