the sludge on stripping': part 1

(yes, i'm attempting another series.  sporadic, of course.)

ewww.  

to you, maybe.  but look past the ooze and consider the harvest of the murky seed i'm sowing.  each stroke of the scraper along the scaly skin allows the sun to stream down to the shrouded wood, it's grain dancing in the light again.


still just gross, huh?

duff agrees and averts his eyes upon a sniff of the stripper.

oops.

he's especially miffed after he's caught a clump of gunk with his rump.


yes, this is a messy market not meant for the mousey, however, eventually, the furniture freaks will face that divine find that forces them to pause and ponder donning the gloves and making a mucky mess.

when, you ask?  how will i know, you ask?  what will it look like, you ask?

okay, enough with the questions!

the cold, hard truth is that it's your call--but here are a few things that cause me to consider stripping over sanding.

• first of all, is the goal to paint or stain the piece in the end?  sometimes, i don't make this decision until after sanding/stripping because i want to see what type of wood is hidden under the ick.  plus, i feel sorry for the wood buried beneath the layers of gunge.  doesn't it deserve a breath of fresh air??

with this sweet table, i didn't know what i was dealing with until i  declared war on it with my stripper.

after unearthing solid oak, i couldn't blanket it in paint again.  (full story here)  the painted surface was pretty stable, so i could've just painted over it if that was my goal.

• next, if i know i'm going to paint it then i need to determine how to prepare the surface for the paint.  some old finishes are peeling up from the wood so, even if i rough it up, the original finish is likely to fly the coop eventually, taking my freshly painted layer along for the ride.

• if the finish is crackly and "plastic-like" then i know i'm calling in the stripping troops.  that top is screaming for some citrastrip.  henry was a hot number in the end, however, that scuzzy finish kicked and screamed its way off his skin.

• another surefire reason to skip to the strip instead of sanding is oil-based paint. eeeewww!  it's gunky and ucky and chunky and not worth wasting perfectly fine sandpaper.  

this free bad boy buffet was...bad.  but a beauty in the end...no matter which kuh-nobs it wore!

• when in doubt, it's worth it to run some sandpaper across the top to see if stripping is avoidable.  if your sandpaper ends up looking like this:

it's time to consider stripping.  chunks of paint or gunk are not good.  at this point, you may want to use a finer grain of sandpaper or... let the stripper do its job.

duh.  who's the ninny that just kept going here?

this next dresser is an example of a piece that i wouldn't consider stripping unless i was planning to stain it.  the finish was dry and clear and roughed up easily with any grain of sandpaper.

same goes for the oak dude below.  

what have we learned today, peeps?  you... on the left with waving the paintbrush over your head!

that's right!  be not afraid of the stripping police for they do not exist.  to strip or not to strip is your decision.

uh, that's about it.  for now, though, 'cuz this is a series and that means i'll be back.

soon.

click here for" the sludge on stripping': part 2"

click here for" the sludge on stripping': part 3"