Removing paint so can apply glue...

[Steve Wurster]

I am building some bookcases that will be part of a built-in. All of the pieces (sides, backs, tops, face frame pieces) were painted before assembly (there are no bottoms as these will sit on a counter). I had them professionally painted by a friend of the family, primarily because I'm a terrible painter, but also because he could get the job done a lot quicker. I could also work on other things in my tiny shop while he had all the pieces.

I did not tape off any joint locations before handing the pieces to the painter. This means the backs are fully painted, even around the outside where the sides will be connected. The back of the face frames are painted even though they will have to connect to the edges of the sides. The edges of the sides have paint on them. You get the idea.

My plan was to remove the paint before assembly, and then I can apply glue where needed (I will also be using screws of course). I originally figured I could remove the paint with the table saw, using a cut that just barely removes the paint. But now I'm worried that running these pieces over the table saw will mark them up too much, and then they will require a lot of touch-up. Plus some of the pieces are big and become unwieldy in my shop.

So then I thought maybe I could use a router with an edge guide to remove the paint. I could put tape on the bottom of the router base to help avoid marking up the pieces. Both methods involve removing paint using a carbide-tipped tool, so I would probably end up prematurely dulling the edge, but I'm not worried about that.

Does anyone have any thoughts or other ideas? The paint is Benjamin Moore Advance, which is a water-based paint with the properties of an oil-based, if that matters at all.

Thanks!

[Grant Wilkinson]

Why not just scrape it off using a paint scraper. You can mask what you want to keep painted.

[Ethan Melad]

Does the paint really need to be completely removed? The parts you're connecting will likely use a mechanical fastener, right? I'd scuff the paint to gain adhesion and use glue and screws as usual.

[Jim Becker]

Does the paint really need to be completely removed? The parts you're connecting will likely use a mechanical fastener, right? I'd scuff the paint to gain adhesion and use glue and screws as usual.

What glue gets used would matter here..scuffing would be fine for a type of glue that doesn't need to penetrate into the wood, but most wood glue does get a lot of mechanical strength by bonding with and within the fibers.
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This is going to be a "buster" Steve. The back of the face frame can be sanded and there may be other surfaces you can sand/scrape to do the job. There will be other spots where you'll want to mask off the "good side" of the lines so you can carefully sand the glue line without destroying your painted surfaces. This is unfortunately one of those "hindsight is golden" situations...masking off before pre-finishing, while requiring work, is what it is!

[Tom Ewell]

perhaps dominos or dowels can be used for glue surfaces along with the mechanical fasteners.

[Steve Wurster]

The glue will be TBIII. I plan on using dowels for alignment when lining up the backs and tops to the sides, and I will be using splines to line up the face frames. All of those will be glued, so that is some additional strength right there, along with the mechanical fasteners.

I agree that taping ahead of time would have been great. I didn't do that primarily because I so wanted these pieces painted. I've been working on this thing for far too long and was tired of seeing the material in my house. I was basically done getting everything prepped and sanded, and the painter was ready to take everything in one shot. So, boom, out the door it went.

One idea I had was to clamp a piece of material over the parts that won't be sanded, acting as a fence that allows me to only sand where needed. I also might be able to score the paint with a knife in order to more easily remove the relevant parts.

Is there any reason that I cannot use the table saw with a stacked dado to remove paint from the insides of the face frames? For the most part you won't see those anyway, so if they get a little scuffed and need touch-up it won't be that obvious.

[Tom M King]

Use a narrow wood scraper like any floor finisher uses in the corners. Regardless of how expensive the machines are that the floor finishers use, corners are always done by hand, and pretty quickly. A narrow one actually works faster than a wide one, since you can get a better bite. Use a 6" mill file to sharpen.http://www.thepaintstore.com/Wood_Handled_Paint_Scraper_p/ps1w1.htm?1=1&CartID=0

[Jim Matthews]

Have you already cut the shelves to length?

Do any of the shelves ride in fully housed dadoes?

Are the sides of the bookcases hidden, or exposed?

Caution should be exercised using power tools at this point.

On the plus side, they remove material fast.
On the minus side, they remove material fast.

Ask the Benny Moore supplier how to remove the paint.
If you lay out for them your problem, perhaps they'll have a best practice.

My guess is that heat, scraping and scrubbing with denatured alcohol will be in order.

http://www.highlandwoodworking.com/bahco1carbidescraperwholster.aspx

[Steve Wurster]

The shelves are adjustable and so just sit on pins. Nothing needs to be done to the shelves.

The insides of the bookcase sides (i.e. where the shelf pins holes are) will be visible, the other side will not. The only thing I need to do with the bookcase sides is remove a little bit of paint from the edges, and that's quite easy to do. It's the faces of the backs and tops that require the most work, along with the insides of the face frames. The latter I'm convinced I can do with the table saw, because any touch-up due to marking will not be readily visible. The rest are a different story.

I didn't buy the paint, but I'm sure I can find a Benjamin Moore supplier and ask them for input. I can probably also contact my painter. He knew my original plan was to use power tools and that doing so might mark the pieces. I'm hoping to avoid any marking if possible. Perhaps he has some good ideas for me...

[Jim Matthews]

So, the external portions of the carcass
must hold all together, and support the load?

Without a proper long grain glue joint,
you might consider some inconspicuous brackets
for the eight internal corners.

[Steve Wurster]

Both the backs and the tops will be screwed (and glued) to the sides. There are no bottoms as these will be sitting on a counter. There will be 6 of these bookcases in a line, with each screwed into the wall behind them. Adjacent ones will also be screwed together. The outer 2 bookcases will be screwed to the side walls.