Suggestions Of Help With Old Lacquer

[Mark]

I have a Shinto Wakizashi, it looks like someone, a long time ago, coated it with paint, probably old lacquer, maybe urushi. Anyway i want to remove it.

 

I tried soaking in lacquer thinner, no help, tried carefully using "stripper" and still nothing.

 

For the blade it can be removed by a polish. But the nakago is an issue, i can't figure out how to get all the lacquer off the nakago. There are parts where it is gone, maybe rubbed off but some spots are here and very stubborn and i do not want to disturb the patina. Any ideas how to remove very old lacquer??

 

I know some old tsuba were lacquered and maybe it is good to leave those as found but for the sword i would prefer to remove it.

 

Any thoughts or suggestions appreciated

[Stephen]

acetone? id give it a try

[Mark]

tried acetone, did not do anything. I think this may have been on the nakago for a long time

 

p.s. thanks to administrator for editing the title

[Dave R]

 Is it lacquer, or resin? A photo might be an idea here. If resin isopropil might shift it. It might even be cosmoline. 

[Mark]

I added pictures on another thread  http://www.militaria.co.za/nmb/topic/17023-help-please-with-translation/  as I needed some translation help. It seems whatever it is it is worn off in spots and still there in spots. I hope the pictures show it clearly enough

[Kai-Gunto]

With a piece of bone?