The natural woodwork in my house has been painted. Is it worth my time to try to remove the paint and sand it?

Question

I bought this house and the natural woodwork is pine. casing and trim that isnt painted lookks really nice. The previous owner painted all the crown and base and lots of the window casings. Im wondering if its worth the time and effort to try to strip the paint off or resand it. Is there any easy way to do it I dont want to try it unless its gonna look good. I dont think i could remove it either because its an older house and i dont think i could ever get the joints tight again. Any advice or tricks would be helpful. thanks.

Answer 1

Lots of variables on this subject, best stripping process I've used on tricky jobs is the strip and peel method, and allthough more expensive than other methods, the cost is reflected back in labor and ease, not to mention less damage to areas surrounding the wood due to the sanding and scraping..In a nutshell, you coat the surface with solution, wrap with plastic, wait a day and peel..same process used on the White house remodeling project in the eighties..I'm sure you can find info about that process on the web...Another solution is a process called Regraining...basically you paint it to look like wood..there are several books about this technique as it is basically a faux finish, and not only can it look great, you can learn it yourself and its alot of fun to do..

Answer 2

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Answer 3

I've applied thousands of gallons of paint,and offer no offense to any others who answer but I suggest the initial layer has lead base. Even in the 30's without the benefit of chemical treatments to retard wood degradation, etc. There was no Acyrilic latex yet invented. Unless it's a log cabin or Cedar Shake siding, or worse, Asbestos, you very likely have Lead based paint as the initial paint coating, and perhaps the initial lasted long enough? Without knowing when the second coating was applied, or its substance, perhaps have both checked. I don't have the exact date but have seen this similar Q asked here,,,in fact if you do the Q&A browser search you may find the answer. Certainly in a general WWW search using keywords you can determine when LEAD was outlawed. LEAD paint was not yet thought to be a hazard in the 30's and likely may have still exisited when Acrylic Latex was introduced. If you NEED a test, any decent paint store can steer you right. The larger issue might be IF it is lead, even in the first painting, you now have a conumdrum in its removal, similar to asbestos shingles. After you determine the TRUTH I suggest you hook up with some local municipality agencies to advise you. Steven Wolf

Answer 4

You don't say if it is really old, wide, and ornate. if it adds to the architectural value of the house (like a historical house) then yes, it may be of value to go through the mess of restoring it. Some homes never had the woodwork natural so some research into the style and age of your home may be in order. Ask the local historical society. But for a home that is less than 50 years old, then the cost of stripping and sanding and the added health concerns isn't really worth it

Answer 5

Pine? On old house deserves Oak, Maple or any hard wood. That will increase the value. Good idea to change it either way.If you have the time try one small area (room) to know what your getting in to. Start in one corner, number your pieces, strip the paint, stain to match(rest of house) Re install if your happy, i doubt it pine is not a very workable wood. I truly wish you luck

Answer 6

Forget it unless its some kind of historical landmark or something. I put up pine base and crown every day and the reason its so widely used is its a cheap wood ,besides you dont know what kind of defects the previous owner was trying to paint over

Answer 7

If you don't remove any of it, stripping is out of the question. I have some in one of my bedrooms. I painted a "high gloss" white enamel. It looks terrific. Believe it or not, the white ven brought the ornate work on the wood out. Another option, though costly, would be to replace all the moldings with new. That way you could finish them however you wanted to.

Answer 8

I sell a product called Back to Nature Ready Strip works great. You apply and let stand then use plastic putty knife and scrape off easy. It's non toxic. Check with your local hardware store, if they don't have it they could probably order it.

Answer 9

Do you REALLY realize how much work it is going to entail to strip? I would not even consider it as an option. I had the same problem in one of my houses and I decided to prime it and painted it all a nice semi-gloss white and it looked beautiful.... only WHITE. Reiteration.. I would not even give it a thought about stripping

Answer 10

If its latex paint try Goof Off. Try in one area and see how it looks. If its oil based paint, you will need heat gun and then clean with paint thinner. But its lot harder to clean oil base paint and messy as well.