refinishing old mantle


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Old 07-31-00, 06:24 AM
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I have enjoyed woodworking as a hobby, but this past weekend had my first try at refinishing. And it may be my last! What I thought would be a 3-4 hour project now looks like 40-60 hours. I'm hoping for a few tips to improve my technique.

The piece is a fireplace mantle from a house that was built in the mid 1800s. It is painted, and I was hoping to strip and refinish it natural.

I started with a semi-paste stripper [BIX: Methanol, Toluene, Methylene Chloride, Acetone], leaving it on more than an hour, keeping it wet. Two layers of paint come off together like latex rubber pieces. But … under that is a layer of something that behaves differently. I add more stripper and keep stripper puddled on it for an hour and a half or more - then with heavy scraping, the top layer comes off like muddy goo. By recoating, waiting, scraping many times, I've gotten one small section clean. (Looks pretty -- clear, fine grain heart pine). I tried the liquid stripper (same chemicals listed), but the outcome was similar.

I can't tell that there was any clear finish under the third layer.

My questions:

1. What is this third layer likely to be and is there a better stripper or technique for getting this off?

2. I used a brass bristle brush a little -- it helps in digging this stuff loose on the trim detail and curved surfaces -- but I am concerned that this will mar the surface of the wood. Am I correct in thinking that this should be used sparingly?

3. I had assumed the mantles in the house were built on site. But now I wonder if they were possibly purchased units and this bottom layer was the original (factory?) finish? Anyone with knowledge or tips to resources about mantles / house construction and trim from the mid 1800s ? Were fireplace mantles commonly purchased units, or was there no such thing? (This was in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia, near Harrisonburg)

Thanks for any tips !
 
  #2  
Old 07-31-00, 05:48 PM
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Conrad:

There is a distinct possibility what you ran into was milk paint - literally paint whose base is milk - lactic acid if you want to get fancy. It's a bear to remove.

Buy some throw-away plastic drop cloths - 8 by 10 or so. Lay on a heavy coat of the paste stripper and cover the piece up. Leave it alone for at least an hour or more. Then try to scrape. The plastic keeps the fumes in and keeps the stripper from drying out without disturbing the action , as repeated applications can.

Brass bristle brushes are suggested for intricate cleaning, but you're right. The less they're used, the better.

It's possible the mantle was made away from the house and brought in, but factory manufacture of such pieces didn't come into being until after 1900. Typically, the trim and ornate decorations were assembled on site by the 'contractor'. The finish was applied after installation. Depending upon the exact age of the piece, and/or tastes of the time, it may or may not have been painted when it was first installed. That may have come later.

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George T.
 
 

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