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ANTIQUE FURNITURE RESTORATION DISCUSSION BOARD
Posted By: Greg Scholl <beatkat@adelphia.net> (ct-waterbury1b-56.wtrbct.adelphia.net)
In Response To: Re: refinishing antique fireplace mantel (James Schooley)
Date: 1/16/5 19:25
Hi Kathy, completely removing paint from carving like this is tedious exacting work. Chances are it's oil paint or even casien based paint which are both pretty tenacious. I would use a paste type stripper and work in small areas...Citrustrip is my favorite, but will not work as quickly as Methylene Chloride based stripper. I just happen to steer away from MC strippers these days as they're very toxic and dangerous. Apply the stripper to the area, and try to lay it on thickly, not brush...cover with plastic, I like garbage bags for this....and leave for several hours or even overnight....the Citrustrip will not evaporate like MC stripper either, it will stay workable for a long time. Then uncover and reapply on the drier areas and begin to go at the paint with the tools mentioned in James's post as well as my faves... crab picks and small brass brushes...wiping the glop as you go..the crab picks are stout metal picks I find at tag sales, and I grind the tips to various shapes to allow them to fit into tight areas and scrape without gouging. The final step, at least with the citrustrip, is brushing mineral spirits over the carving with a scrub brush and drying thoroughly with rags...for stripper I like towels cut/torn into approx. 10x14" pieces.I find old towels at Tag sales too....they can usually be had for a quarter- $1 a piece...and one large bath towel makes quite a few rags....
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