I just picked up an Eddy Merckx bike, a time trial frame in great condition. The bike has had a few owners over the years and I strongly suspect that it has been repainted. The serial number and EM logo are engraved underneath the bottom bracket but it is impossible to read the entire serial number due to the repaint.

Does anyone have any special tricks on how to decipher a serial number hidden under an extra layer of paint? Is my only solution to scrape the paint off to get to the serial number or would that be a terrible mistake?

I will post pictures later today.