Painting

[diggitydot]

Here is one for you DD! (Can I stump you...)

We have this BEAUTIFUL original crown molding in our 1930's house so of course its not wood, its plaster! It has been painted WAY to many times and really needs to be stripped and repainted so that you can see the detail. Is there anyway to do that? You, of course, can't take it down...

Gentle sandblasting is the only thing I can think of that would work for that.

[diggitydot]

Ugh, ugh. We're talking about all the baseboards...crown molding...trim around windows and doors...chair rail...wainscoting...in about 1500 sf of house. And the banisters. (I don't think they messed with the balusters.) Anyway I'm going to start small in a tiny bathroom and see how I do. Fortunately the bottom-most layer is well-adhered. It sits there all pristine and unmarred every time the slapped-on (presumably to stage) white is chipped. >.< So I feel like I only need to go that far, but then I need to fix whatever kept the latex top layer from functioning...I bought a quart of BIN, thanks for the tip not to use my new Purdy brush with it. I swiped some of the SW Extra White semi-gloss from the basement on a hidden bit of trim in that bathroom and it is going to look so great, match the shower liner and punch up the existing pinkish off-white and just freshen the room so much. It'll be worth it...right??

Definitely begin in a small room and see how it goes.

[SuzySunshine]

Hmm, yeah luckily its not a priority but someday I'm going to have a professional come in and look at it...

[diggitydot]

Hmm, yeah luckily its not a priority but someday I'm going to have a professional come in and look at it...

Look for a contractor who specializes in restorations. Preferably a plasterer.

[ides]

Dd- any tips on how to get paint splatter drops off of wood? These are old from the previous owner. We will eventually refinish the floors but its all over the trim (badly in one room) and on the back of our bedroom door. I'm guessing we will have to take off the trim when we do the floors and maybe refinish them at the same time. Is there an easier way?

Also any advice on stripping paint from a fireplace?

[diggitydot]

Dd- any tips on how to get paint splatter drops off of wood? These are old from the previous owner. We will eventually refinish the floors but its all over the trim (badly in one room) and on the back of our bedroom door. I'm guessing we will have to take off the trim when we do the floors and maybe refinish them at the same time. Is there an easier way?

Also any advice on stripping paint from a fireplace?

Any idea what kind of paint the splatters are from? I it's latex, you can use anything with denatured alcohol (like most window cleaners - Windex) to soften it up and then very gently take a straight razor blade and scrape it up. Might even be able to just gently scrub with a kitchen sponge after using the alcohol. This will only work on a latex paint. If its oil, you're going to have to sand them off when you go to refinish.

Removing paint from brick is a total pain in the ass. It's messy and annoying. I'd try taking a really stiff wire brush and see how much you can remove with it. Do you want the bricks completely bare or will you be reprinting them?

[ides]

It's latex paint. The worst of it matches the paint on the wall that I'm covering over. I've tried scraping it a bit but I'm worried I'm scraping the wood finish and bits of the wood. I'll try your method.

I would like all the paint off the fireplace. I'll post a pic of it tomorrow. It's a mix of tile and brick and the tile is a bit bumpy.

[diggitydot]

If the paint on the fireplace is latex, too, first spray it with Windex, allow it a little time to soften, and then scrub the shit out of it with a stiff wire brush. Keep in mind that removing ALL paint from a fireplace is really difficult. There will likely be some left on the surface or in the grout/mortar lines.

If it's definitely latex splatters, spray with Windex, allow some time to soften, and them carefully scrub the area with the scrubby side of a kitchen sponge. If you're careful, it shouldn't damage the underlying coating. You might notice a slight sheen difference there when you're done, though.

[ides]

I'm not sure what kind of paint is on the fireplace. I'll do the alcohol swab test today to find out .

[spotty_dog]

So, when one takes a little bit of dilute cleaner and a "non-scratch" blue scrubby sponge to the baseboards, it's totally a sign of high quality painting when the scrubby sponge takes the paint right off, amiright?!

Ugh.

I decided to start crazy small with just a 6" stretch of baseboard. I scraped, sanded, and primed one coat of BIN over the course of almost an hour. OMG. One more coat of BIN, then I might caulk the gaps and let it dry until tomorrow. Fingers crossed for a good result!

[diggitydot]

You really shouldn't need another coat of primer unless something is bleeding through. Primer *always* looks uneven.

You don't have to dilute the Windex. Using is straight is totally fine. The alcohol will only soften the latex coatings and nothing else. Even if you get it on the surrounding wall paint, all you have to do is just leave it alone. It will eventually re-harden.

Also, if they painted a latex paint over a harder coating and/or higher sheen without knocking down that sheen with some sanding, that's why it's damn near falling off. They didn't do anything to give the latex coat something to grab onto.

[BonBon]

Holy balls. The turn this thread has taken is making my stomach turn and my butt clench.

[spotty_dog]

I didn't think about using Windex on my trim! It was dilute Spic-n-span I used, just to get a clean surface on which to start my operation. Definitely nothing that should have softened the latex AFAIK.

I guess I'm just worried I didn't cover completely with the primer...I felt like such a klutz getting in there between the floor and bathtub! Oh, well, what's the worst that can happen...a paint job ALMOST as bad as what I replaced, on a 6" stretch of baseboard? I can live with or re-do that.

[diggitydot]

Something to consider is that it's a LOT easier to do trim if it isn't attached to the wall while you do it. A lot of people will gently remove it, refinish, and then gently put back on the wall.

[spotty_dog]

Something to consider is that it's a LOT easier to do trim if it isn't attached to the wall while you do it. A lot of people will gently remove it, refinish, and then gently put back on the wall.

I was thinking that while I was kneeling and squinting down there. But I am such a home DIY n00b...busting out the paintbrushes is freaking me out, I think I'd keel over if I tried to add in a prybar and finishing nails, LOL.