How To Clean Bosson Heads

There are two schools of thought concerning whether or not to restore a Bossons Chalkware head. I can see the reasoning to both side of the argument. However, I simply do not see why anyone would want a piece that is beat up to hell on display, so that is why I restore them. Plus I enjoy the restoration process. So, before we go any further, that is my take upon it.

Pictured on the left is one of my latest pieces. It is the 'Tyrolean Man' from around 1973. Now I will be honest here and say that it does look slightly different than it was originally painted. So I think the term 'Refurbishment' is more apt than 'Restoration'. Fact is, you cannot restore these pieces to EXACTLY the way in which they looked when they left the factory. Because of the way in which they were painted. I realise this now at this point. Unless anyone tells me otherwise, I believe, that they were painted using thin 'washes' onto bare plaster. Hence there is no point, in trying to paint them in the same way in which I would paint a model kit or figure. I also do not use the same type of paint that was originally used. In fact, the paints that I use are superior. I use modeller's Acrylic paints and inks. These are water based product, but once they are allowed to dry they undergo a process called 'polymerisation'. They are also formulated in order to give a high pigment to medium ration.

Therefore a very little amount of paint goes a long way. And they give brilliant coverage. I use paints made by Citadel, Revell, Cote D'arms, and Humbrol.

The first thing I do, is to repair any small 'dings' with household ready mixed filler. This goes off in a short space of time and can be sanded back. Then I give the face a wash of a mixture of Acrylic ink in the appropriate flesh tone, and PVA glue.

The PVA allows the ink to flow freely and really stick to there bare plaster where it needs to. I then work on any facial hair, visible teeth, and using the original colours as a guide, try to get the piece back to at least a semblance of what it would have looked like when it left the factory.

Fortunately, all those years of building and painting models, has allowed me to develop a very neat painting style, and with a half decent brush and good technique, you'd be amazed at the results you can get.

Before And After - The Villainous Bill Sykes From Oliver Twist

As you can see from the picture above, you can really drastically improve the look of these wonderful pieces of wall art with very little effort.

Once all the painting has been done, I give it a coat of matt Acrylic varnish, and then paint the back of the piece silver, as the makers at Bossons did. I do this simply to tidy the piece up.

So there you have it. That is how I set about restoring/refurbishing these neat pieces of wall art.