I have been asked for advice on how to go about painting a band organ
façade.  Not being an expert in this area, although I do the touch-up
work on the Seabreeze carousel horses, I am throwing the question out
to MMDers for advice.

The paint now on the façade is probably not original, and it is not
known whether original paint is under it.  But the plan is not to remove
layers to expose any original paint, only to overpaint the façade in an
appropriate fashion.

The questions asked are, What surface preparation is recommended, what
to use as a base coat, what pigments to use, and finally what to use as
a clear coat or protective varnish (one that will not yellow with time,
as spar varnish does).  Any other advice would be appreciated.

Matthew Caulfield
Irondequoit, New York