I have come into the possession of some very cool solid maple furniture cir. 1940s. Cool lines and heavy leather cushins which are worn but thick and solid.

The sofa and two chairs are sold but were painted white they said sometime in the late 1950s. Must have been some major lead paint because they don't look like they were painted so long ago. The undersides of the arms of the sofa and chairs were not painted and the maple is really nice under there.

I need advice on the best way to srip this paint. Somebody here almost always knows the best way to do nearly everything, so I hope this is on the list.

thanks.

. . .this thread went into an entirely different direction than I thought it would. . .



and I had some single bills. . .burning a hole in my pocket. ..

---

_____________________________________

I reject your reality and substitute my own!



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/25/2006 02:52PM by NewtonMP2100.

Quote
NewtonMP2100
. . .this thread went into an entirely different direction than I thought it would. . .



and I had some single bills. . .burning a hole in my pocket. ..

You are the expert on deals. Find me some sofa garters and send your ones on over and I'll put them there.87}

Now, any one who understands the real concept have any suggestions?

I would go to a good local hardware store, and investigate chemical paint/finish removers...
I would avoid any mechanical means to strip lead based paints. I'm not majorly "lead-phobic", since I'm an avid reloader and bullet caster, but I do respect what lead can do when absorbed into the body.... (bad stuff...).

Apply, let work, scrape off the wet goop. Wipe up. Apply again, let work, etc.

Wait... that almost sounds like it would apply to those other kinds of strippers too

---

Paul F.
-----
A sword never kills anybody; it is a tool in the killer's hand. - Lucius Annaeus Seneca c. 5 BC - 65 AD
----
Good is the enemy of Excellent. Talent is not necessary for Excellence.
Persistence is necessary for Excellence. And Persistence is a Decision.
--

--

--
Eureka, CA

Outside, thick-goop type stripper.

Use plastic scraping tools as to not damage the wood. I would take the leather off if possible.

I like old-fashoned chemical stripper over orange strippers.

Lots of how-to's...

[www.hammerzone.com]

thanks, this forum should be put in charge of the world.

oh, and I think I read that the other kind of strippers prefer the plastic tools as well.

Lance, a virile overstuffed armchair. Debbi, a horny pink baroque beauty.
When the owner's away, wow, do they play!!!


[www.furnitureporn.com]

Quote
NewtonMP2100
and I had some single bills. . .burning a hole in my pocket.

Now if the furniture was a Chippendale, then that would be appropriate.

I'd use a gel paint remover, too.
Especially where you know this was painted in the fifties.

One caveat: If it was painted, it may be because the finish was ruined.
You may find gouges filled with wood putty.
Or repairs.
Sometimes gouge repairs show through the paint if not sanded well/prep..

You may get lucky and someone just liked painted furniture.

It might be more efficient to see if you've got a professional stripper (sigh ... it's impossible to keep this thread clean) around.

They typically have a big vat of stripper, and can just drop the piece in after you've removed the uphostery.

---

--------------

Embarassing myself on the Internet since 1978.

OK, I'm off to finish stripping the rest of the wallpaper off my bathroom walls. There is no easy way to do that, just get it really wet and scrape it off. Why did you guys have to remind me that I need to get back to work?

---

Roswell, GA (Atlanta suburb)

Quote
rgG
OK, I'm off to finish stripping the rest of the wallpaper off my bathroom walls. There is no easy way to do that, just get it really wet and scrape it off. Why did you guys have to remind me that I need to get back to work?

I was watching a design show. . .


They scored the wallpaper first. . .then they took fabric softner (generic is fine) diluted in water. . .sprayed it on. ..let it soak in. ..and that made it come off a bit easier. ..



not sure if it works all the time. . .probably depends how hard it is stuck to the wall. ..


Found link to advice from Heloise:


[magazines.ivillage.com]


What's the easiest way to remove wallpaper?
--Mary Hartsfield, Champaign, IL

First, mix 1/4 cup liquid fabric softener or 1 cup white vinegar with 1 gallon water. Score the wallpaper with a wallpaper scorer. Next, spray on the liquid solution. Wait for the paper to separate from the wall. Then, starting in one corner, peel from the top down. If the wallpaper begins to dry out before you've finished peeling it off, dampen it with the solution.

---

_____________________________________

I reject your reality and substitute my own!



