Rescuing some very vintage shutters.

[mattl]

My cousin lives in a small apartment.  It's circa 1948 and the owner has a strict no holes in the walls policy, so no artwork can be hung.  So she is looking for things to add color to the white space.  She bought a pair of large vintage shutters, were listed as dark green but are closer to black that came off an 1860's farmhouse.  They are quite tall -- which she wanted -- but seem to be in poor condition.  She said they are quite dry and she is worried about how to rejuvenate them.  She had not planned on painting them, but the color is much too dark for her space, so we are looking for ideas to treat the wood to make it a bit stronger before painting/glazing.

 

Any good treatments for old wood?  Something oil based?  Her comment is she feels they need to be "rehydrated" really not sure how to proceed.  I know some here own older vintage homes so any tips?

 

[danemodsandy]

Can't Help Your Problem, But.....

Is it possible that someone out there still does not know about 3M Command hanging stuff? Command hangers come in a huge array of shapes and sizes for different hanging needs. They are self-stick, but they have a special "releasable" adhesive that comes off painted walls with zero damage. They should never be confused with old-school self-stick hooks that pulled paint and the top layer of the sheetrock off the wall.

You can hang nearly anything you want and not violate leases with provisions against nail holes. Every discount and home improvement store has Command stuff.

 

[countryford]

Sandy,

I was just going to say that. They come in handy when hanging Christmas decorations as well. They work real well.

 

[mattl]

Yes, we are all aware of the 3M stuff, but for whatever reason the walls and the Command strips don't like each other.  The texture on the walls is not smooth enough and the strips fall off with the lightest weight on them.

 

[volvoguy87]

Wood.

You can work wonders on old wood with simple boiled linseed oil. Just brush it on and keep brushing it on until the wood absorbs no more. Just be mindful not to dispose of oil-soaked rags in a pile, especially indoors, as it may catch fire spontaneously.

Dave

 

[mattl]

Thanks for the suggestion-- had not thought of that.

 

[whirlcool]

If they are painted you could take them into a place that "dips" the product in solvent and strips all the old paint/varnish off the piece. Shutters, because of all their small spots on them are difficult to do by hand.

Then she could reprime and repaint them any color she wants. And they won't look dried out. I think what she's seeing is the worn out paint on the shutters is dull rather than the wood underneath.

 

[ovrphil]

There's another little known method, but not sure where you would find the shop/person to do it. I've only heard of this,but I met a man who worked at Home Depot...and he tells me there is a way to strip paint off a car, leaving the primer, using a high-pressure hose-nozzle system that emits baking soda.

It's very effective, not messy, and if it's available....maybe that would be the way to go, optionally?

 

[mattl]

Not having seen the shutters yet, I'm not quite sure what condition they are in.  Budget is a concern so stripping might not be an option.  Since they're are being used as interior decoration I don't really know how significant their being dry is.  When I get over there, it's across the state, I'll evaluate.  Might have her try the linseed oil on a portion of one of the backs and see how it responds. 

 

I was hoping she would leave the original color as is, but indications are it's much too dark for her purposes.  But if they get painted they will still survive, and it's better than in a burn pile somewhere.  They survived 150 years and odds are many coats of paint, one more won't hurt.

 

[davey7]

blasting the shutters...

I'm guessing that blasting with baking soda would be like power washing wood (and softer brick) - total destruction of the wood.

 

[ovrphil]

BAKING SODA BLASTING used on Statue of Liberty

No, that's what I assumed, too. It has variable control for depth and degree of surface removal. You can remove as much or little as you want. Few people seem to know about it. The man I talked to at Home Depot was a free-lancer and did a good business. He said, you could strip a car, leaving the original primer in place.

I haven't researched cost for home use, but as anyone knows in the South, pressure washers are pretty harsh if but effective for cleaning driveways, house sides, etc. I needed to remove the white, water-based paint from the basement walls that our builder applied to get a CO(certificate of occupancy, which is another story).

But check out this brief explanation here:

It's possible to make your own soda blaster, but I haven't researched or attempted it...now living in a "compartment", life is much less hands on, compared to home ownership.

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