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14 December 2006

Orange Swan the Stripper There's a painting question in here somewhere. Of course you assumed that was the only interpretation possible given my title, right? [More:]Well, I've begun working on Swan's End. I'm going to do one room at a time, and have chosen my bedroom for the first project. I should work on the basement first as I need to fix it up so I can rent it out, but I want an oasis in the house because the fixing up process is going to be one lengthy, arduous mother.

So far I have replaced the light fixture. I've bought a gallon of very pale peach-coloured paint and champagne and cream satin stripe roman blinds. Today I scrubbed down the walls, removed the light switch/electrical outlet plates and stray hooks and nails from the walls, took down the rattletrap blinds and removed three sets (!) of window treatment hardware from the bay window.

There are basically two kinds of paint in the house. The walls are uniformly white semi-gloss oil-based paint. I could KILL the brainiac who decided to use oil-based paint (which doubles the expense and work of painting as I must use a primer and then latex paint), but I will admit that whoever did put that white paint on the walls did a very profressional job.

The trim, doors and windows are done in cream latex, which is good, but they are horribly badly done, which is bad. Is there an easy way to sand down the trim? Should I just go ahead and buy some sort of sander, given that I have a whole house to do?

I'm feeling quite exposed in my bedroom now without any window coverings. Second floor bay window that faces a street busy enough to have its own bus... I'll have to remember to go into another room to change at night lest I give my neighbours a burlesque every night at 11.
Enough about that. Get us up to date on your new career in lithography.
posted by stilicho 14 December | 22:06
Should I just go ahead and buy some sort of sander

Check for tool/machine rental shops. I recall my parents renting equipment in the past.

...without any window coverings. Second floor bay window that faces a street busy enough to have its own bus...

This is the perfect time of year to put up a can or two of fake snow on those windows for a festive yet obsuring effect.
posted by getoffmylawn 14 December | 22:08
I had thought of renting, but it seems to me I'll need to rent a sander again and again, so perhaps I might just as well buy.
posted by Orange Swan 14 December | 22:12
Haaaaaaaaaaaaaaa.
posted by ThePinkSuperhero 14 December | 22:26
Generally, cost wise, if you will need the tool for 3 or more days you may as well buy it. This stuff is a bit spendy but it works, has no real smell and it is cleaner than sanding.
posted by arse_hat 14 December | 22:29
Generally, cost wise, if you will need the tool for 3 or more days you may as well buy it. This stuff is a bit spendy but it works, has no real smell and it is cleaner than sanding.
posted by arse_hat 14 December | 22:29
Are you actually going to strip the window, etc. trim down to the woodwork or just smooth it out prior to painting?

I think you should buy a sander but the kind/quality depends on how much of a workout you're going to give it.

Anyway, it sounds pretty so far. We need before and after photos!

Unsolicited advice: use a lighter colour for the window, etc. trim. I think it's a nicer look. The previous owners here painted everything beige and it looks odd.
posted by deborah 14 December | 22:51
Sanding paint is to be avoided, as much as you can. If you try to clean a lot of excess paint from moldings and other woodwork detail by sanding, you'll use $$$$$ (bank account breaking) amounts of sandpaper or other abrasive products, generate insane amounts of yucky airborne dust, and if you have lead paint layers down under, you'll rue the day you even thought about sanding. Instead, you sand, lightly, after you've scraped to remove most of the paint build up, and restore bead lines and architectural details. Nothing makes a new paint job look crisper than sharply detailed bead lines and woodwork details.

To scrape effectively, you need to know what you're doing with a scraper, and how to sharpen scrapers, using a burnished edge. This is not a trivial skill. A scraper's burnished edge cuts paint very easily, but it doesn't last long (maybe 30 to 50 arms length pulling strokes before you notice dulling, and after 100 strokes, you need to resharpen). If you know what you're doing with a file and a stone, and keep your scrapers dressed, you can scrape all the woodwork in an average sized 10' x 12' bedroom in a couple of hours, and follow up with an hour of fine sanding for smoothness thereafter. 3M Sanding Sponges are about as fast as machine sanding, are available in any conceivable grit grade you might want, and won't get away from you like a power sander can. Many projects have been ruined by a power sander gone awry. Hit everything with a tack rag immediately before you start painting, and go to town.
posted by paulsc 14 December | 23:09
If you are looking to sand detailed areas like window frames, a power sander will be your worst enemy, destroying those sharp edges that paulsc is talking about (no, paulmc, I'm not stalking you merely to confirm your comments). While it might not be the answer you are looking for, good old-fashioned elbow-grease is sometimes the best way if you want a proper job. I disagree, though, that you need to do any scraping - a scraper in the wrong hands is almost as bad as an orbital sander in those same hands. If the paint surface is sound, a careful sand to remove the gloss from the surface and to smooth any chips or other defects will be all that is needed. For detailed surfaces, hand sanding is the only way to do this properly. Use long strokes when you sand and don't sand in one place too long. If the paint is flaky, you need to remove it to a sound surface (not always to bare timber, sometimes to a previous paint layer that is well stuck).

It's a crappy, crappy job, but the finished product will depend at least 50% on how well you do the fiddly bits, so don't try to shortcut it. There are no shortcuts that don't affect the finished job, no matter what all those TV ads tell you.
posted by dg 14 December | 23:21
This is gettin' all AskMe, where I usually reserve my pontifical self. I'm not disagreeing entirely with dg, either, OS, but it sure is a judgement call.

Got paint runs, drips and obvious buildup in the existing layers of paint? Scrape. Can't see clear molding lines? Scrape. Got deep, obvious chips and wear/scratch marks around working door frames? Scrape.

Got gloss or satin finish that you need to scuff, so paint you put on will adhere? Sand, lightly. Got rough areas, where paint peeled? Sand, and hope you don't need to scrape and patch. Got filler or soft spots in spackling? Scrape, carefully, being aware of the running profile. Want to set up your primer coat smoothly? Sand, lightly.

BTW, if you run into areas where previous owners tried to "paint their way out of problems" you might need a heat gun, to help you scrape.
posted by paulsc 15 December | 00:15
I've got gobs of paint, basically. Someone even tried to paint over one set of window treatment hardware. It's marring the details for sure.

The walls will be peach, the trim, doors and windows will be cream.
posted by Orange Swan 15 December | 01:11
I would agree that sanding is not what you usually want to do to window trim, unless it's so basic it's already flat with rounded corners. Most old trim is more decorative than that, so you have to goop or scrape or heat gun or infrared.

Whatever you do, prepare to take your time, and quadruple your estimate of how long it will take.
posted by stilicho 15 December | 02:20
"...The walls will be peach, the trim, doors and windows will be cream."
posted by Orange Swan 15 December

Sure they will, OS. Right after they are smooth, straight, and prepared. :-)
posted by paulsc 15 December | 02:30
Suck it up, kid. We've seen what you can do with fabric, and we'll expect no less with primer and paint.
posted by paulsc 15 December | 02:32
This thread is useless without pictures.

What? Home improvements? Uh, never mind.
posted by DaShiv 15 December | 04:16
The walls will be peach, the trim, doors and windows will be cream.

Yay!
posted by deborah 15 December | 11:28
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