So after two disappointing days with the stripper (aren’t they all?), and after consultation with Alex,*I returned to the home improvement center yet again, and picked up something I had wanted since I was a painting student: a corner cat power sander.
It was only mildly effective, and only on the large flat areas, which account for a decent chunk of the doors, but the those aren’t the parts I was particularly worried about…
I thought of returning to the store for a dremel, but seeing as Hana was already tiring of the mess—not to mention I was feeling a bit punchy too—I went with plan B (should’ve been plan A, likely: Allahu Alaam): sandpaper and sweat.
We interrupt regularly scheduled programming to bring you a special event…
Ladies and Gentlemen…
the Doors
episode i: it begins
I guess it was 6 or so weeks ago, my dad was over for dinner, and—like every other male family member with any professional or technical knowledge—advised me on what needed to be taken care of straight away.
Specifically, the doors.
As solid wood doors, they require some care. Given that 1) the previous tenants were renting from my darling wife, who 2) has little or no knowledge of the proper maintenance schedule for solid-wood doors, especially doors that 3) face the harshest possible sun that Texas has to offer, in that they face directly west, the doors had had little or no tending in their 3+ years guarding the entrance to the house, and had begun to decay a bit.
So after my Memorial Day Work Marathon, I had a couple of days off, and so I decided to tackle the project.
Instructions were simple: 1) apply stripper; 2) scrub off with one of those green plastic scrubber things; 3) clean with mineral spirits; 4) apply stain; 5) apply 2-3 coats of Spar Urethane.
I expected I could rock the project out in a day or two, three at the most, working only from around sunrise to noon or 1pm.
Oh how wrong I was.
Pictured below, days 1 and 2 (May 28th and 30th). Here’s how they went down:
One:
clean off stickers and brush any lose material off the doors
apply stripper
scrub with mineral spirits, to no effect*
read instructions on the stripper
suppress desire to curse, but only just
visit the home improvement center for plastic scraper and another can of stripper
return home, reapply stripper
scrape doors with plastic scraper, to little effect
pack up for the night in disgust
Two:
reapply stripper
note that now the surface appears to be bubbling a bit
scrape doors with plastic scraper, to little effect
throw caution (and all online warnings) to the wind and forego the plastic scraper for one with a bit more bite
finally get somewhere
realize this is going to take a lot longer than I planned
Allahu Alaam (God knows, we don’t know, all knowledge comes from God alone, He is the All-Knowing, the All-Wise) and Inna Lillahi wa inna ilaihi raji’un (to God we and all our affairs belong, and to God we shall return).
Coming up: Day 3, in which doors meet their match, sorta.
*Mistake the first: don’t use synthetic mineral spirits with full flavor stripper or paint… it will only turn into a jelly-like substance that becomes very difficult to remove.
One:
Two:
