Refinishing wood wall panels...the moldings?


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Old 01-31-06, 06:57 AM
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Refinishing wood wall panels...the moldings?

Hi,
I'm in my second year now of stripping and sanding my nighthall walls and staircase. The walls have had 100 years of paint. I sanded all the flat surfaces nicely but the molded joinings between panels are killing me. The oldest coats of paint are so deep that I'm stuck with fine with lines of white paint. Removal of the panels would mean destroying the second floor and attic staircase as the panels go through the floors tied into the flooring beams. I would like to simply darken the white to a beige to hide the faults in the stripping job before I stain and varnish the panels. I'm not looking to create a "first class luxery steamer" look, just a neat and warm appearence on the wood instead of twenty coats of paint as existed before...the moldings were literally even with the panels they were so paint filled.

Can someone offer a solution to help me finish this project in a reasonable amount of time?

My latest thought was to place thin strips of molded trim over the recessed moldings allowing the joinings to be raised instead in recessed but cost is an issue with a baby on the way. If someone can offer a solution to keep from needing that solution, I'm ready to try anything.

Thank you,
Merci,
Mark
 
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Old 01-31-06, 12:29 PM
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Without having the benifit of being there to look at it, would it be feasable to first use a light stain and then coat with a tinted poly?
 
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Old 01-31-06, 02:05 PM
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Yes, thanks. I thought about a straight stain to richen and darken everything and then using a satin , slightly darker tinted polyester finish. I just have no idea what the result will be with. I do not want to blacken the wood while trying to blend the paint. Could I carefully first stain the portions with paint and try and make it appear as a strange grain effect?

Thanks again,
Mark
 
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Old 01-31-06, 06:16 PM
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Hey Mark

Just noticed your name - its a pretty good one if I do say so myself Unless you use the pigment in the bottom of a unstirred can of stain I doubt you would be able to do much with the painted areas. You might try staining first, then take tinted poly [maybe tint it a little more with the pigment from the stain] and then try brushing the painted streaks. If it then looks ok you would be ready to apply clear poly.

I don't suppose you have a closet with similiar wood to experiment on - of course that would be too easy.

mark
 
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Old 02-03-06, 09:28 AM
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first use some paint thinner on your sanded/clean wood to
determine what the colour is naturally.

if you want the wood to be darker then buy the colour stain
that will get you there.

stain all of your wood and allow to dry 24 hrs. ventallation is important

now buy or mix your own paint to match the colour of your stained wood,
and apply that over all the old paint that you could not remove.
there by creating an even colour from stained wood to painted wood.

use a touch up brush to apply the paint, "small"

top coat with varathane for floors which does not add yellow, or poly that will
add yellow cast to the top coats.

unless you are very good at applying even coats of finish with a brush, i
would avoid using the tinted poly. for easy to end up with an uneven
colour.

varathane can be applied with a "pad" for flat areas, and brush for
uneven areas.
 
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Old 02-04-06, 02:01 AM
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Yes Mark, a good name...:-)

OK, after all the good ideas I have decided to persevere in stripping. It is taking coat after coat in order to get deep into the moldings...hundreds of hours of work are now involved...too much to stop at this point. I'm now using model tools, mini picks and spoons to dig out the lowest portions.

PROBLEM NOW! I am not rinsing with spirit between the strippings...its simply too much for me or my nose.

Can I wash the wall with spirits after all is done and expect a decent result? I thought to (like I did on a Corvette) finish the stripping and then really wash the wall with spirit several times, and then, if needed, even a mild detergeant and water rinse followed by a light sanding to remove the fuzz.

Thanks again,
Mark
 
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Old 02-04-06, 05:42 AM
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I don't do much stripping but if I remember correctly the only bad result from not rinsing between strippers is the stripper may have to work a little harder. Shouldn't be a problem.
 
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Old 02-04-06, 06:14 AM
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Thank you so much. I'm smiling again.
 
 

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