South Stuy Blog
« My Favorite Things Strip Happy »
February 7, 2008
Stripping......the door
A century plus of use and abuse have taken there toll on a number of our grand ole doors--there have been locks and door handles and hinges and bars and hooks and tacts (T's favorite) that have been put on and taken off that a couple of the doors look like some monster alien termites have had their way with them (we don't have termites--I am just trying to give you an image here). Anyway, the point being that some of these doors will not be savage-able--at least not by us (don't worry-we aren't going to throw them away--we will either keep them in the basement or drop them at Eddie's).
One of the quirky things about this house is that no single door in the entire house is exactly the same in any dimension so even though we plan on closing up some doorways we can't necessary re-purpose those doors to another portal. Which brought us to Eddie's Salvage--where we have spent hours on end measuring every door in the place (and if you have been to Eddie's you know there are a helluva lot of doors). We did find one door at Eddie's that was pretty close to the dimensions we needed for the garden floor entrance and now fits perfectly thanks to T's handy new electric planer.
We have been stripping this ole door on and off since December-outside when weather permits (yes it has been cold but with the chimnea going, winter gear on, resperators, goggles and 2 heat guns going--we have managed not to freeze to death) and more recently inside with chemicals--(the details work lends itself better to the chemical method)
Outside with the heat gun
The good news is we have discovered a use for our overpriced silent paint remover--it takes off a couple of layers of paint on the flat large surfaces and makes it faster to use the more traditional heat gun to take off the rest.
Inside with chemicals
Detail
Unfortunately-I do not have any before pics of this door but it was the typical, coated with more than enough paint to obliterate any detail.
We plan on painting it the same color as the Parlor entry doors--a deep dark red.
Hope to have more pics soon.
Trackback Pings
TrackBack URL for this entry:
http://www.brownstoner.com/mte/mt-tb.cgi/3255
Comments
Kudos to your dedication to get these done. Im sure they will look great. Stripping is hard work!
Posted by: Mrs. Limestone at February 7, 2008 11:22 AM
What is your opinion on the water-based, non-volatile stripper that you put on with a layer of their special paper over it for 24 hours? Does it really work?
Thanks
Posted by: guest at February 7, 2008 6:16 PM
If you are talking about Peel Away - It worked for me. I did doors, mantles & window trim. It didn't work as well on Newel posts ans bannisters. Let it sit for the complete 24 hours period and it literally lifted off what had to be 10 layers of paint. When I ran out of the special paper I used wax paper. Worked just as well.
Posted by: guest at February 7, 2008 6:51 PM
I also strongly recommend Peel Away. I used it over 15 years ago to strip trim, doors, even plaster medallions and metal fireplace covers - basically anything in our house. To speed things up, we did end up sending our shutters and some doors out to be dipped. Peel Away was far less effort and much more effective than any other technique we tried -- including heat guns and chemicals. Follow the directions and you will be pleased. It took everything off to the wood with the initial application. Everything looked new and had no scars from scraping. I know, I know, I sound like an infomercial...but I'm for real.
Posted by: guest at February 7, 2008 8:41 PM
We used peel away on the Bannister with the paper and it worked like magic (its all in an earlier posting)--it didn't work so well on window trim etc.--basically created a big mess without a satisfying result. We used peel away 6 for the bannister and have tried out Peel away 7. We will also use it for the plaster stripping as it is one of the few gentle enough. One tip if you are planning on using the peel away is don't let it dry out and if it does--you will need to spray the paper with water.
The thing that is great about the heat guns is that they strip all the way to the sandable wood in one go--and its fairly even--so its a good method to use if you plan on painting the wood once you strip it down.
That said--we have been using the peelaway and citrus strip for wood we plan on leaving exposed and/or staining. My next posting will detail this work further(It should be up tomorrow -just need to upload the pics).
Posted by: HomeSweetstuy at February 7, 2008 9:40 PM
Here is the track back to the bannister posting:
http://www.brownstoner.com/mte/mt-tb.cgi/2588
Posted by: HomeSweetstuy at February 7, 2008 9:43 PM
I think you would have saved a ton of money and time by taking this door to a commercial stripper. The standard rate is about $200, and they'll come get it and drop it off when it's done. Trust me, I've stripped probably 3,000 square feet of woodwork in my time, and the material/time cost does not add up for most doors.
Having said that, peel away is good stuff. Also good is using #3 steel wool rather than a scraper once you get down to the methyl chloride stage.
Posted by: guest at February 7, 2008 9:43 PM
The "deep dark red" that you mention, does anyone know what stain to get that matches that? We have been trying, VERY unsuccessfully, to match the original stain. Any brand/colors? Thanks!
Posted by: guest at February 7, 2008 10:00 PM
This is about a 2 hour job with a UV stripper. Worth every penny of the $200 it costs, probably pays for itself in one door. The detail work takes some practice but there are no chemicals involved. You can easily do it indoors too.
Posted by: Smokychimp at February 7, 2008 10:22 PM
Hint: We were able to repurpose some old doors by having a good carpenter either trim them or add a strip to the edge. (This works only if you are going to re-paint them, of course.) Compared to the cost of getting a new door in old-house-monster dimensions, it was a bargain!
Thanks for the stripping porn...and yes, we sent our doors out to be dipped by some guy on Staten Island, best $ we ever spent...
Posted by: Brenda from Flatbush at February 8, 2008 9:27 AM
South Stuy Blog
I have a technical question for you. I want to start out writing on the renoblogs and have a blog set up (Holland House Reno) but for the life of me can't figure out how to upload text and pictures and get started. Any tips for me??
Thank you!
Posted by: hollander at February 8, 2008 10:18 AM
test
Posted by: guest at February 8, 2008 3:49 PM
I am looking to replace a door in a grand foyer in a Ditmas Park victorian. Where is Eddie's Salvage and can anyone direct me to more info about hanging replacement doors?
Posted by: guest at February 8, 2008 4:13 PM
Guest 9:43 and Smokychip--can you give me the name and number of who stripped your doors for you. I would have loved to have sent this out but i was getting quotes for like 400$$$ plus and we had no way of getting it to the shop besides.
The Dip N Strip guy in Hackensack that everyone raves about in the forums never picks up his phone. That said-we have def. squandered time doing this--and on more than one occasion I have kicked myself. So Please send me info --I also have 8 pocket shutters.
Posted by: HomeSweetstuy at February 8, 2008 9:58 PM
Hollander-the brownstoner should have given you a special link for signing in. I don't want to post it here on the public blog. You should email him. I am looking forward to reading your blog.
4:13 I don't have tha addy for Eddie's handy but search the forum and it will come up. Hanging the doors can be rough as most of the time the measurements do not take into account the settling that happens in these old house--so you should be prepared to plane the doors if necessary. As poor T found out the hard way--its much easier to do with 2 people
Posted by: HomeSweetstuy at February 9, 2008 10:25 AM
Post a comment
Please be patient while your comment is published. It may take a moment.