This room is a bit under 250 square feet. The middle isn't stained or varnished but all around the edges is. I don't know just what the product is, other than it probably dates to the 1930s, so it's hard to know what to use if I want to take the chemical stripper route. The wallpaper scraper wasn't fun. When it hit my wrist I knew something was wrong, then saw the blood, then patched up as best as I could before a quick trip to the ER to get some stitches. Not something I really want to repeat.
It could be varnish, or wax, or lacquer. It also has 80 years worth of accumulated crud on it. Running my scraper over it makes a squealing sound the first few times, then turns to a dull scraping sound. I'll need to put a(nother) belt on the sander and run it over the areas I've scraped to see if it makes much difference. Once I've got the coating off the wood I should be able to sand the whole area without too much trouble, then stain and lacquer it.
Paint stripper works pretty well. Not a pleasant product to use and not real cheap. I like JASCO - There are different strengths. Several applications might be needed. Use your scraper to scoop it up.
At the hardware store there were a few options but all of them said not to use them on floors. One of them was specifically designed for wood and metal, the instructions talked about scraping along the direction of wood grain, but then it said not to use it on floors because of an increased fire risk. I think that one was based on methylene carbonate, it was maybe $40 for a gallon.
Just how nasty is methylene carbonate? The instructions talk of all the safety equipment that is needed, but instructions these days practically call for body armor before driving a screw into a wall. I know not to bathe in the stuff, just not sure how much of the equipment listed in the directions is really needed. The hardware store is closed tomorrow so maybe I'll spend some time with the scraper seeing how much I can get off with physical friction, then use a chemical approach, then sand.
Not that bad if you don't get it on your skin. A paint brush for applying works well. If you don't disturb it you can watch it work. And you can actually scrape it and reapply it in another section if it remains fluid.
Interesting. Do you know how much of it I'm likely to need - the instructions didn't give any indication of what sort of area I'd expect to cover. My room is about 220-230 square feet and there's a good size patch in the middle that looks like it was never stained or finished. My local hardware store sells it by the quart or the gallon. Part of what I'm also keeping in mind is the total cost of fixing up the room. With the sound proofing material, drywall, paying someone to fit stuff when I figured I couldn't do it on my own, the total cost is rising so I'm keen to avoid overspending.
If you get the gel type around 2 gallons should do it. Brush an area that you can easily reach across, let it dissolve the varnish without disturbing it (15-20minutes for most products) then carefully scrape it onto the next section and brush it in, adding product as needed. I've done large rooms with less than a gallon. It destroys the brush and is a nasty process. Cheap brushes. Each scraped section needs to be wiped with a rag so nothing remains behind. Important to not let it dry before scraping it. Gloves are a must.
Sounds really yicky. I've done some scraping this afternoon and it's looking a lot better. I'm not sure if what's left behind is more of the finish or if I just didn't scrape all the stain out from the grain. Perhaps when I've got a larger area covered I'll run the belt sander over it and see what happens. If needs be I'll hit it with chemicals but I'm not liking the sounds of needing to consider ventilation, breathing protection (it's impossible to find any breathing protection these days) and gloves. I'm wondering if something as simple as paint thinners would help get the last bits up. Maybe I'll test them on a small area. If all I need is surgical gloves and open windows I can handle that more easily.
Got out for my walk at last. I wasn't sure if I'd make it because of the weather. It was chilly - the sun was nice but 20mph winds gusting to 45mph were interesting to walk into. I was glad for my sweatshirt!
Using the scraper seems to have made a huge difference. The center part of the room, as expected, is clear of nasty finishes and the sander is lifting the surface there pretty much effortlessly. Across the patches I've scraped it's doing OK, there's still some material that is gumming up the belts a bit but overall it's cutting through much faster. The slight cupping of the boards isn't helping there but, once the levels are cut back, the sander gets busy and it looks pretty good. It might actually be quite a nice floor underneath it all. I'm looking at it thinking I'll just put a coat of lacquer on it rather than staining it and lacquering it.
Got attacked on the head by a bluebird today. Very odd. No nest in the immediate area. Maybe it's a sign.
A person is allowed to drive only after proper training & certification. A person casually wandering about and increasing chances of fatal infection can't be compared.
Of course they can be compared. When you're walking along the sidewalk do you know that the person driving the car approaching you is licensed, sober, competent, awake? Regardless of testing and licensing the reality is that every single time you get in a motor vehicle and drive anywhere you risk your life and the lives of others. We don't like to think about it but look at how many people are killed on the roads every year. Look at how many are seriously injured on the roads each year. Motor transport clearly isn't a risk-free activity but nobody demands that we refrain from driving unless we have a demonstrable need to be somewhere. But apparently everything is different now and Nanny State says we aren't allowed outside unless we have a demonstrable need, and we all applaud. There's even a handy facility in case some very naughty person dares to think for themselves, where we can tattle on them inform the police, who can then harass educate the reckless person who dares to decide for themself what works for their circumstances. Repeat after me, "it's for your own good, it's for your own good".
And again I say, Amen. We need to quarantine for normal seasonal influenza which has killed many more people this season that covid19 Also, we should ban purchases of sugar, alcohol, and white flour.