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Hit 100 days of scraping old paint off my porch and it actually made me stop hating the project
I've been stripping the lead paint off my 1920s Cleveland bungalow porch since June. A few days ago I randomly counted the days I'd worked on it and hit exactly 100. That number made me realize I've been out there every morning before work chipping away at this thing and it's almost done now. I used to curse this house every time I found another layer, but seeing the wood underneath after all that effort actually changed my mind about the whole renovation. Anyone else have a house project that took way longer than you thought but ended up being worth it?
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shanelee2d ago
That line about running your hand over the wood every time you come home really hit me. I'm at the point now where I can see the bare wood on my porch and I already catch myself doing the same thing. For anyone else stuck on old paint like we were, I'll second what @claire_gibson said about heat guns. I fought with chemical strippers for weeks and it was miserable. Switched to a heat gun and a good carbide scraper and the layers just peel off like butter once you get the temperature right. Also, wear a respirator if there's lead like in my place. That stuff is no joke. You get a real appreciation for the old craftsmen who built this stuff when you finally see the wood they used.
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claire_gibson3d ago
1922 craftsman here in Cincinnati. I spent three full summers redoing the front door frame. Not even the door, just the frame. Fourteen layers of paint including some that looked like it was from the 1940s. What finally made it click for me was switching to a heat gun instead of chemical strippers. The smell alone was worth the change. After about 80 hours I found the original oak underneath and it looked like honey. I stained it clear and now I catch myself running my hand over it every time I come home. You just dont get that feeling from drywall and new lumber.
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