Sanding - grr

[Ixia]

I use wet and dry paper (wetted), then wipe with a damp cloth. No dust and no more water than a bottle of mineral water. Not for bare wood though.

Good luck with the sanding, I haven't started on this house yet, trying to convince (delude) myself that chipped scruffy woodwork is actually shabby chic :roll:

 

[JoceAndChris]

Thanks for all the kindly replies. I see this business of sanding strikes chord with many!

Feltwell - the water delivery will happen at some point if it doesn't rain, but we can't afford it just this week unfortunately. We've had to get 2k together for the fencer who's coming next week, and all manner of other shocking expenses.

 

[JoceAndChris]

I have six doors plus panelling on the 18" wall aperture for four of them, all done with some yucky dark brown varnish which clogs all known abrasives in seconds, so I am using a heat gun to remove the muck before sanding. This produces a multitude of black slugs of the stuff at my feet!

Matthew
http://houseintheenchantedforest.blogspot.com/

Ugh, that sounds very hard work and reminds me of the 13 doors last year in the hall! Still haven't finished them. Hope you get all the gunk off.

I use wet and dry paper (wetted), then wipe with a damp cloth. No dust and no more water than a bottle of mineral water. Not for bare wood though.

Good luck with the sanding, I haven't started on this house yet, trying to convince (delude) myself that chipped scruffy woodwork is actually shabby chic :roll:

Oh it is. It's even more chic once it's had a very light sand though!

 

[JoceAndChris]

I'll stick with sugar soap though, it seems to work fine. I take the point on rinsing Penners, but I think I quick trip round with a bucket and sponge is easy enough to rinse it off and personally I think it's preferable to sloshing white spirit about, which is not a pleasant solvent.

I'll definitely use this on the skirtings, even if I have to wait for rain. I like the idea of cleaning in the grooves of the mouldings with a soap, where the sandpaper hasn't really reached. The skirtings haven't been cleaned thoroughly since the last time they were decorated in 1984.

I actually can't believe how filthy this room is. Any water thrown at it comes away black. Pipes and cigars are to blame. :evil: I dread to think how many buckets of water the floor will require, I cleaned it in 2009, and was depressed at how dirty it was, so didn't do it again. I wish I could wave a wand and have Toby Newell come and sort it.

 

[Penners]

the water delivery will happen at some point if it doesn't rain, but we can't afford it just this week unfortunately. We've had to get 2k together for the fencer who's coming next week

I'm sorry to introduce a mundane note of practicality, but isn't water a bit more important to life than fencing? :wink:

 

[AMc]

If only. I wish I could do that. I have six doors plus panelling on the 18" wall aperture for four of them, all done with some yucky dark brown varnish which clogs all known abrasives in seconds, so I am using a heat gun to remove the muck before sanding. This produces a multitude of black slugs of the stuff at my feet!

Matthew
http://houseintheenchantedforest.blogspot.com/

If you can take the doors off and work outside it makes using a hot air gun and sanding a lot less unpleasant.

I would also suggest using a wide chisel over a paint scraper for the flat surfaces. I struggled though several doors with a scraper then my decorator achieved the same result in 1/3 of the time by drawing an old chisel down at 45degrees over the old paint causing it to crack. Any stubborn bits were heated and then scraped.

If you have a lot of orbit sanding to do then buy big rolls e.g. http://www.screwfix.com/p/aluminium-oxide-roll-120-grit-10m/44870 at £7.75 it works out about the same price as a couple of packs of precut sheets and you can just cut a new sheet when they get clogged without worrying about it.

 

[JoceAndChris]

the water delivery will happen at some point if it doesn't rain, but we can't afford it just this week unfortunately. We've had to get 2k together for the fencer who's coming next week

I'm sorry to introduce a mundane note of practicality, but isn't water a bit more important to life than fencing? :wink:

Not sure really. We have a legal obligation to fence within three months of purchase - we're around 6 months over that now. And I made a commitment to the fencer too, can't go back on that.

