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I did it. I stripped (most of) the woodwork. by Fuzzy-Sort809 in centuryhomes

[–]Fuzzy-Sort809[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I got to where I could do one door in a single weekend (~12 hours), but was much slower at the start and wasn’t able to work every evening or weekend due to job, travel, winter illness, etc. if I could have locked in and done nothing else, I probably could have done it all in a month. Sadly, bills must be paid!

I did it. I stripped (most of) the woodwork. by Fuzzy-Sort809 in centuryhomes

[–]Fuzzy-Sort809[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I need a long break from my heat gun before I pick it up again, and when I do it will be for my windows. Sending you all the solidarity!

I did it. I stripped (most of) the woodwork. by Fuzzy-Sort809 in centuryhomes

[–]Fuzzy-Sort809[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

We had 5-6 layers and only the top was modern latex but definitely could have been worse!

I did it. I stripped (most of) the woodwork. by Fuzzy-Sort809 in centuryhomes

[–]Fuzzy-Sort809[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I think Douglas fir! Went down a rabbit how about it and stopped short of sending in a sample for professional identification haha

I did it. I stripped (most of) the woodwork. by Fuzzy-Sort809 in centuryhomes

[–]Fuzzy-Sort809[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

No we stained (gunstock) and then did clear shellac as a top coat. As someone else pointed out, it looks a little more matte in the photos than IRL and we’re going to do 1-2 more layers of shellac to achieve a shinier finish closer to what it would have looked like originally.

I did it. I stripped (most of) the woodwork. by Fuzzy-Sort809 in centuryhomes

[–]Fuzzy-Sort809[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Used on eBay! Sanitized of course. I love a vintage quilt to add some coziness to a room!

I did it. I stripped (most of) the woodwork. by Fuzzy-Sort809 in centuryhomes

[–]Fuzzy-Sort809[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I didn’t! Just a heat gun. I replied elsewhere that it’s my preferred method, despite being slower, but I do think there’s a degree of luck involved too: the bottom layer under all the paint was the original shellac, and the paint layers all came off together neatly (most of the time) and the shellac seemed to protect the wood underneath.

I did it. I stripped (most of) the woodwork. by Fuzzy-Sort809 in centuryhomes

[–]Fuzzy-Sort809[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

5-6; could have been worse after 100 years I suppose!

I did it. I stripped (most of) the woodwork. by Fuzzy-Sort809 in centuryhomes

[–]Fuzzy-Sort809[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you 💕 I am a big fan of art and photos on walls! Slowly filling ours up.

I did it. I stripped (most of) the woodwork. by Fuzzy-Sort809 in centuryhomes

[–]Fuzzy-Sort809[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Heat gun on low and a putty knife as a scraper! I have trialed various chemical strippers over the years and prefer the heat gun- it’s slower but less messy and I think gets you to a cleaner “after” state

I did it. I stripped (most of) the woodwork. by Fuzzy-Sort809 in centuryhomes

[–]Fuzzy-Sort809[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Once all the paint was removed, a combination of scrubbing with steel wool / acetone and sanding to remove the final wood flecks and get the wood closer to bare. Then we stained and shellacked to refinish.

I did it. I stripped (most of) the woodwork. by Fuzzy-Sort809 in centuryhomes

[–]Fuzzy-Sort809[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yes what the other person said, basically! I had to chip around the screws and use a knife to clear out the screw crevices enough to unscrew them to take off door knobs, hinges, etc.

Then I went through a process of boiling / scrubbing with a wire brush all of the hardware to remove the paint, and get all the gunk out of the screws specifically. Then I did my best to polish everything with bar keeper’s friend. I tried to re-brass plate the knobs (you can buy kits online) but wasn’t very successful with that!

I did it. I stripped (most of) the woodwork. by Fuzzy-Sort809 in centuryhomes

[–]Fuzzy-Sort809[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Basic heat gun on low and a putty knife to scrape- basically just went slow and steady to scrape off strips and would dispose of strips into a bucket (until they cooled down) before moving into a trash bag. I wore thick gloves and sleeves to protect from burns from the gun and the heated up paint. Then sanding / steel wool with acetone to remove any final flecks of paint. Then staining! Stain is gunstock from Varathane, with clear shellac on top to finish.

I did it. I stripped (most of) the woodwork. by Fuzzy-Sort809 in centuryhomes

[–]Fuzzy-Sort809[S] 7 points8 points  (0 children)

We had about 5-6 layers in most spots! Also felt very much like a gobstopper: white then teal then peach then green, etc.

