Stripping door frames - more precisely, levelling them

[johnuk]

House was built in the 20's and I've heat gunned the 35 coats of gloss off. Underneath that was some deep brown varnish or stain. Attacking it with stripper and acetone had worked okay for getting that sticky muck off, but it takes literally hours working really hard and makes a huge mess.

Even after doing that, there's a dirty grey / brown residue left on the wood.

I picked up a radial wire brush for my drill and gave it a running over with that, along the grain.

That's cleaned them up really nicely, the grain is looking all firey and alive again. One big problem, the wire is also fairly aggressive and has eaten grooves along the grains. I can't see them from more than two foot away, but I can walking through the jamb, and I can feel the surface is ridged if I touch them - my nail clicks if I run it across the grain direction.

I have a lot of these jambs to strip and need to get them back down to clean wood.

I considered trying one of those nylon wire wheels with abrasive in the strands, hoping that might be less prone to digging in. I was also thinking about using some kind of grain filler to help level off the valleys.

But before trying anything else, I thought I should ask here for some more experienced advice.

I'm sure I could hand sand them, but they feature quite a lot of profiling detail which'll take ages. It's already taking me about five hours to per jamb to get them down to this condition, making hand sanding not much of an appealing option. I have absolutely mountain of jobs to do around my mum's place, so a reasonably efficient method of striking them off to a more level finish would be super!

Are there any epoxy fillers that'll work on deeper grooves? By deep, I can only estimate that they're around 1mm in the worse spots.

I'm hoping to restain them with an alcohol stain in a nice sunset, ambery tone, perhaps a little darker. I want the grain to really come alive.

Thanks for taking the time to read and for any help!

 

[Chippyjoe]

Hi John,

would it not be more cost effective to replace the door linings for new,and if they are non-standard size have some linings machined out?

Thats what I would do anyway,just a thought.

Mark.

 

[Big Fat Pig]

Hi John,

I have stripped some old doors in my house cica 1896 with a similar sounding brown sticky finish which i think was popular in the 20`s & 30`s to give a grain effect - funny how things come around again ! I tried the usual stripping methods and then by chance found one that actually worked not only quickly but efficiently as well. I used a wallpaper steamer and the layers came off a treat with the added bonus of not having the stench of noxious chemicals hanging round like a fart in a spacesuit. I don`t know if any of the other far more experienced chaps on here have tried this method, but it worked for me. It may also help remove some of the grooves the wire brush has left by making the grain swell. I don`t know about this bit, only a thought but i know you can in some instances remove small dents by using a wet tea towel and a hot iron.

Hope this helps.

Piggy

 

[johnuk]

Thanks BFP!

I'm not sure how well the steam will work on the varnishy stain stuff, the heat gun is turning it to sticky goo.

All the doors downstairs are already solvent washed, but I may give the steam a go upstairs on the sticky layer.

I like the idea of steaming to remove the marks! It'll definitely raise the grain for sanding, that much a know.

The ridges are just too bad to leave bare. It's either sanding (hopefully with a drill attachment that'll do profiles), or some kind of grain filling. I don't know if regular epoxy filler will get such deep cuts, it almost certainly won't get it in one coat. Also, I don't know how bad they'll look if I epoxy fill.

Whatever happens, I know for sure they're taking some serious effort to get down to something I'd even consider alcohol staining.

 

[laird]

Are the various size sanding wheels on a Dremel (or similar) suitable to run up and down the moulding elements. Used one on an 1870's wooden fire surround successfully a while back.

 

[paulm]

The sand ing sounds like a job for a Fein Multi-master or Bosch Allrounder with the profile sanding kit ? Not tried myself though so can't recommend.

Cheers, Paul

 

[TrimTheKing]

Would you not get a better result taking them all off, marking them up so you know what goes where and getting them dipped? This will strip everything off and not damage the wood...

Will cost a bit more, but less mess and time invested fom you and better end result, everyone's a winner.

That's definitely the way my lazt @rse would go about this job

 

[dchallender]

Would you not get a better result taking them all off, marking them up so you know what goes where and getting them dipped? This will strip everything off and not damage the wood...

