Big Old Door

[HeadExam 1,783]

A young couple bought an old door (not sure if it was that old, I don't believe so) at auction and asked me to remove the finish and restore the stain/varnish. This is the first couple hours work. It had at least 8-10 coats of various types of colored varnish and/or lacquer on the outside, which if it was a new door lead me to believe that the previous workmanship was a failed endeavor, at least to the buyer. I believe the door is Ash and it is about 8 feet tall. There is a wrought iron grate that goes over the small door/window. All this is being done by hand with sand paper and hand scrapers.

[Triumph66 1,256]

Nice work you are doing. I love working with wood especially rejuvenating old wooden furniture.

 

 

[Anglo Traction 1,016]

9 hours ago, Triumph66 said:

Nice work you are doing. I love working with wood especially rejuvenating old wooden furniture.

 

 

Me too . Stripping the old surface off is my favourite part, especially when there are crevices and formed beadings to clean off.

Not a  commonly known, or used process, but I've used broken glass for over 30 years to clean off old finishes.

You need to find the pieces with the correct gentle convex curve edge, but it is so fast.

I stripped over 40 feet of 50 year old Mahogany Bannister Rail of wax in about 4 hours ready for stain and varnish.

Usual care need's to be adopted of course and is an art in it'self to obtain the correct angle.

[Cub Cadet 613]

6 hours ago, Anglo Traction said:

Me too . Stripping the old surface off is my favourite part, especially when there are crevices and formed beadings to clean off.

Not a  commonly known, or used process, but I've used broken glass for over 30 years to clean off old finishes.

You need to find the pieces with the correct gentle convex curve edge, but it is so fast.

I stripped over 40 feet of 50 year old Mahogany Bannister Rail of wax in about 4 hours ready for stain and varnish.

Usual care need's to be adopted of course and is an art in it'self to obtain the correct angle.

 

Sounds similar to a card scraper/ cabinet scraper I use, brilliant tools!

[HeadExam 1,783]

8 hours ago, Anglo Traction said:

Me too . Stripping the old surface off is my favourite part, especially when there are crevices and formed beadings to clean off.

Not a  commonly known, or used process, but I've used broken glass for over 30 years to clean off old finishes.

You need to find the pieces with the correct gentle convex curve edge, but it is so fast.

I stripped over 40 feet of 50 year old Mahogany Bannister Rail of wax in about 4 hours ready for stain and varnish.

Usual care need's to be adopted of course and is an art in it'self to obtain the correct angle.

Thanks for the tip, I have been using fabricated plastic putty knives that I shape to a curve and resharpen when dull, the glass won't have that problem. It has two coats of sanding sealer right now, it will get sanded next and one more coat of sealer then a third coat of sealer with a another light sanding. The finish will start with two coats of high gloss polyurethane (for protection and depth) and a final coat of Marine Spar Urethane with flattening agents to produce a satin/matte gun stock finish. I'll post more pictures tomorrow.

[HeadExam 1,783]

1st coat of Urethane