Jwalkerrt Posted October 27, 2016 Report Share Posted October 27, 2016 Hello all! We are in the very long process of restoring a 100 year old house. So to make a long story short, we are doing the painstaking process of attempting to remove all the stain off of these incredible tongue and groove heart pine walls. The same planks are on the floors and ceilings. Some are a bit termite damaged but overall are simply beautiful. Anyways, we are struggling with getting the stain off. We are burning through sanding discs on my orbital sander like there's no tomorrow. Even at 80 or 60 grit, the amount of residue coupled with the resin from the heart pine gums them up way too fast With such a huge project, would you recommend just going for it and using a chemical based paint or paste stripper to get as much off before attempting to sand or just grin and bear it and keep at the sanding? It took us close to 8 hours just to do what you see here and we have numerous walls to do. As a side note, we found lead paint on the trim and the entire adjoining wall was painted over top of the stain and citristrip easily dissolved the layers of paint but didn't even touch the stain. If anyone has any other suggestions on how to speed this process up, we'd love to hear it. We have a ton of other stuff to do in the house so to get this part out of the way, would be a great accomplishment Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JosephThomas Posted October 27, 2016 Report Share Posted October 27, 2016 I haven't dealt with this exact problem, but if I were really trying to strip a lot of paint or finish, I would be using 40 grit, and I'd probably be using a belt sander. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coop Posted October 27, 2016 Report Share Posted October 27, 2016 Holy cow, that's a heckuva an undertaking. I agree that that's some nice wood, but it sure going to be dark in there with all four walls, floor and ceiling being that color? Good luck on this project and be so kind as to follow up with some pics upon completition! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wdwerker Posted October 27, 2016 Report Share Posted October 27, 2016 Tom King is our resident old house expert. If anyone will know the best way to do it he will. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sheperd80 Posted October 27, 2016 Report Share Posted October 27, 2016 Also not an expert, but id probably be using some stripper as well. Atleast one slathering to break through the first layer of finish. It usually takes a few rounds of stripper to get all the way down so doing it once should help speed up the process without harming the wood and causing more sanding. . Id be reluctant to use a belt sander on pine. A 6" DA sander with 60 grit or so would do it fast, then switch to ROS when your down to almost all bare wood. . Not to be a Festool salesman but i think a RO150 would own this job. Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G890A using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jwalkerrt Posted October 27, 2016 Author Report Share Posted October 27, 2016 7 hours ago, K Cooper said: Holy cow, that's a heckuva an undertaking. I agree that that's some nice wood, but it sure going to be dark in there with all four walls, floor and ceiling being that color? Good luck on this project and be so kind as to follow up with some pics upon completition! Oh we are definitely not keeping it dark like that after all the sanding is complete. At the very least, we will be scraping the popcorn off of the ceiling and either sand and keep the drywall that's up there or paint over the stain on the ceilings with a white paint. As for the walls, we originally wanted to do a blue wash technique but after realizing that the wood has such a natural red tint due to the heart pine, we are wondering if a blue wash would even work. I just read about bleaching but I haven't researched it too much. Worse comes to worse, we may end up doing a white wash instead. We haven't made out mind up regarding the floors yet though. Once we decide on the color of the walls, we will determine the dark or lightness of the finish on the floors. We are located a few minutes from the beach so we are turning the house into a beachy craftsman of sorts so light and bright colors are what we are going after. The house has been altered so much over the years, it hardly holds any characteristics of its original form from what we can tell. 8 hours ago, JosephThomas said: I haven't dealt with this exact problem, but if I were really trying to strip a lot of paint or finish, I would be using 40 grit, and I'd probably be using a belt sander. The problem with the belt sander was two fold. My lack of experience caused me to burn the wood a bit which I learned very quickly lol. The other is the weight of the belt sander is incredibly restraining when attempting to hold against a vertical wall for a long period of time. I'm only 37 so I'm not old by any stretch but dang my hands and wrists were killing me after only a small fraction of time while attempting to keep pressure against the wall. Thus again could be due to my inexperienced nature Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jwalkerrt Posted October 27, 2016 Author Report Share Posted October 27, 2016 7 hours ago, sheperd80 said: Also not an expert, but id probably be using some stripper as well. Atleast one slathering to break through the first layer of finish. It usually takes a few rounds of stripper to get all the way down so doing it once should help speed up the process without harming the wood and causing more sanding. . Id be reluctant to use a belt sander on pine. A 6" DA sander with 60 grit or so would do it fast, then switch to ROS when your down to almost all bare wood. . Not to be a Festool salesman but i think a RO150 would own this job. Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G890A using Tapatalk That would be awesome but dang for the cost of it , we could have a window or two replaced lol. I'd probably grin and bear it in that case as Windows are more important Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
..Kev Posted October 27, 2016 Report Share Posted October 27, 2016 This would be a great fit for the FT Rotex and a CT. A lot of money to fork out for sure! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bradpotts Posted October 27, 2016 Report Share Posted October 27, 2016 If I was doing it, I would think about taking it down and running it through a planer. But I would rather do almost anything than sand boards especially if they are already on the wall. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drzaius Posted October 27, 2016 Report Share Posted October 27, 2016 45 minutes ago, bradpotts said: If I was doing it, I would think about taking it down and running it through a planer. But I would rather do almost anything than sand boards especially if they are already on the wall. You'd need a carbide head to do that. Steel knives would be trashed in minutes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brendon_t Posted October 27, 2016 Report Share Posted October 27, 2016 Maybe I've been in California to long but I got lost at Lead. Have you checked to be positive that what you are sanding away and breathing doesn't have lead? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jwalkerrt Posted October 27, 2016 Author Report Share Posted October 27, 2016 48 minutes ago, Brendon_t said: Maybe I've been in California to long but I got lost at Lead. Have you checked to be positive that what you are sanding away and breathing doesn't have lead? Heh no the walls that I've been sanding do not have lead paint. It is pure and extremely thick stain. Only the trim and the adjoining wall have lead paint down around the original coat which we've used CitriStrip to scrape all of the layers of paint including the lead coat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AceHoleInOne Posted October 27, 2016 Report Share Posted October 27, 2016 Chemical strip...the only way I would do it. -Ace- Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brendon_t Posted October 27, 2016 Report Share Posted October 27, 2016 I can't even think about lead without reciting the prop 65 warning to my thoughts. WARNING These thoughts contain lead. A product known to the state of California and only California to cause serious illness including but not limited to left handedness, color blindness, sterility, verbal diarrhea and hemorrhaging of wiper fluid from the muffler bearings. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BonPacific Posted October 27, 2016 Report Share Posted October 27, 2016 I just finished doing something similar with a wall in my house. 65 year old Doug Fir shiplap siding. 36 grit sandpaper on a Ryobi belt sander was the only way to get it done. The sander we used was pretty light (6.8lbs), lighter than the old black and decker I'd inherited from somewhere. 1 hour ago, Jwalkerrt said: Heh no the walls that I've been sanding do not have lead paint. It is pure and extremely thick stain. Only the trim and the adjoining wall have lead paint down around the original coat which we've used CitriStrip to scrape all of the layers of paint including the lead coat. Old varnish could still have Lead Acetate as a drying agent, don't assume anything is lead free. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan G Posted October 27, 2016 Report Share Posted October 27, 2016 Could try a grinder with sanding disk and a dust shroud hooked to a vac. Similiar setups are used a lot to strip exterior house paint. Thats what was used on my previous house that had cedar clapboard and it turned out great. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wtnhighlander Posted October 28, 2016 Report Share Posted October 28, 2016 A grinder & sanding disk will certainly remove stuff in a hurry..If you don't have a grinder, HF sells one that is a pretty good bargain (the one with a "paddle" switch). Watch out, though - you can remove a lot of wood along with the finish! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jwalkerrt Posted October 29, 2016 Author Report Share Posted October 29, 2016 On 10/27/2016 at 3:43 PM, BonPacific said: I just finished doing something similar with a wall in my house. 65 year old Doug Fir shiplap siding. 