Loading…
9
The week I had to strip three layers of old paint from a 1920s dresser
It started Monday when a client brought in this huge oak dresser from their grandma's attic in Portland. The first layer was modern latex, the second was some kind of lead-based enamel, and under that was the original dark shellac. I went through two whole gallons of stripper and a pack of 60 steel wool pads just to get down to bare wood. Has anyone else run into a piece with that many stubborn finishes stacked up?
3 comments
Log in to join the discussion
Log In3 Comments
the_william6mo ago
That dresser had more layers than a wedding cake. Sounds like your client's grandma was really into redecorating. Did you find any secret messages under all that paint?
2
lunaf676mo ago
Secret messages? I wish. Unless you count the three separate layers of beige paint as a cry for help. The only hidden thing I found was my own will to live after the fifth round of chemical stripper. That dresser fought me harder than my last plumbing estimate.
9
nancycooper6mo ago
Got to be honest, that was my own dresser. A personal project, not a client job. Sometimes you just need to fix your own stuff, you know? The plumbing estimate thing was just a joke about how tough it was. Stripping that thing down was a total nightmare.
10