Anything I can do about abused woodwork?

Question

I bought a 4 family that's been abused for a number of years.  None of the woodwork has been painted over (yaaaay), but it looks like someone took a screwdriver to it in many places.  There's also a problem with previous painters being sloppy and getting paint on the woodwork.  Is there anything I can do about this or do I need to rip it out and replace?

Joe Henry · Answer

Dampen a rag with paint thinner to get the paint spots off. You could sand by hand and then varnish/seal after that. If that's too much work it might be best to just replace them.

Arthur E. · Answer

@Max Tanenbaum, sanding down to the bare wood probably isn't going to happen.  That would take so so long!  However if you want to come do it for me I'll pay you!

Max T. · Answer

Refinishing old wood has always been worth it for me. It is labor intensive but looks great. Use a "stripper" product to remove paint and existing polyurethane. Then sand everything down to the bare wood. Then use a stain + poly product and choose your color! Sand lightly in between coats. You will need to do 2 coats.

Patrick Liska · Answer

that's chestnut, do as @Joe Henry says. i would also recommend a product called "oops" to remove the paint. any tough spots, just get them as best you can with sandpaper and stain it, finish it, it should look fine.

Michael Woodward · Answer

@Arthur Edmund,   Refinishing wood like the kind you have can be very difficult.  If you're ok with a final finish that looks pretty good but isn't perfect, you might be able to get away with just re-staining the boards in place (except where there's paint).  I've done that with lightly damaged wood and it looked really good afterward.  Since you've got paint on yours though it makes it harder to get a decent look.  You could test an area with some paint remover (stripper).  Once you get the paint off and the wood is dry, re-stain it with something close to the original stain and see how it looks.  If it's not good enough, the only other option (in my opinion) is to tear it out and start over.

Account Closed · Answer

I would use Goof Off to remove the paint.  Then I would use Howard's Restor a Finish in a comparable finish to make it look like new.  Here is a photo of a wood floor that I did nothing to but sweep beforehand and then applied the product.  I only used about half or less of the bottle (which cost $9) and about an hour of my time.

Nate Wightman · Answer

rubbing alcohol will take off latex paint... find some light colored stains to touch up scrapes.. try a light wood finishing oil on a rag and wipe down all the wood for the rest.... it is almost 100 years old should look old... I agree with @Patrick Liska I think it is chestnut which is rather rare since the bugs got to the trees... please don't remove it looks great

Nick Sabat · Answer

Depends on what you want and how much you wanna expend in time and money - hand sand will only take care of the surface damage.

If you want a great looking job you can remove all the wood work that is flat - take it to a local woodworks and have them plain down the outside of the board. It can be refinished after that - most gouges should be removed at that point.

You could ask an instructor at a school's wood working class if he wants to give the kids a extra project to do - this will save money but it would be nice if you donated something to them - like a few cheap hammers or a ton of carpenter pencils with your business logo on them. :D

In any event, you will have to make sure u take out all the nails. The boards must be devoid of all of them, for the wood to go thru the planers. And to keep track of where you took the wood from, use a felt tip pen and mark the backs, upstairs hall/downstairs hall, bedroom 1 door, etc., etc.

Just a thought! :D

Karen Young · Answer

Is this an A,B, or C property?

Arthur E. · Answer

Anything like this, @Mike Haro? http://www.amazon.com/Handheld-Multi-purpose-Pressurized-curtains-crevasses/dp/B00T56FK96/

Anything I can do about abused woodwork?

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