36 grit sandpaper on a Ryobi belt sander was the only way to get it done. The sander we used was pretty light (6.8lbs), lighter than the old black and decker I'd inherited from somewhere. Old varnish could still have Lead Acetate as a drying agent, don't assume anything is lead free. Well that's a bit concerning. I never considered lead in the varnish. I mean we've been wearing n95 masks during this time but now realizing that these masks don't work for lead, I went ahead and purchased some p100 respirators for the rest of the work. As far as the belt sander, I have my dad's rigid sander and it weighs 8.2lbs so a tad heavier than yours. I may try again so see if I get my technique a bit better with it. I went ahead and purchased a Carbide scraper but I also purchased a decent heat gun also to see if that would help speed up the work. It comes with a scraper attachment also for the head of the gun which I'm not too sure about. Anyone use a heat gun for such work? We took Monday and Tuesday off from work since we have our kids this weekend and they are not allowed in the house until the dirty work is done and the house has been cleaned and ventilated after all of this. Thanks again for all of the suggestions! Oh if anyone is interest in seeing more of the house, I've created a website/blog to not only show the progress but the before pics along with some really interesting historical documentation. http://Www.jeremyandsomersforeverhome.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drzaius Posted October 29, 2016 Report Share Posted October 29, 2016 2 hours ago, Jwalkerrt said: Well that's a bit concerning. I never considered lead in the varnish. I mean we've been wearing n95 masks Cool project there. N95 masks really aren't much good at all. Instead of breathing all the dust, you're breathing a little less of it. Theoretically, they remove 95% of particles, but that's with careful fitting. But after wearing for a short time they get loose & don't maintain a seal. I would definitely test for lead in that varnish. If there is lead, you don't want to be sanding with any kind of mask. That's a job for the professionals, but if you DIY, at least use chemical strippers that won't raise any dust. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wdwerker Posted October 29, 2016 Report Share Posted October 29, 2016 If you use a heat gun on lead paint it vaporizes . Found out the hard way about 30 years ago when I noticed a metallic taste in my mouth after using the heat gun to scrape back the thick layers of paint around an external repair on a soffit. Switched to stripper for that job and avoided exterior and old house work ever since. Cabinets, trim and furniture are much more interesting to me. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jwalkerrt Posted October 29, 2016 Author Report Share Posted October 29, 2016 Yea I did buy some more lead test packs so I will test it Monday and go from there. I've been avoiding the chemical stripper option because all of the windows in the house do not function at all. I do have two doors in the front and back of the house so I guess I could by 4 fans and place them so they circulate air in and out of the house. I may try to force the windows open in this case also but I'll see how the lead that goes Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wdwerker Posted October 29, 2016 Report Share Posted October 29, 2016 If the windows are going to be replaced I would remove one in the front and one in the rear, then replace them with plywood cut out to fit the fans. Add a second layer of plywood to secure the building when you aren't working. Those cheap box fans will not move enough air. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BonPacific Posted October 29, 2016 Report Share Posted October 29, 2016 20 minutes ago, wdwerker said: If the windows are going to be replaced I would remove one in the front and one in the rear, then replace them with plywood cut out to fit the fans. Add a second layer of plywood to secure the building when you aren't working. Those cheap box fans will not move enough air. If you want freestanding fans, the bigger floor models move a lot of air around, but don't necessarily work well for exhaust. I'd recommend either an attic fan or a duct fan fitted to a plywood frame like wdwerker said. Both would require some wiring though. Since the house is old, you should only worry about exhaust, the leaks will take care of intake. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jwalkerrt Posted October 29, 2016 Author Report Share Posted October 29, 2016 So to be a bit proactive , what stripper would everyone recommend Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bleedinblue Posted October 29, 2016 Report Share Posted October 29, 2016 On 10/27/2016 at 7:09 AM, Jwalkerrt said: That would be awesome but dang for the cost of it , we could have a window or two replaced lol. I'd probably grin and bear it in that case as Windows are more important Regarding the price of the Festool sanders, keep in mind their fantastic resale value. After the job you could re-sell the sander(s) and recoup most of their price. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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