Will cost a bit more, but less mess and time invested fom you and better end result, everyone's a winner.

That's definitely the way my lazt @rse would go about this job

I renovated my first house which was an old victorian house, the only way after months of trying was to do as Trim the King said and get them dipped, it gave a perfect finish but remember to neutralise and feed the wood after. You'll never get rid of the wire marks if you use an abrasive wheel/brush. On areas where I couldn't do that i.e. doors with stained glass windows I had to do it the old fashioned way of stripper and hard work. On areas where my previous attempts had failed I managed to get some original timber from a reclaim yard in Lichfield.

rgds

Darren

 

[Jake]

I have stripped some old doors in my house cica 1896 with a similar sounding brown sticky finish which i think was popular in the 20`s & 30`s to give a grain effect

It is usually the original Victorian finish. They did not go for pine on show, and tended to paint it to look like hardwood.

 

[big soft moose]

Would you not get a better result taking them all off, marking them up so you know what goes where and getting them dipped? This will strip everything off and not damage the wood...

Will cost a bit more, but less mess and time invested fom you and better end result, everyone's a winner.

That's definitely the way my lazt @rse would go about this job

what he said

the only point i'd add being that when you mark them it needs to be physical - like a code of dots scribed in the back (the bit that goes against the wall and doesnt show) with a dremel - dont just mark up in biro/pencil etc as dip strip will take that off too.

and re the one with the grooves - personally i'd replace it with new - if you were going to paint is you could use wood filler but if you are planning on leaving them wood and varnishing/finishing the filler will look horrible

 

[johnuk]

Thanks for all the replies guys! I wasn't expecting so many after a slow start.

The all rounder and Fein are an idea I'll fall back on, sanding is something I want to do as little as posible of.

I like the dip and strip idea. The DCM paint stripper, acetone and scraper are getting it off, the surface is just stained with the remains too badly to restain.

I'll have to look them over and see how easily I can pull them, some of them are in load bearing walls, and my mum will have a fit when I start pulling them out. But I know that'd get them super clean and ready to go.

The wire brushed one... I can't really afford to throw it out. The house is a complete mess and mix&match of old and new bits that have been installed without any thought over it's life. The door jambs are about the only thing, literally, where all of them are original. The wire brushed one will need hand sanding if it comes to it.

The filler I'm talking about is transparent epoxy filler, not the kind you use under a basecoat or primer. It's used a lot on cabinets and musical instruments to get it flat and that deep, liquid glossy look.

This looks interesting;
http://music-electronics-forum.com/t12101/

An epoxy / silica based paste.

I'll almost certainly need some ultra high build version to get the grain grooves I've got in the jamb.

 

[RogerS]

Or if you want to do them in situ then mix sodium hydroxide with wallpaper paste and paint that onto the timber. Leave overnight and then clean off. Don't forget to neutralise as others have mentioned.

 

[johnuk]

Thanks, I have a ton a lot of caustic stuff to hand. I actually have it's bigger brother Potassium Hydroxide (KOH). I like the similicity factor. I'll give it a whirl tonight!

And advice on the easiest way to neutralize? I have quite a bit of sulphuric acid I could dilute down and rinse the base off with.

 

[Steve (Correze)]

Flap-wheel on an angle-grinder, then a dremel to clean up any bits you missed.

It's messy, but very quick.

 

[NotherNewbie]

Nitromors and wire wool. Need to do it outside, but got this tip from someone who was in the restoration trade years ago.

Buy the packs of wire wool balls, go for a fairly fine one. Get the majority off with Nitro and a scraper. For all the odd bits left behind, dip the wool in the Nitro and rub it into the grain. When the wool is clogged, rip the part off and use a new bit.

You'll need rubber gloves as well. Wash off afterwards and neutralise with white spirit (I think)

Wouldn't have them dipped. Think the dippers use caustic soda and then wash in tank of water. You can end up with wood getting waterlogged and seams opening.

Long job but good end result.