Friday, October 24, 2008

Fun with refinishing

I have decided it is time to stop putting off working on the woodwork in the dining room. I started picking at the popcorn texture on the crown molding and was pleased that it did come off with hot water alone. Unfortunately, removing the popcorn texture just revealed about 4 layers of paint beneath it. The only good news is that I think the oak beneath that still has the original finish. I can't say the same for the rest of the woodwork in the dining and living rooms. It is all quartersawn oak as far as I can tell, but it was refinished in this weird scummy glaze who knows how long ago. At first I really couldn't tell if it was original or not since it was such a thorough refinishing job. Eventually I found a spot they missed though, the underside of the built in just above the mirror. You can see it was never an especially dark stain, which we saw in nearly all of the houses we toured when we moved to Minneapolis. My intention is simply to remove the scum and get the finish as close to original as possible. Any tips on how to gently remove this glaze without damaging what is underneath would be greatly appreciated. I was planning on attacking it with the silent paint remover, but I don't know if that will be too harsh.

2 comments:

Domesticated said...

Don't use paint remover! There is a product called Antique wood refinsher that you can find at Home Depot. You use that with a fine steel wool pad and move it in circles. It actually works really good and comes off pretty easy. I recently did it to the baseboard/ doorframe in my dining room. You can see photos on my blog.

Good luck!

Ken Bloggins said...

Thanks for the tip. I might give that a shot on crown molding I am working on as well.