Back from Black beams

[Ushy M]

Does anyone out there have any experience of this company/process? Call me cynical if you like, but this looks suspiciously like a paint finish to me?!

http://www.renaissance-beams.co.uk/brochure/brochure.pdf

 

[skier-hughes]

would be interesting to know more, never seen it before!

 

[Cloudscape]

My guess is that it's an applied basecoat of "paint", possibly another colour dry-brushed on, and then a 'distressing' (clear/tinted) top coat. The link you gave was to the brochure that says:

The 3 coat process is applied directly onto the existing painted, stained or varnished beams (all coats consist of water based materials).

The website has a lot more pics, including some taken at close quarters.

What I've said above is what I think I'm seeing. I/we might be doing them an injustice. The results look fairly convincing (so would a stage set). If the coatings are durable, I can't help wondering about breathability.

 

[Penners]

The 3 coat process

As Coudscape says, this phrase makes it pretty clear.

 

[FamilyWiggs]

I have to say, I don't think that pic looks at all convincing. Looks like a fake beam to me.

 

[robgil]

shabby chic taken to a whole new level if you ask me.
at least black painted beams tell the truth.

 

[Lime]

It looks exactly what it is, painted!

 

[Penners]

Buy a tin of khaki paint, apply it badly and voila!

Yuck...

 

[Ushy M]

Mmm. thought as much. Back to the Klingstrip then....

 

[Flyfisher]

Looks like just the job for one of those 30 minute makeover programmes.

 

[Penners]

Yes, it would probably look quite good on TV.

If you have a few glasses of something refreshing first.

And screw up your eyes.

And don't watch in HD.

 

[Alex]

Is there any way other than paint stripper to strip beams ? Three weeks ago, I spent 5 days trying to strip the 1 original beam we have left in our dining room, all the other beams had been replaced with the modern pine builders merchant equivalent. To 'age' the modern one's and make them less noticeable, the previous owners had painted every beam with dark brown garden fence stain and it looked like garden fence stain, which just made them stand out even more. We replaced the modern beams with green oak ones back in April and then, after putting off the inevitable, I got to work with the Nitromor's on the original. Although we have a row of new beams and then one that is obviously much older and a different colour, it still looks better than what was there before.

Good luck with your beams what ever you decide to do.

 

[JoceAndChris]

Is there any way other than paint stripper to strip beams ?

Not really, as far as I know! It sounds like you aren't removing a thick layer of paint - if you had been you might have tried the heat gun and scraper method, working very deftly to avoid scorching. But with chemical stripping there are really only 2 alternatives as far as I can see, Nitromors, scrapers and wire wool, or Klingstrip and a pressure washer / vaccuum attachment. People on this forum recommend both methods. I like Nitromors; it's gentle. Some have said that Klingstrip can be unkind on old pine, for example.

Or, you could decide that the different finishes tell the story of your house and wait for time to soften them. The time that you would have spent making yourself ill paint stripping can then be used for something really productive, like cuddling your cat or drinking wine.

 

[Alex]

My other half used Klingstrip on the end of an old pine church pew that we bought (not content with my progress with the Niitromors), it made the wood a mass of small splinters that looked like a wooden version of velvet, :x which he then had to remove with a belt sander. That part of the pew was then a completely different colour to the rest of the pew. Since then I have spent hours with different colour waxes trying to blend it in. The time that other people are spending drinking wine and cuddling cats, this is obviously where I am going wrong, if I drink more wine then I won't notice the colour difference !

 

[robgil]

i would be very careful when stripping beams not to strip the natural oils from the wood as well.
all the beams in my house have been varnished with a stained varnish,i am not looking forward to stripping these.

looks like whoever did this was perhaps pursuing some kind of nautical theme

 

[Penners]

Is there any way other than paint stripper to strip beams ?

Yes, there are different types of "blast" treatments. The only examples of sandblasting that I've seen (a) make a hell of a mess in the house and (b) leave your beam looking like some weird kind of driftwood. I have heard of blasting with something cryonic - I think it might have been CO2, but don't rely on that. I have no idea whether it's effective or destructive.

My other half used Klingstrip on the end of an old pine church pew that we bought....it made the wood a mass of small splinters that looked like a wooden version of velvet, which he then had to remove with a belt sander

On softwood Klingstrip can have the effect that you described, but for stripping hardwoods I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it. It's always done an excellent job for me.

 

[Cloudscape]

My other half used Klingstrip on the end of an old pine church pew that we bought....it made the wood a mass of small splinters that looked like a wooden version of velvet, which he then had to remove with a belt sander

Years ago, I had a huge pitch-pine vestry cupboard dipped and stripped. We're talking 7ft x 7ft x 2ft, and I only wanted to remove some orangey shellac. :? I'll think more than twice before doing anything like that again. The cupboard had to be dismantled to be manageable.

When it arrived in pieces, all the soft grain had lifted like crushed velvet. I thought the cupboard was ruined. In the end, I let it dry thoroughly and then spent six weeks with wire wool (all day, every day) and gradually, all the velvet was smoothed away. The grain had been accentuated and the finish really suits the pitch pine. It's now very tactile (and I eventually got over the bout of arthritis and my fingertips grew new skin).

Robgil - I really like the dark beams in your house. The one's in my house are similar, and also coated with a variety of substances. I might try and sort some of them out (slightly) cosmetically. But I don't want to lighten them up.

 

[JoceAndChris]

Robgil - I really like the dark beams in your house. The one's in my house are similar, and also coated with a variety of substances. I might try and sort some of them out (slightly) cosmetically. But I don't want to lighten them up.

I second that - in an ideal world the finish would be more waxy and less varnishy, but that does not necessarily involve a full scale strip. I'd like to know why black/dark beams aren't so popular anymore? Could someone please explain?

Mine will stay in their dark wormy loveliness, inappropriate finishes and all. I've wasted too much time stripping paint as it is, when I should have been perfecting a good elderflower wine or scything the meadow.

 

[Sue Wilkinson]

i would be very careful when stripping beams not to strip the natural oils from the wood as well.
all the beams in my house have been varnished with a stained varnish,i am not looking forward to stripping these.
looks like whoever did this was perhaps pursuing some kind of nautical theme

That's a task and a half. I would seriously consider a coat of dead flat or matt varnish to see what that looked like before I tried to strip that lot. Sometimes something other than the hardest route can be workable.

Sue

 

[robgil]

its not just the beams guys , the wattle and daub walls are woodchip wallpapered with a glossy vinyl emulsion painted ontop. :shock:
i wont attempt stripping the timbers without fully assessing the impact it will have on them. if i cant take the varnish/stain off and leave the beams in an intact , natural state then i wont bother doing it at all.

the walls on the other hand , presumably as a result of them being 'sealed' up with glossy emulsion among other things , are so damp the paper is literally hanging off the walls anyway so hopefully it will be easy to remove without damaging the walls underneath.

but this will all deserve a thread all to itself when the time comes , i certainly don't want to jump into this without first knowing how to do it properly.