Edited 4 time(s). Last edit at 10/25/2006 04:18PM by NewtonMP2100.

Quote
rgG
OK, I'm off to finish stripping the rest of the wallpaper off my bathroom walls. There is no easy way to do that, just get it really wet and scrape it off. Why did you guys have to remind me that I need to get back to work?

We used some blue stuff (I forgot the name) that we got from Home Depot. It worked beautifully. Sprayed it on thick and waited a couple of minutes and the wallpaper peeled right off.

Quote
karsen

Quote
rgG
OK, I'm off to finish stripping the rest of the wallpaper off my bathroom walls. There is no easy way to do that, just get it really wet and scrape it off. Why did you guys have to remind me that I need to get back to work?

We used some blue stuff (I forgot the name) that we got from Home Depot. It worked beautifully. Sprayed it on thick and waited a couple of minutes and the wallpaper peeled right off.

Thanks for all the tips. My job would have been a lot easier if the builder hadn't put up THREE yes THREE layers of wallpaper one on top of the other and, this was a new house when we bought it. I was able to dry strip the top two layers off and most of the top of the third, so now I am scraping away at the backing of the third. I was afraid to use the scoring tool (paper tiger) for fear of poking holes in the sheetrock after I got down to just that backing layer, so I just soak and scrape. I did get a really nice wallpaper scraper that works well and the trusty old single edge razor blade for those tight areas. There are places where they even put dry wall mud OVER the bottom layer of paper. you can imaging how much fun that is to get off.

I was thinking about using that DIF stuff I saw it at the HD and I had tried vinegar and water before, but the plain old warm water works, it is just messy and very time consuming. My mom said she had tried the fabric softener and that it didn't seem to help that much, so I didn't try that.

Three layers of wallpaper, can you believe it. The real estate agent told us when we bought the house, back in 1989, that the wallpaper had been changed in the master bathroom because the builder's wife didn't like it. Stupid me thought that meant they REMOVED the old, but NOOOOO, they just went right over the top with two more layers. There is a special place in Hell for people who do that, or at least there should be.

Sorry for the rant and the thread hi-jack. I'm just tired from scraping. I'm doing a little each night after I finish working. More to do tomorrow.

---

Roswell, GA (Atlanta suburb)

If it makes your current job seem less trying,
I once decided to remove the wallpaper in our bedroom.
4 layers of wallpaper , with many different colors of paint in between each layer.

NO paint at all under the original first layer of wall paper.
Wall paper does not like to let go of joint compound.
Where there was no joint compound it all came right off .
Unfortunately 50% of the wall was joint compound.
We had striped walls for a while.

What was supposed to be a weekend fun job, turned into a two month nightmare of weekends sanding and trying everything. (including giving up) Repairing experimental removal techniques.
About half way thru I was ready to rip out all the sheet rock or just put half inch over the mess.

I painted and quit.

Thanks billb, yours does sound much worse than mine. Oh, and I forgot to mention that they didn't prime my bare sheetrock either. They could put up three layers of paper, but couldn't find the time to put one layer of primer over the sheetrock. The funny thing is, mine strips right off the areas that have joint compound but sticks like crazy to the bare sheetrock, go figure.

---

Roswell, GA (Atlanta suburb)

Wallpaper is making a bit of a comeback, and I have been in a number of model homes recently where the wallpaper was slapped on bare sheetrock. Never buy a spec house.

when I have some really nice wood, I don't like it covered either.

ho ho ho....

FreeScotand...if you want a stripper that will serve you well and do the work for you, you need a good marine strip like Dayco Marine Strip from James B. Day & company, Carpentersville Illinois. I've tried lots of the other strippers available at the various home centers and hardware stores...forget about it...use this stuff. It is caustic, funky, use it in good ventilation but it will do the job quickly and efficiently.

Put it on, let it work, take it off with a series of large to small scapers depending on the detail of your furniture, be gentle...

use some water with a little bleach in it and some steel wool to finish it off once that paint is gone. It'll leave your wood clean and nice.

The other products out there just don't compare and take to long...especially if you suspect that it has some tough old paint on it. Take care to dispose of this stuff properly.

here's a link but your best bet is to try to call the company and find out where they sell it. Sometimes you can find it in professional paint stores. Where are you?

[www.classicboatconnection.com]



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/26/2006 12:35AM by Kraniac.

Thanks, Kraniac, I'll check that out.