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I scored major at an estate sale this morning .30 inch Skelly tagolene it looks like it’s in really good shape under. The paint one side has been removed more than the other some paint is chipping off with my fingernail exposing good shiny porcelain. Would chemical aerosol paint remover damage the sign. I don’t want to mess it up I know it’s rare and good underneath the paint. Please help.

You did make a major score if I'm reading the price tag right . Try paint stripper on a small spot first . If the porcelain is good you won't have any problems and it should turn out great . Congratulations

The porcelain is nice and shiny under the spots I flaked up. There’s one small chip in the porcelain on the edge about the size of half a pinky nail. Other than that looks great well besides the paint which I think protected it. I was there 2 hours early. Also bought a Coca Cola sign for 20 dollars.a set of SS hubcaps in amazing shape, an early Toms rack for 4 dollars. I cleaned up.

If it’s porcelain, just use paint remover/stripper. Paint stripper won’t hurt or dull porcelain one bit. I use it on every painted porcelain sign I get.

Thanks, it’s coming off slowly but surely and looks great there are a few more chips in the porcelain than I thought but not bad at all. From what research I’ve done it’s a fairly rare sign because I can’t find a lot about it. It’s 30 inches too not 36 . I’ll post pictures when I get done and final detail.

Nice score but i don't think it is porcelain so be careful with paint removers. It is not a super rare sign and there are several versions. I have a 30" one with Tagolene on one side and Greasemaster on the other but it is painted not porcelain, Yours could be porcelain I guess, If it is it is rarer than most,,,,GB

Definitely is porcelain . I’ve been cleaning it up and the paint is coming off fine . It’s double sided both sides say Skelly tagolene motor oils . I only have seen three versionswhile looking. One is porcelain but also says tailor made and the other a white porcelain that says fortified. It’s strange you mention there are painted signs like it too because at one point it was painted over , looks like very well , a darker blue with silver over the white lettering and border. . It’s all going to come off though I’m just taking my time . I spent several hours removing layers off the worse side. I’m down to detail work I should finish up this afternoon and have a great looking porcelain sign. BTW best sale I’ve been to in a long time all the stuff I liked was unadvertised I just happen to click on a thumbnail and see the top of the sign behind some old doors. I ended up buying 2 more signs for 20 a piece and a pile of other car part goodies .

Nice score. Don’t be shy with the paint remover on porcelain signs. Just dump it on and let it sit (according to the directions) and that stuff should come right off. You won’t hurt the porcelain. The tough part is finding good paint stripper. The big box stores all sell environmentally friendly consumer versions, and unfortunately they don’t work as well.

I also use a razor blade when removing my paint stripper (like the one pictured below). I’m sure you will find that it helps a lot.

Then as a final clean, to remove the paint stripper remnants, I use a product called Bon Ami. It’s a non-scratch cleaner for porcelain stove tops and it’s real cheap. Just use a sponge and some elbow grease. I use one of those sponges with the rough side. (I think Bon Ami is the same type of product as Barkeepers friend, but I’m not sure).

Have fun,
Steve

Here’s two of my examples.

Steve's advice on removing paint from a Porcelain sign is right on . I've taken paint off many signs exactly the same way .

Yes it is I’m almost done with one side and 70 % on the other.

Looks great, nice score!

Greg

Good job! Amazing what a little cleaner and some elbow grease can do.

Thanks Peter.

I also use a wood shim as a scraper for the first round of paint remover.

Skelly sign is looking good.

-Steve