Stripping paint from old doors

[plumtree]

I have just stripped the many coats of paint from an old cedar door. I started with a heat gun to get the top few coats off but found it necessary to use a paint stripper to get through to the bottom coat. Next came the sanding! The flat areas were relatively easy but the crevices, it is a four panel door, were a real headache! The bottom coat of paint was, I think, a type of limewash. It was meant to last and it was determined to stay. After more hours than I care to keep track of the end result is fantastic! The wood is a wonderful colour and the hints of wear add to the old world charm.
Now I have only 7 more doors to do. It will take months using the approach followed on the initial door. What do you suggest. If you know of professional paint strippers in Sydney, Southern Highlands area that may be they way to go.

All ideas would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Simon]

I took mine to a stripper guy - he charges $50 per door and takes as long as he needs to get about ten doors to go in his dipping machine - usually within two weeks. when I did my front door he rang me when he was ready and it just took two days.

He does a great job but is here in Newcastle - I am sure you must have someone nearby?

 

[geoffw]

I took mine to a stripper guy

I wonder if he tells people at parties that he's a stripper?

 

[Andrew]

I bought a pre-stripped door from a second hand joint in Richmond, they dip
them in something caustic to remove the paint, etc. One problem you might
have is that the process can cause the doors to bow.

andy

 

[plumtree]

Many thanks for your replies! I also appreciate the mention that warping could be a possibility. I guess it makes sense if you are going to soak wooden doors in a caustic bath. I wonder what the prevelance of this may be.

 

[depreciator]

There was another problem with the caustic baths that I heard about years ago. If the caustic solution is not thoroughly neutralised, it can keep eating away at the timber. I don't know how they neutralise it. Water? This could be an urban myth.
If I had cedar doors, I wouldn't get them dipped. I would do it the hard way. If they were pine, I wouldn't hesitate to get them dipped.

 

[landlubber]

We have been told that a product called "MINWAX Antique Furniture Refinisher" is very good for getting those last little fiddly bits of paint out of crevices and the timber grain. Those annoying bits that survive the heat gun & the paint stripper and then won't sand out either !! I have not tried it personally, but a good mate says it works really well !

Hope that helps ..

LL

 

[plumtree]

Thanks landlubber, I will give it a try.....I would not take a chance on warping these doors as they are 4 panel cedar and, because of the age of this house, much shorter than modern doors. I would have to have new doors made if they were damaged. I appreciate the warning Depereciator and will carry on scraping and sanding. The original coat of paint is apparently somthing called "Kalsomine" which doesn't seem to react to anything except sanding.

 

[geoffw]

Thanks landlubber, I will give it a try.....I would not take a chance on warping these doors as they are 4 panel cedar and, because of the age of this house, much shorter than modern doors. I would have to have new doors made if they were damaged. I appreciate the warning Depereciator and will carry on scraping and sanding. The original coat of paint is apparently somthing called "Kalsomine" which doesn't seem to react to anything except sanding.

A little bit of Googling finds the variant spelling of Calcimine, otherwise known as distemper.

www.technosolution.co.uk/diy/painting/distemper/distemper.htm
suggests using the same method for removal as removing wallpaper- see www.technosolution.co.uk/diy/wallpapering/strip/strip.htm

 

[plumtree]

Thanks Geoff but I couldn't follow the trail you left....the links did not link. I was able to search and find what was needed. The "Kalsomine" spelling came from a Peter Cuffley book which hinted that it may be a trade name. Many thanks for getting me pointed in the right direction.

 

[geoffw]

Sorry about that. I've corrected the links.

 

[ibeginner]

I am sorry I am a bit slow. Why do not you just sand it few times (make smooth), and repaint it few coats as you like? Sorry for my naive.

 

[depreciator]

Because it is a crime to put paint on cedar.

 

[ibeginner]

Are you serious or kidding

 

[lizzie]

i think he is serious - and i agree. a beautifully finished cedar is magic.

 

[depreciator]

Deadly serious.

Cedar is a beautiful timber. And there is bugger-all around any more. The east coast had forests of the stuff and they're gone.

Much of the cedar was used for furniture, doors and skirting boards. Alot of the furniture has survived, but I don't particularly like the predominant style. My mother-in-law has some big ponderous pieces that we'll inherit one day and I don't know where we'll put them.

I don't know when people started painting over cedar doors and skirting boards. Was it the 60s when exposed timber became unfashionable? Whenever I'm in the older parts of Sydney and I pass a skip outside a house being renovated and there are old timber skirting boards visible, I grab them.

I've got a couple of shelves of cedar in my shed. Not sure what I'll do with it, but I hate the idea of it going into landfill.

Scott

 

[willair]

I use this company in Brisbane
www.woodworkers.com.au/
they have all the heritage gear
in cedar,and other hardwoods
its worth a look..
good luck
willair

 

[plumtree]

They may not have true Australian cedar doors in Perth, I think it was grown in eastern Australia. Jarrah is the WA prefered wood.

 

[plumtree]

Dear Depreciator, I have the impression that cedar doors were painted at the very start, after all, it was only considered as usable timber because it was workable whereas other hard woods were too difficult to cut etc. I am sure that my doors had the original paint/distemper applied when the house was new. The colours were very odd but did,to some degree, match the wall & skirting boards.

 

[depreciator]

Cedar was plentiful a hundred years ago, so it was not valued like it is today. It's a soft wood and easy to work with. The moulded upper edges of skirting boards would have been done by hand with shaped planes. Though being a sooftwood, it dented easily when people kicked it. It was so plentiful, that it was used in workers cottages in the inner city areas of the east coast cities. Sometimes the bedrooms of these homes had lesser quality timber used compared with the 'public areas' i.e. where visitors saw. In 'stately homes', the cedar skirtings and doors are not painted. Maybe this timber was particularly good? I've seen some original homes with cedar skirting boards and doors that are unpainted, though. But I guess some homeowners would have painted them? Of course, I'm not a historian, so I may be wrong about much of the above.
Anyway, I applaud the efforts of anyone who decides to do what you're doing. Of course, I commiserate too, because it's a bugger of a job.
Scott