Remove 100 year old paint from brass?

[Duckshot]

I picked up a disston hand saw D-8 thumbhole rip, 26" five point, circa 1890 at a yard sale. Its in decent shape, a perfectly nice handle with no chips or cracks. Nice saw. Should be a decent user despite some pitting at the back of the plate near the handle.

But, some son of a wh*** painted the medallion red, probably as an owner's mark. Is there some gimmick for removing lead paint from brass without damaging the brass?

I tried naptha and it polished the brass but left the paint.

 

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[FreeBirdTim]

I used a heat gun to remove alligatored lead paint from my house many years ago. Bad smell and toxic fumes, but it worked.

 

[huntsman53]

Soak it in hot water for 10 to 15 minutes, then while still wet scrape the paint off with a hard plastic scraper. You can use a green Rose Thorn for the tight spots where the scraper won't go.

 

[SusanMN]

Put it in water and boil it until the paint falls off. This works great on old brass house hardware, even when covered with many coats of paint.