Sanding detailing on a door.

[sparkus88]

Hi,

Long time since I last posted.

I have recently undertaken stripping paint from a old front door on my parents house and attempting to restore it. The door is from approx 1950s and has stained glass window. We found Shillings and half pennies that were put through a letter box and got lost between the door and wood attached to back at a later date. Sorry rambling anyway.

The reason for my post after using a heat gun and paint stripper to remove most of the paint we discovered it had, I assume, an undercoat which has stained the wood blackish. Is there a simple way to sand back the detailing around the window and other places on the door? There is a lot of detailing and would take days to do so I'm hoping there is a quicker way than just sandpaper and elbow grease. I have attached a few photos.

 

[YoungSalt]

It kind of depends if the black staining is an old finish or a discolouration of the natural wood. If it is the wood, then try oxalic acid, but be sure to rinse off and neutalise before trying to refinish!

 

[rafezetter]

I'm sorry to say when it comes to cleaning up these sorts of details there are no real shortcuts - the only options are to sand normally, make a foam backer (from some old celotex insulation) the same shape as the detail and put sandpaper on it (details here:http://www.familyhandyman.com/woodworking/how-to-sand-woodwork-by-hand/view-all) or if you have the ability you could use card scrapers - and maybe even make a scraper that follows the shape of the detail from a section of a disposable jack saw. It would be a bit of faff to make but once done, will make the cleanup a breeze. The profile wouldn't have to be a perfect match, as when you use it all the detail will be formed to the same shape so no-one will be any the wiser.

 

[yetloh]

I'm inclined to agree with the scraper idea. The problemwith sanding mouldings is that you tend to lose their crispness.

Making a scraper is not that difficult - cut out with a hacksaw then refine the shape with a dremel or similar.

Jim