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Sometimes you need to remove the original plaster pate – for safe packing for shipping, or to do some restoration – if the pate has never been removed then this guide tells you how to do it.
The simplest method (and especially if there is already a gap between head and pate) is to insert a knife blade flush against the rim of the head until it is in about 1/2 inch (you may well have to scrape the holding plaster away with the knife tip in order to make a gap first), then twist the blade slowly so one edge remains against the head rim and the other moves away, forcing the pate away from the head - the pate should "pop" off the head fairly easily. The pate is made of a hard plaster and a softer plaster was used to hold it to the head, this usually gives before the pate does.
If the pate hangs on in there (or the edge of the pate starts to crumble) then you can try putting the knife in at a different spot (It should go in fairly easily) and try again, or you could remove more of the holding plaster by either scraping it, inserting the knife in a number of spots, or using water to wet the holding plaster so that it releases. I have never had to resort to any of these, but some collectors swear by the wetting the plaster method before anything else - there is an ebay guide (not by me !) on how to do this. The beauty of removing the pate by popping it is that it will fit back on like a lid, but maybe the wetting method does too.
If the original pate has been removed and then stuck back, you will need to remove whatever was used to stick it back with – DO NOT try to pop the pate off, this could result in a broken pate or at it’s worst a broken head. You may need to experiment with solvents, or try scraping the glue away. You will need to remove all of the holding material before you can take the pate off.
I usually use a bit of scotch magic tape to hold the pate back on – it peels off very easily without damaging anything.
If you get into difficulties or want a bit more reassurance about this, please do contact me.
The simplest method (and especially if there is already a gap between head and pate) is to insert a knife blade flush against the rim of the head until it is in about 1/2 inch (you may well have to scrape the holding plaster away with the knife tip in order to make a gap first), then twist the blade slowly so one edge remains against the head rim and the other moves away, forcing the pate away from the head - the pate should "pop" off the head fairly easily. The pate is made of a hard plaster and a softer plaster was used to hold it to the head, this usually gives before the pate does.
If the pate hangs on in there (or the edge of the pate starts to crumble) then you can try putting the knife in at a different spot (It should go in fairly easily) and try again, or you could remove more of the holding plaster by either scraping it, inserting the knife in a number of spots, or using water to wet the holding plaster so that it releases. I have never had to resort to any of these, but some collectors swear by the wetting the plaster method before anything else - there is an ebay guide (not by me !) on how to do this. The beauty of removing the pate by popping it is that it will fit back on like a lid, but maybe the wetting method does too.
If the original pate has been removed and then stuck back, you will need to remove whatever was used to stick it back with – DO NOT try to pop the pate off, this could result in a broken pate or at it’s worst a broken head. You may need to experiment with solvents, or try scraping the glue away. You will need to remove all of the holding material before you can take the pate off.
I usually use a bit of scotch magic tape to hold the pate back on – it peels off very easily without damaging anything.
If you get into difficulties or want a bit more reassurance about this, please do contact me.
Guide created: 30/03/08 (updated 28/06/08)
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