A new neighbour wishes to restore the oak panelling in his hall - the
house was once owned by a coffin maker. ;-)

When I first saw it many years ago it was stained very dark - near black.
The next owner painted it white.

The present one wants it back to natural, but even after sanding there are
traces of the original stain - and the intricate mouldings make sanding
difficult without damage. Any tips?

--
*Who are these kids and why are they calling me Mom?

Dave Plowman (E-Mail Removed) London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

Dave Plowman (News) wrote:
>
> A new neighbour wishes to restore the oak panelling in his hall
> When I first saw it many years ago it was stained very dark - near black.
> The next owner painted it white.
>
Why do people who shouldn't have nice things always manage to get them?

> The present one wants it back to natural, but even after sanding there are
> traces of the original stain - and the intricate mouldings make sanding
> difficult without damage. Any tips?
>
Nitromorse.

On Fri, 23 Dec 2005 00:48:01 +0000 (GMT), "Dave Plowman (News)"
<(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:

>The present one wants it back to natural,

He'll be lucky.

> but even after sanding there are
>traces of the original stain - and the intricate mouldings make sanding
>difficult without damage. Any tips?

Same as any complicated stripping job - you probably have to use a
number of methods in sequence. Try one of the "blanket" strippers if
it's mouldings - something like the usual Nitromors recipe of methanol
and dichloromethane, thickened with cellulose and laid on under a layer
of thick polyethylene. Some of this depends on the stain - pigment
stains will lift off the surface but not out of the pores, dye stains
will be near impossible to shift from oak.

Sandvik also do some nice long-handled scrapers with carbide blades and
a ball handle to apply pressure with,

As a final measure, try oxalic acid bleach to lighten aged oak.

You could try caustic soda, Dave. Although you will have to make sure
you rinse every last crystaline trace of it off the walls when you're
done unless you want to have visitors telling you how their clothes
have developed holes after leaning on your friend's panelling (this
will often occur after clothes have gone through the wash).
See here:
http://www.motherearthnews.com/libra...tain_Chemistry

There are also strong pastes that seem to do a better job of stripping
old paint, especially on uneven surfaces.

And one last thing - a tad dangerous - but I've always found a good way
of creating cheap razor-sharp scrapers is to cut convex pieces of scrap
glass with a glass cutter. When the edge wears off, cut a new piece.
Get your glass from a glazier's skip.

Andy reminded me: How come when I repeatedly mention how I'd love a big
Skarsten scraper for Christmas no-one in my family ever takes the hint?

Dave - My dad used to have a Skarsten with a big knobbly handle like
Andy mentioned and it made life so much easier.

"Andy Dingley" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:(E-Mail Removed)...
> On Fri, 23 Dec 2005 00:48:01 +0000 (GMT), "Dave Plowman (News)"
> <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:
>
>>The present one wants it back to natural,
>
> He'll be lucky.
>
>> but even after sanding there are
>>traces of the original stain - and the intricate mouldings make sanding
>>difficult without damage. Any tips?
>
> Same as any complicated stripping job - you probably have to use a
> number of methods in sequence. Try one of the "blanket" strippers if
> it's mouldings - something like the usual Nitromors recipe of methanol
> and dichloromethane, thickened with cellulose and laid on under a layer
> of thick polyethylene. Some of this depends on the stain - pigment
> stains will lift off the surface but not out of the pores, dye stains
> will be near impossible to shift from oak.
>
> Sandvik also do some nice long-handled scrapers with carbide blades and
> a ball handle to apply pressure with,
>
> As a final measure, try oxalic acid bleach to lighten aged oak.

It will be messy but you could also get it sand blasted. One of my customers
is having this done to oak beams.

On 22 Dec 2005 18:32:12 -0800, "Buzby" <(E-Mail Removed)>
wrote:

>You could try caustic soda, Dave.

Dont EVER EVER use caustic soda on Oak you will open up the grain and
ruin it!

Use Nitromorse!

Stephen Dawson wrote:

> It will be messy but you could also get it sand blasted. One of my customers
> is having this done to oak beams.

This is an effective way to round off all the details, ruin mouldings
and expose worm holing in beams. Not recommended.


NT

Buzby wrote:

> See here:
> http://www.motherearthnews.com/libra...tain_Chemistry

ohh. On google that comes out shortened to 'secrets of pain'


> And one last thing - a tad dangerous - but I've always found a good way
> of creating cheap razor-sharp scrapers is to cut convex pieces of scrap
> glass with a glass cutter. When the edge wears off, cut a new piece.
> Get your glass from a glazier's skip.

Would that be lses likely to scratch the glass than a steel scraper?


NT

Buzby wrote:
> Andy reminded me: How come when I repeatedly mention how I'd love a big
> Skarsten scraper for Christmas no-one in my family ever takes the hint?
>
> Dave - My dad used to have a Skarsten with a big knobbly handle like
> Andy mentioned and it made life so much easier.
>
If your other do it yourself efforts are anything like the use of
caustic on oak then the answer must be that your family would prefer to
have their surroundings adjusted less Buzbyly.