I recently acquired a large, old tool box. About 24″ front to back by 19″ tall by 38″ left to right. About 80 years old. If it was made by Studley I would leave it totally as is, but it is not anything close to his.
It is in good shape structurally. Three levels of trays inside, with each level having 2 trays that slide front to back. Each level is about 3″ tall with the remaining approx 9 inches to the bottom of the box.
My question: The outside is spattered with a lot of paint. I want to “refinish” it so that I remove the old paint and whatever finish is on it.
Then I want to put some sort of a new finish on it.
What should I use? Do you know of a good article on this sort of thing?
Feel free to ask questions or make recommendations.
Thanks,
Alan – planesaw
Edited 4/1/2006 11:57 am ET by Planesaw
Replies
Any stripper with methylene chloride will cut through the older lead paints or anything else. Do it in fresh air. You can use a plastic scrapper, course steel wool or auto body filler aplicators. Often the wood will soften enough that if you use a putty knife you can dig the wood. If there is any sharp detail to clesn use a soft brass brush. Make sure to wipe it down with paint thinner when done to remove any residue especially if you want to put on a clear finish. Bust to do it outside in the fresh air and wear rubber gloves. I've stripped a lot of things with Kleen Strip and had good luck with it.
Alan,
Check the corners, look for handcut dovetails. I have a box like you describe, it has dovetail corners, it has the original green paint. Mine has a problem with the top I have to repair, but the bottom is in good shape considering.
So, if you strip this and it had original paint on bare wood, you'll find great difficulty in removing all traces of paint from the wood. The paint tends to penetrate into the wood, especially poplar or pine, something soft.
Of course if it looks like someone kicked a can of paint at it, you have no recourse. Strip and wash down, I like Acetone for final cleanup when stripping.
Earl
Earl,
Mine does not have dovetailed corners. And it was not painted. But, someone spilled a lot paint near the thing at some point and there are a lot of paint spatters on the top and 2 sides.
It was varnished or shellaced or something. Dark wood.
If you have a few extra dovetails send them and I'll stick 'em on.
Thanks,
Alan - planesaw
Alan, If you've got finish on that, it'll strip much easier. No I don't have any spare dovetails. I don't know how old my box is. I was given it by a family friend. She had it in her garage for yrs with all kinds of junk piled on it. I didn't even realize it had dovetail corners till I started cleaning it up. And didn't do much of that.Good luck with your refinishing.EarlFurniture...the Art of a FurnitureMaker
Alan,
From your post it sounds like your tool box originally had a natural finish, probably shellac or an oil, in which case those paint splatters should clean up with little problem. Back in my furniture stripping/refinishing days I cleaned up a few old tool boxes. Those I finished for customers I just gave them 3 or 4 coats of boiled linseed oil, sanding lightly between coats. They finsh up real nice. If you turn up with lighter areas where the paint was covering, you should be able to blend them in with a matching stain. Don't worry about a little residual paint; It adds character.
If you want to paint it, like Earl's, milk paints are a real nice choice for these old chests.
http://www.milkpaint.com/
How about some photos and a few dimensional sketches?
-Chuck
Well I am short a digital camera right now. Maybe I can borrow one next week. Will see what I can do.
Alan - planesaw
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