Despite it being a very busy week getting ready for a trip north to celebrate the 4th of July with friends, I have made some progress on the salvaged barn door table. (See Repurposing a Salvaged Barn Door Into A Patio Table Part 1). This week I stripped the paint & sanded the surface.
1. First, I used an oscillating tool to remove the loose paint:
2. Stripping the paint.
This was going to be tricky because I did not want to remove all the paint; I wanted the piece to look rustic. I first tried a spray stripper. It was easy, just spray the door, wait 10 minutes and scrape off the paint.
The paint came off OK but I did not like the look.
3. Next I tried a gel paint stripper. This was the effect I was looking for:
I used a cheap paint brush to spread a thin layer of the gel over a 2 by 2 foot area. After 10-15 minutes I began to scrape the surface with a 3 inch putty blade. I used long scraping motions going with the grain of the wood. The paint came off leaving thin strips of faded paint. This is what I was looking for.
If I had wanted to remove all of the paint I would have applied a thick layer of the gel stripper and left it on for 20 to 30 minutes (as the directions indicate). To keep the process moving, I prepared the next area I was going to work on by apply the gel so when I was finished scraping one area I could move right on the next section.
4. Sanding The Door
I sanded the door by hand so I could smooth the surface without removing any more paint.
Now I’m getting psyched! Because of the Holiday I probably won’t get to work on the barn door table until next week when I will clean the door up before staining it.
Have a great 4th!!!