Here is the Order of Priority:

Chicken and Cat Welfare
Interior Design and Decoration and Landscaping
Holidays and Fun
Landrover
Cement Render off house
Make House warmer
New Water system and Drainage
Bathroom
Erect New Buildings

I suppose if children lived here water might have to be a bit higher up the list but as it's just us I guess we can manage during droughts. After all, it's a fact that it will rain again and another fact that wallpaper won't go up unless I put it up. So if you look at it that way my priorities are correct.

 

[Penners]

We have a legal obligation to fence within three months of purchase

In which case I should relax and save your money.

Without water you'll be dead long before then. :wink:

 

[JoceAndChris]

:lol:

 

[Feltwell]

I actually can't believe how filthy this room is. Any water thrown at it comes away black. Pipes and cigars are to blame. :evil:

Well you should stop smoking a pipe then - they're bad for your health you know :wink:

Sugar soap is supposed to be particularly good for tobacco staining. I'm not sure it's got much to do with sugar or soap by the way - it's a fairly strong mix of sodium carbonate and phosphate I think, strongly alkaline so do wear decent rubber gloves and keep your arms covered, alkaline burns aren't nice.

 

[Nigel Watts]

I hate sanding and stripping paint and try to do as little as possible but much of the woodwork in my hall (the decoration of which has been grinding along slowly for months) was at some point in the past was given a coat of paint which didnt stick properly. The only solution, other than accepting that paint will continue to flake and chip is to strip the whole lot off and start again - a horrid job. I may well compromise and only do the worst bits. All the woodwork had previously been painted to look like dark oak:

The outside of the front door suffers from the same problem, but as this had been stripped before it was not so hard to do. One neighbour commented to my wife that the outside of our house now looked so distressed it could be an Italian villa, to which she quipped that it was not only the house which was distressed by this.

 

[Lime]

Looking at the above picture of Nigel watts I look at that paint with envy.
It looks a pleasure to strip off compared to some I've done.
For me the secret of removing paint is to heat the paint "just enough" so that ALL the paint comes off in one single movement/scrape.
For that purpose I have 3 heat guns with all different heat settings and use the one most suitable for the job.
Some paint needs a lot of heat some just a puff.
(Do complicated/intricate areas first NEVER flat areas otherwise you'll burn the wood)

I have over 20 different scrapers too, all sharp (parallel ground) and clean.
I have found the big secret with sticky paint is to cool the scraper all the time.
I use a bowl of water for the purpose of dipping the scraper blade and use a stanley scraper to take off stuck paint on the blade.
Wearing gloves is important for both stripping and sanding too.

 

[LadyArowana]

One neighbour commented to my wife that the outside of our house now looked so distressed it could be an Italian villa, to which she quipped that it was not only the house which was distressed by this.

:lol: :lol: :lol:

 

[Zebra]

If I want water, I have to go to Asda and buy it as we have none. I can't even wash our clothes in our spring as it's dried up. As for the toilet - well! Mixing Immodium into my muesli and hoping for the best.

Gosh, do you know what, there was me thinking I can't move in yet, I haven't got a bath or shower, only one freestanding tap and an outside loo. I can see I've been far too particular! Who needs to wash anyway?!
They didn't have baths in 1650 did they? Forget it then, I won't get one!

 

[Penners]

Zebra - please could you give us a general idea of where your house is?

I, for one, plan to give the area a wide berth! :wink:

 

[Zebra]

Zebra - please could you give us a general idea of where your house is?

A-ha! I've now found on the settings how to display my location.

 

[Penners]

Ah - Snorbans. I'll avoid straying off the M25 at that point in future. :wink:

 

[Zebra]

Blimey, (sniffs own armpits) I'm not that bad!

 

[JoceAndChris]

Not sanding anymore. Cheating and just using sugar soap.

 

[Juju]

Don't blame you Joce - I haven't been sanding off all the varnishy stuff on our modern skirtings. Just been doing a quick sand and wash, 2 undercoats and 3 topcoats. Where I've done a darker paint colour eg blue I've got away with one less topcoat
Juju