cleaning beams?

[robgil]

any tips? ive been using a soft scrubbing brush and rinsing with cold water but its making an awful mess , loads of water everywhere.
so guys , how do you do yours?
i have found that a 1/2 mil hole drilled into a capped copper tube with a hose pipe connected to it gives a good miniature pressure washer that can shift most things after a scrub with the brush.

 

[Tom]

I'm cleaning and waxing mine at the moment. They're particularly dirty, having suffered years of us making mess after mess in the house, including the stonemason working indoors!! They look very 'grey', 'flat' in colour and extremely dry. All I'm doing with mine is brushing them hard (I'm using a Dandy brush) in all directions to remove any loose dust and bits. Then I'm applying a liberal first coat of Liberon Liquid Beeswax in Turpentine, leaving it overnight to dry then buffing it with a Liberon Wax Polishing Brush. Then applying a second, thinner coat, leaving to dry and buffing again. With just two coats, the difference is amazing! The ones I've done so far look rich and nourished, with a lovely depth of colour and grain. It's really hard to believe they're the same!

It's hard and dirty work initially but I should think a lot easier and cleaner than using water, which I would imagine just results in dirty, muddy water everywhere. Not to mention the grain being raised. By just creating dry dust, once it's settled it's easy to vac up

I'm starting a new lot tomorrow, so I can take some close up pictures of before, during and after for you, if you like.

 

[robgil]

yes please DWB , pics would be good.
i have noticed that some of mine are coming out furry , is this what you mean by raised grain?
Lots of muddy water hence the need to rinse with a hose but i dont have any floor so its not as bad as it sounds , i lifted the concrete floor to 12 inches from the wall to repair the brick plinths so i have a 12 inch trench around my living room.

 

[Tom]

yes please DWB , pics would be good.
i have noticed that some of mine are coming out furry , is this what you mean by raised grain?

No probs, I'll start getting some pics together for you

Yes, the 'furiness' is the grain raising. This is not what you want. I wouldn't use any more water, if I were you, even though it's not an issue from a mess point of view. Leave them dry out completely, then just brush them whilst they're dry. I'll get you some 'before' and 'first coat' pictures tomorrow

 

[robgil]

thank you. The only problem i have now is how to remove the paint stripper i use to remove the dark brown wood stain. hot water , fairy and a scrubbing brush was my only method. is it the water that raises the grain or the scrubbing when wet?

 

[Tom]

thank you. The only problem i have now is how to remove the paint stripper i use to remove the dark brown wood stain. hot water , fairy and a scrubbing brush was my only method. is it the water that raises the grain or the scrubbing when wet?

Excess water will raise the grain and scrubbing will make it worse. Are your beams quite smooth or full of holes? If they're fairly smooth, could you wipe the stripper off with a tightly rung out cloth and just keep rinsing and rinsing it until the wood is clean. That way you're not soaking the wood. However, if they're full of holes like most of mine I'm not sure what else you could do. I'm not sure you should be using Fairy on your beams, either, but maybe someone else could comment on that.

 

[robgil]

my beams are a little of both , some are full of holes and quite rough while others are smooth. I think some of them elm are as well.
i could try a different stripper , do you have to wash off kling strip? i know that nitromores if left for a while dries out and just flakes off ,this might be worth a try.

 

[skier-hughes]

yes you need to wash off kling strip, if you leave it to go hard it is harder to get off.
I use a vacwash on mine
http://www.stripperspaintremovers.com/products.htm#i
OK, it's not cheap, but there is a ready market herre for second hand ones once you are done. I bought mine from Miss Penners and it's one of the best tools I've bought for this house. Unfortunately for both you and me it'll be years until I'm done with it

 

[robgil]

doesnt it leave your beams furry Skier? i have been considering a steam cleaner but im nor sure what kind of impact this would have on my beams.

 

[Tom]

I've just started a new thread, with pictures of my beam cleaning process. I hope it helps you

 

[skier-hughes]

All of my beams appear to be oak, so no it doesn't leave them furry, again if you check back on my pics you'll see lots of before during and after shots.

 

[robgil]

how do i check back? do i have to go through all your posts?
see this is why we need a work in progress section.

 

[JoceAndChris]

But that would be SO enormous! I just start jobs, realise I can't finish them for some reason, and move onto another!

 

[robgil]

ah but each house would be a WIP so we would all only need one thread each.
but i see what you mean , i do the same , thats why my house is in such a state.

 

[skier-hughes]

upstairs back then