Does anyone on the boards dabble or professionally do woodworking? If there's enough interest, could we have the mods maybe make a sub section for things crafts?

I ask because I'm re-working a coffee table my dad made back in '71. I painted it a horrible battleship grey with a silver ghost flame which I just hand planed off. But now I'm wondering what would be the best way to remove the paint on the legs. It's more than a 1/16" thick, so I imagine sanding will use a lot of paper as well time. The legs have multiple compound curves which I don't think my hand planer will be good for.

The table is thick pine, about 2" for all the parts and pieces. I'd like to make it look more ornate than what it current;y looks like without re-making the whole piece. Maybe buy a router and do something with the edges.

Anyone is welcome to chime in, thanks!

Have a chemical dipper remove the paint.

Klingspor sandpaper.

I've always admired woodworking, and never knew anything about it except this spring I had a front door refinished by an expert, work was done at my house and learned a lot about refinishing and wood work.

I got to watch him paint use Swedish putty and Fine Paints of Europe paint - even painting is an art, showed the me his technique for using the thin edge corner of the paint brush to lift a stray bristle. So much I learned about wet sanding. You can actually get a spray on look by hand brush painting.

Hope others chime in. Have more tips if interested.

Use a liquid paint stripper. You apply it like paint and it soaks in dissolving the paint but you wont change the shape of the table. Then you will have to sand the pesky parts that still won't come off. Afterwards if you have nice grain I suggest a stain for the finish. I only paint wood when I need to cover something up.

Lucky John wrote

Use a liquid paint stripper. You apply it like paint and it soaks in dissolving the paint but you wont change the shape of the table. Then you will have to sand the pesky parts that still won't come off. Afterwards if you have nice grain I suggest a stain for the finish. I only paint wood when I need to cover something up.

This is why I don't really want to use chemical strippers, I feel like they might affect the finished stain colour. And because my paint is so thick, I'm not entirely sure it will actually remove it. I'll try it in a spot that won't be easily seen first I guess.

Store bought citrus stripper may not be as successful as professional business stripping, I had success with the store bought though. This is my door back from stripper and it had thick old paint no effect on staining.
After sanding you can wipe the wood with linseed oil to pick up the left over sanding dust and refresh the wood. If using oil base ( even latex ) paint you can add product that helps eliminate brush strokes.

citrus stripper may do the trick without damaging the wood, but if you are going with just a stain afterwards, scraping and sanding will work the best with little/no chance of damaging or altering the appearance of the wood. Invest in a handheld belt sander and have at it. Should be able to knock most the paint off pretty quickly.

Ive been dabbling in woodworking for years now. Started out doing mainly car audio but have since started doing furniture for myself and sometimes family. Heres a couple end tables my wife had me build that i just finished up. They match a kitchen table and chest that i made as well. Cant justify spending the $$$$ on some of these real wood pieces of furniture, so I copy what I see at the store/online for a fraction of the price.

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Wild stuff. I'm impressed !

ScottSinger wrote

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Wild stuff. I'm impressed !

Thanks. Theres so many little tips and tricks that ive learned throughout the years that makes things so much easier. The biggest one being prep the wood and sand smooth prior to painting/staining. This includes wood filler if you are going for a smooth look, sand down to around 200 grit paper and condition the wood if staining. Then I always put on a clear coat. Depending on what the intended use of the piece is, either a poly or just clear spray paint. Then wet sand using the finest sandpaper you have and recoat and repeat until it is at a level you want. Then, if making furniture, polish it up with some polishing wax and youll be good to go.

Ill get some pictures of the other few pieces i have currently in my house tonight.

Got a pretty sorry lookin' wagon made of ponderosa pine. I reckon it could use a coat of paint.

Got any recommendations?

Twix wrote  

Lucky John wrote

Use a liquid paint stripper. You apply it like paint and it soaks in dissolving the paint but you wont change the shape of the table. Then you will have to sand the pesky parts that still won't come off. Afterwards if you have nice grain I suggest a stain for the finish. I only paint wood when I need to cover something up.

This is why I don't really want to use chemical strippers, I feel like they might affect the finished stain colour. And because my paint is so thick, I'm not entirely sure it will actually remove it. I'll try it in a spot that won't be easily seen first I guess.

Try aircraft remover then. Removed off my exhaust. I used weaker paint stripper on my wood project and it was a lot weaker.

For the top of your table, go to a wood store and buy some ornate trim to put along the edges. Easy-peasy, but will really give the top a nice effect. There are so many variations you can find SOMETHING.

I remember helping my dad do stuff, so I picked up some ideas. He bought an old cedar chest at an estate auction for like $20. Just a box, didn't even have legs. We sanded the inside to refresh the cedar, restained it after applying the above, and put 4 legs on it. Thing is beautiful now, uses it in his office for the "good" paper stock.

We build an entire wall unit, 10' high, three sections totaling 20' wide, with a ceter frame around his favorite picture. Complete with glass shelving, lighting, and we didn't use a single nail.

He made my wife a chine cabinet she refers to as "the antique" because it took so long to make. Solid oak, 8' by12' in top/bottom sections. Top is the display area with glass shelving, bottom stores the china and linens.

I started stripping a white-painted bureau my wife bought for our son as he was born. He's 16 now, and the two bottom drawers are still missing paint, white the rest is still white. That one just never got out of the idea stages.

Id love to have a craft thread. I thought about making a "look what I made" thread.

As for stripping paint. In high school I worked for a couple years refurbishing antiques. These were not 50 year old ones but like from the 1800s and a few feven from the late 1700s. They would have 6 layers of paint on them and my boss would have us mix cornstarch , lye, and water and apply that. Depending on how long you left it on, it would take it down so far so we could go down say 3 paints into the furniture. Then he'd have us clean it with Windex ( or dirtex) to clean the surface, then seal it with a furniture wax.

On a side note, I do love wood working. I recently made a bar for my grilling area. turned out pretty nice though I had a few mess ups that drive me nutz when I look at it

#Tee is the king of woodworking.