Refinishing Trim with a Hand Plane?

[Andrew More]

I've got a 100 year old house with some pretty simple casements. I'd like to salvage when I can and redo the finish, which is not the best, and worn in areas. Seems like it would be pretty easy to remove the old finish with a hand plane. Anybody try this? I've also got a 15" planer with carbide inserts, but I'd rather mess up a $50 hand plane than a $3000 planer. :)

[Jim Koepke]

My experience with finishes on wood have found them difficult to remove since the plane tends to slip on the painted surfaces.

A friend who does a lot of furniture refinishing says the current strippers sold in the paint and home stores do not work like the old ones did and has switched to sand paper.

Some people have good luck with a heat gun and scrapers.

It all depends on what type of finish/paint/sealer was used in the to past. Some might come off with an application of acetone others alcohol. Latexes and enamels might respond to heat.

Try a sharp blade on a hand plane and see what happens. Start with light shavings and dial in what works if it looks good.

jtk

[Ben Ellenberger]

I love card scrapers for taking varnish off boats. Depending on the finish you are trying to remove and how much you want to remove, that might be an option. I would prep a bunch of scrapers at once so you can switch them out as they get worn.

[Andrew More]

A friend who does a lot of furniture refinishing says the current strippers sold in the paint and home stores do not work like the old ones did and has switched to sand paper.

They have made MEK illegal for anybody who's not a commercial operation to use. It's apparently dangerous since it gives off fumes that are heavily than air, and display oxygen. A few people apparently died refinishing bathtubs and that was the end of it.

I've got a heat gun, so I might try that as well. I hadn't thought about the surface being too slick.

@Ben good point on the card scrapers, I've got a few so I can give it a try.

[steven c newman]

Just hope there wasn't any lead paint in use....

[Prashun Patel]

What kind of wood is it? Personally, I would use a card scraper to remove the bulk followed by a light pass on your planer.

[Derek Cohen]

I use the Bahco carbide scrapers. These work well and the carbide blades are not expensive.

https://cdn.toolmart.com.au/media/catalog/product/cache/1/image/363x320/9df78eab33525d08d6e5fb8d27136e95/6/5/650.jpg

Regards from Perth

Derek

[Scott Winners]

If the trim is original 1922 you are _likely_ looking at shellac since nitrocellulose lacquer didn't come along until 1921. Polyurethane was 1942.

I have found this fellow is usually right about stuff like this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xp4layfBXkA

If you got paint with pigment in it, I got nothing. Removing paint sucks.

[Richard Hutchings]

Forgot we were talking about trim. I can't delete my reply for some reason

[Scott Clausen]

I don't think you specified the finish. If paint I would do heat gun if a 100 years of paint are on it. Got to use a heat barrier to keep the glass cool or you will find out why. If sealed wood you will need to find a solvent to remove the sealer. I used to use denatured alcohol to "wash" the surface. It takes a while but does a good job taking a very dark surface and lightning it up without any sanding.

[Andrew More]

@Prashun the wood is pine.

@Scott I'm unsure as to the finish. The house was built in 1915, but it's likely been modified in the mean time. I personally find myself wondering if the trim is even the original casement. Some of it has very tight grain, so I think it might be, but it's pretty mid-century modern in it's plainness.

@Richard - Which drum sander, and do you have issues with the paper getting gummed up? Also what do you do about the edges?

@Derek - I've been meaning to get a scraper for glue anyway, I've got one on order now, thank you for the suggestion.

[Tom M King]

This little thing was worth its weight in gold on the garage door refinishing job in "bad job coming" thread in the Finishing forum.

https://www.leevalley.com/en-us/shop/tools/hand-tools/scrapers/110314-detail-hand-scraper?item=50K6601