Right Tools for BIG molding refinishing?

[CurtinColo]

I am considering stripping, staining, and refinishing all the molding in five large rooms.  The moldings are complex custom shapes with curves, grooves, etc.  The wood is mostly stained and poly-ed alder.

I will need to get down to the wood so I can re-stain (bleached stain is the reason for doing all this). This is a big job (more than 1,000 linear feet PLUS about six big doors).  So productivity is key.

I am considering buying BOTH the LS130EQ and the DX93.
  -Is this combination a good choice?
  -Do I need both?
  -Is this feasible?
  -should I be looking elsewhere?

Removing the molding is near impossible and chemical stripping would be a real challenge.  I'm hoping to do the prep with sanding only.

Help is really appreaciated.

Curt

 

[WarnerConstCo.]

Find a good faux painter.

They can make anything look like anything.

Trust me, it is a ridiculous amount of tedious work.

 

[jvsteenb]

I'm glad molding isn't as abundant over here.... Faced with your particilar challenge, I'd make myself a a couple of fitted scrapers for the profiles at hand.
By all means: buy all the Festools you like, but this looks more like an old-fashioned hand-tool job to me.
Please correct me if I'm wrong....

Regards,

Job

 

[AlexThePalex]

If you want to get down to the wood a scraper with a burner or paint stripper is the only feasible solution. The LS130 is not strong enough to remove all the paint in a reasonable time and there will be lots of places it can't reach either. The DX 93 can help but is also too small to do it all. Seriously, I would reconsider stripping all paint and staining it and just paint it over with a colour. Or be prepared for a very long and tedious job.

 

[WarnerConstCo.]

I don't think any of it is painted, maybe a little but he said most was stained and poly'ed.

 

[Brice Burrell]

I think you've gotten some very good advice here. I like Warner's suggestion, a "faux" wood paint job is a good option here. My, somewhat limited, experience with faux finishes says it's the cheaper, easier route. A profile scraper would be a second choice if you are determined to not remove the trim and/or use stripper. 

 

[AlexThePalex]

I don't think any of it is painted, maybe a little but he said most was stained and poly'ed.

Ah, my mistake. I still don't get the hang of all that English jargon you guys use.

 

[WarnerConstCo.]

I don't think any of it is painted, maybe a little but he said most was stained and poly'ed.

Ah, my mistake. I still don't get the hang of all that English jargon you guys use.

That's fine, my Dutch sucks! [big grin]

 

[ccmviking]

I can re-stain (bleached stain is the reason for doing all this).  Curt

Curt,

How bad is the bleaching?  Is the finish in tact and in good condition? Without pic's it's hard to say, but...  If I'm just trying fix an issue with color I might try a toner on it.  A toner would be a thinned top coat with some dye  (trans tint, etc.)in it.  You can also put dye directly into poly and brush some on an area to see what it looks like.  It'll be transparent but will tone down what is under it.  You can spray it on as well... I mix dye's with denatured alcohol and lacquer thinner to spray on for stain, but mixing the dye into the top coat works well too.

Chris... 

 

[PaulMarcel]

+1 to Chris's idea... as I read the thread, I could only think of toning it to add the color.  Going from bleached to dark is pretty easy; it's the other way that's trickier.  [eek]

My only caution with dye toning is that some dyes are particularly sensitive to light and will fade.  Given that you are working in rooms, there'll be windows panning the walls with sunlight.  However, metalized dyes (like Chris's TransTint suggestion) are significantly more colorfast.  Of course, you could tone with pigment stain in the finish, though I have no experience with that and it seems to me like it would be more fussy (the pigments are colorfast).  I only mention the metalized dyes here so if you decide to use a different dye than TransTint (a wonderful dye, BTW), be sure to verify its colorfastness.

 

[CurtinColo]

Wow.. great feedback!  Thank you everyone.

You've convinced me that sanding is not feasible.  I'm intrigued by the dye idea. 

Last year we tried some stain on top of the existing finish.  Doesn't look good.  Splotchy.

I assume that dye (something I know nothing about) is not the same as stain.  I'll i-research that a bit.

Thanks
Curt in Colo

 

[mastercabman]

I can re-stain (bleached stain is the reason for doing all this).  Curt

Curt,

How bad is the bleaching?  Is the finish in tact and in good condition? Without pic's it's hard to say, but...  If I'm just trying fix an issue with color I might try a toner on it.  A toner would be a thinned top coat with some dye  (trans tint, etc.)in it.  You can also put dye directly into poly and brush some on an area to see what it looks like.  It'll be transparent but will tone down what is under it.  You can spray it on as well... I mix dye's with denatured alcohol and lacquer thinner to spray on for stain, but mixing the dye into the top coat works well too.

Chris... 

Doesn't he still need to sand the top coat so that the new coat of poly or whatever he's going to use will stick?

 

[harry_]

I would think so. But there is a huge difference between sanding to 'de-gloss' and sanding to 'de-finish' [2cents]

 

[WarnerConstCo.]

A scratch pad would probably be enough to make a new coat bite into the old one.

 

[ccmviking]

Wow.. great feedback!  Thank you everyone.

You've convinced me that sanding is not feasible.   I'm intrigued by the dye idea.   

Last year we tried some stain on top of the existing finish.   Doesn't look good.  Splotchy.

I assume that dye (something I know nothing about) is not the same as stain.  I'll i-research that a bit.

Thanks
Curt in Colo

Curt,

Read about the products here...  Homestead Finishing

As for sanding it depends what they used.  Something like a Nitrocellulose lacquer would just melt right in, but no matter you wanna wash the surface with something like TSP before hand.  In most cases a good scuffing to de-gloss is all you'd need. 

Chris...

 

[Warrior]

the best price on transtints is at www.veneersupplies.com

 

[monstrol]

If your spraying the topcoat try mohawk glazing stains.  They never really dry, just flash-off, and need to be sprayed.  All the colors you will need and if you don't like what you have done they wash off with spririts or naptha before you lacquer.  They also have a water based glazing stain system with their water based finishes. Just my 2 cents.
Matt