Pink Residue On Stripped Door

[nathandownes.co.uk]

Hi Guys

Thanks for your replies to my previous post regarding stained glass doors, I have another door related quandary.

The original victorian doors in our property have a sort of slight pinkish hue to them, something I had never really given much thought until we did an oil and wax tester on one we had taken down.

The doors are stripped bare wood and when I applied oil to the afore mentioned test door it turns the wood even more of a pinky / red sort of a shade.

What im wondering is, what kind of chemicals did people use to strip the paint from these old victorian doors? Could there be some kind of acid residue still on the doors?

Many Thanks

Nathan

http://www.nathandownes.co.uk
Warwickshire Based Traditional Blacksmith

 

[plasticpigeon]

My guess is that the door was stripped in a caustic bath. You can spray on vinegar if there are any caustic crystals forming on the surface. The pinkish hue is probably the remnants of the original red lead primer that was used to undercoat the door originally. In my opinion the pinkiness means that the striping process was done pretty well as it was left in the bath just long enough to get the thick paint off. Some of my doors are a bit like that. I don't mind as I am going to paint them. However the last ones I had dipped were obviously left for ages, the wood was totally clean of paint, but the panels warped and cracked and they took ages to dry so it's swings and roundabouts.

 

[Penners]

I agree with PP's analysis, above.