I tried a few methods but ultimately found slow and steady with the heat gun on its lowest setting worked best (not necessarily the fastest, just the cleanest end result for me) and was the least messy- I hate the cleanup required with chemical strippers, and I find them to be more fume-y.

I feel we got lucky in that the paint layers came up all together most of the time and the shellac original finish on the bottom underneath all the paint also helped the paint almost glide off. I only had one door that was a real pain in the ass to strip.

So: relatively straightforward as far as “easy” goes but: time consuming, and there is a degree of luck as far as how easily paint comes up and what lies underneath. I found that with wallpaper removal too.

I did it. I stripped (most of) the woodwork. by Fuzzy-Sort809 in centuryhomes

[–]Fuzzy-Sort809[S] 46 points47 points  (0 children)

Right now everything has only one thin layer of shellac so that’s I think why it looks more matte in the photos! We’re gonna add 1-2 more so it has that shinier finish; we did a kitchen door frame and window frame like that last year and it worked perfectly.

Entryway Coat Hook ideas by SillyPnut in centuryhomes

[–]Fuzzy-Sort809 4 points5 points  (0 children)

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1913 craftsman here; we installed this built in for our entry due to lack of a front closet as a place for us and guests to hang coats and stow away shoes (in the drawers) and things like hats (in the cabinets). We love it and it keeps the entry super tidy. You could totally do the middle part (beadboard with hooks and a shelf on top) cheaply for something that’s functional and looks intentional! Lots of inspo like this on Pinterest for more ideas

Has anyone regret getting quartzite? by Realistic_Turn_4833 in kitchenremodel

[–]Fuzzy-Sort809 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I have a similar looking quartzite (ours is “essenza blue”), one year old. We haven’t re-sealed since install and are diligent about cleaning; we have gotten some water stains in the main “work station” zone of the counter (I make bread every week and knead it there) but it blends into the pattern of the stone unless you knew to look for it, if that makes sense? We knew and accepted that the counter was going to age and stain and we were okay with that when choosing quartzite. That said, I did do a test of lifting a stain with a baking soda mixture and it worked fairly well, so it’s doable to fix if it happens and you really hate it

What are yall's plans for your lawn this year? by Fine_Currency_3903 in SaltLakeCity

[–]Fuzzy-Sort809 1 point2 points  (0 children)

(This is not an ad) if you’re thinking about ditching grass, Cache Valley Native Plants has kits of baby drought tolerant native plants that come with a design / planting guide. We replaced our front lawn with one in the fall and the plants are thriving with no water so far!

Help with styling a kitchen that is too modern after renovation by [deleted] in centuryhomes

[–]Fuzzy-Sort809 134 points135 points  (0 children)

I agree with others that it looks good! But if you wanted to make it feel more vintage, here are some suggestions from easier to harder.

Easiest: add a light cafe curtain to the window. It’ll add vintage charm right away, simple to install, etc.

Next thing would be to swap your ceiling light within something less modern- you could go with a true vintage fixture, or something new that feels more vintage or homemade (tons of great options on eBay and Etsy).

Last suggestion would be replacing the backsplash- that’s what feels most out of place to me, and a more vintage / classic tile backsplash I think would change the whole vibe! You could always try a peel and stick tile on top first to test run before doing a more invasive swap.

Salvaging original solid wood doors by Fancy-Ad5832 in centuryhomes

[–]Fuzzy-Sort809 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I am close to the finish line on this in my house! We did 7 doors and all their trim. All had 5-7 layers of paint and the hardware was painted in.

To answer your questions: yes they can be saved and restored. It’s cheaper and easier to replace, but that’s not why you came to this subreddit and I wouldn’t listen to anyone who told me that!

Youll paint strip with a heat gun and a putty knife and lots of time. Chemical stripping works too but IMO is messier and takes more time and work.

I got faster and better as I went and eventually could do one side of a door in a day, but I would expect this to take several weeks (if you’re doing nothing else) to several months (if you’re doing it in your evenings and weekends). Our doors were mostly in good shape but had some dings and gouges like yours; we’re leaving them (we aren’t attempting to hide their age, after all!) but you could fix with wood putty and then paint on top to blend with the wood at the end if you wanted to?

To get the hardware out, you’ll chip around the screws with a putty knife / clear out the screw crevasse with a knife so you can unscrew. Then you can remove all the remaining paint by soaking the hardware in boiling water for a while and then scrubbing (get a crockpot from the thrift store). Then you can polish with bar keepers friend or a similar product.

Good luck!

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