From the title of this posting, you might think I'm talking about booze, drugs, or chocolate chip cookies. But no, it's something worse - paint scraping. I know my family will relate to this and perhaps others who have taken on this task rather than doing the smart thing and hiring someone to do it. But me, being my dad's daughter, chose to do this job myself. Seems like I've been scraping paint or wallpaper since I could climb a ladder, so why stop now?
Anyway, the front pillars of our house get the full morning sun and after two years, the paint had begun to blister. This was a clear sign that I needed to break out all of those crazy-shaped tools that you need if you are going to remove all of the loose paint. I started the project last Sunday and have spent most days after work out there. It was calling to me so loudly yesterday (or was it the 85 degree breezy weather that was calling me?), that I left work 2 hours early just to get started again. The problem now is knowing when to stop. I could really say that I'm done now but what if there is one paint chip that I missed? I could be out there scraping through the entire fall season - so here's the plan (this is more for Doc. B.'s benefit since she is probably sick of the paint chip piles all over the porch). The next nice afternoon/day I'll spend it scraping any of the the remaining bits of paint. When the sun goes down or the rain shows up - that's it. Then I'll do the same with the orbital sander - just one nice day to feather all of the scraped areas. Slap some primer on there, caulk, paint with our Sherwin Williams "Roycroft Vellum" and be done with it!
One last thing. Funny how working on your home in the broad daylight can bring out all the experts. I've had one guy tell me that the paint's peeling because "they didn't prime first". Yes, "they" primed first and did a great job of preparing the 1920's wood for the new coat of paint. My neighbor, a painter himself, vouched for me to the critic. He said "hey man, it just gets a lot of sun there." And another neighbor's mother said "you're having to work on the house already?". Yes, we'll be working on this house for as long as we live here - that's why I like old homes - thanks alot Dad :)
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4 comments:
I love it! I can relate to everything you said! When you're done with your porch posts we have a WHOLE bunch of wood that needs attention here :-) Love, Mom
Thanks for the sharing "the plan" Care. I have been wondering : )
Seriously though, I do appreciate all of your hard work, and I am impressed that you don't seem to mind doing these types of projects!D.B.
I hear you, sister.
I have had a similar challenge recently. I have been "getting ready" to wallpaper a room for about a month and finally said ENOUGH. I'm grappling with the same issues of personal taste that many people would never care about. I wanted beautiful, freshly painted woodwork that wasn't merely covering the 10 layers of paint underneath it.
After various attempts at scraping (and often damaging the wood) I ended up removing all the paint with a heat gun. It can be a real pain (and do wear a respirator), but all the underlying paint will be gone and you wont have to try to sand the areas to blend the old with the new. I know our dad just did the same thing in his living room!
I'm not sure how I'd spend my spare time if I had NO projects going around the house. You too?
I'm glad my family can relate!!! But after Mar's comments, I might have to rethink my plan...Sorry Doc. B.!
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