Subject: HELP me finish my window,door,&baseboard trim????

From: [email-masked] (MSass 1)
Date: 11 Feb 1997 09:16:04 GMT

I'm refinishing all woodwork in my old house. I've got 3-inch wide oak
door &        window trim and 7in. wide baseboard trim from the living &
dining rooms of the      house and 4in. wide door & window trim and 8in.
wide baseboard trim from all      the other rooms. All trim is stripped of
paint & stain.I'm ready to start finishing!!     1) Hey the living room &
dining room trim looks different from the rest of the trim?? Nice
grain-it's oak I'm sure-looks like my floors-on the backside these boards
have factory cut like back of floor boards-house built in 1920.Rest of
trim    has more grainy wild pattern but very hard-any ideas???           
                           2) Should I put all trim back on wall before
restaining???                                     3) Should I give all
trim a fine sanding before refinishing???                                
4) Should I  repair all nail holes & miner imperfections?If so what should
I use     that will look good when stained-exactly???                     
                                   5) I'm looking for a nice golden-not
orange color?? Shellac,oil,stain-what should  I use-for trim??Then do I
seal with laquor,polyurethane etc.??Can I just use an all in one RED DEVIL
DOG product??I spent too much time stripping 5layers of paint  and old
dark stain off this wood with chemicals & elbow power to mess up now!!    
6) How many coats of each then sand etc.???                               
                   7) Have a few small crack-down middle from ends of
mostly baseboards-should I glue and clamp or will finish hide or nothing i
can do???                                       8) Have two baseboards
with chunks notched out or damaged during demolition any repair ideas???? 
                                                                          
              9) Is it worth trying to de-nail ,strip ,sand & finish all
that little border trim and  crown molding??? Some of it got demo-ed!?    
                                                   10) Can I glue trim
back to wall with liquid nails or other adhesive and use fewer or no
nails?? If I gotta nail it -what size nail Boards 3/4in.thick & 1/2in.
drywall??? Should I pre drill holes-very hard nail bending stuff!? How
many nails per foot??  That liquid nails is sweet and strong????Whats
best????                                       Thats enough for now-I do
have some wood skill level- I sanded and finished my oak floors and
restored the built-in oak bookcases-sweet looking!! Answers to one or a
few or all of my questions -greatly appreciated!! Post here or E-mail me
your book!!! Thanks!!!!                                                   
                                                   M & M & M

---

From: "Bob Daun" <[email-masked]>
Date: 11 Feb 1997 16:27:43 GMT

Here is my $0.02 worth.

1.  I would finish all wood work before reapplying.  
2.  Regarding finish, this is a matter of taste but what I would do, is
find a light stain that you like.  Sand well a portion of the back of one
of the boards to use as a test system.  In other words, sand a portion of a
base board for a foot or two and use this to check out your stain and final
finish.  That way if you don't like it, you haven't messed up something you
have already cleaned.
3.  I prefer a water based polyurethane for the final finish.  It dries
fast, has little or no odor, and allows you to apply three a four coats a
day if you so desire.  Also, the water cleanup of brushes is convenient.  I
normally apply about three coats to give a nice finish.  I sand in between
coats with 220 grit sandpaper (lightly, just enough to remove minor bumps
of finish).
4.  When reapplying, you need to find where your studs under the wallboard
are.  If you can't find them easily, get a stud finder (about $15) at a
hardware store.  Nail baseboards with nails long enough to go into studs. 
Pre drill through the oak to prevent splitting.  Only drive finishing nails
to near the surface.  Finish with a nail set.  With the nail set, drive the
nail slightly (1/16-3/32 inches approx.)  You can then use a putty stick
that matches your final finish to hide the holes.
5.  Don't try to get every nick and dent out.  If you use a dye type stain,
nicks and dents are not as noticeable as with a pigment based stain.  The
dye type stains are also called aniline stains and are usually not
available at paint/hardware stores.  I order from one of the Woodworker
Supply type catalogs.  They come as a powder (Usually cost between 5 and 7
dollars an ounce and an ounce makes a quart of finished stain.

---

From: [email-masked] (Bennett Leeds)
Date: 13 Feb 1997 23:19:04 GMT

MSass 1 writes
>   I'm refinishing all woodwork in my old house....
1) Hey the living room & dining room trim looks ...{like} oak I'm sure...
> Rest of trim has more grainy wild pattern but very hard-any ideas??? 

Impossible to tell you what you've got without even being able to see it.
Could be ash, could be chesnut, could be another kind of oak - could be 
almost anything.

> 2) Should I put all trim back on wall before restaining???                                     

No!

3) Should I give all trim a fine sanding before refinishing???                                

Depends on the current surface, and if there's any stripping residue left.
Did you use a neutralizer? Are you happy with the current surface?
Finish won't make it better.

> 4) Should I repair all nail holes & miner imperfections?

I wouldn't. Any piece that you can't live with should probably be
replaced. Be prepared to live with a lot - it's an old house after all
and the dings and dents, etc. are part of its character.

> 5) I'm looking for a nice golden-not orange color?? Shellac,oil,stain-
> what should  I use-for trim?? Then do I seal with laquor,polyurethane 
> etc.??Can I just use an all in one RED DEVIL DOG product??I spent too much 
> time stripping 5layers of paint  and old dark stain off this wood with 
> chemicals & elbow power to mess up now!!    

I wouldn't use the Red Devil stuff. Do you know what was on their originally,
or have you stripped it all away without investigating? How old is the 
house? Shellac sounds like it'll give you the color you want, with some
reasonable wear resistance. I wouldn't use lacquer or polyurethane: too
thick.

Whatever you choose, test it on the backs of some of the wider baseboards 
to be sure you like the results.

> 7) Have a few small crack-down middle from ends of mostly baseboards-
> should I glue and clamp or will finish hide or nothing i can do???                                       

I'd glue and clamp cracks before finishing.

> 8) Have two baseboards with chunks notched out or damaged during demolition 
> any repair ideas???? 

You can cut pieces from stock you're not going to reuse or from new stock, 
but you'll probably see the repair. It'll be a judgement call whether the
repair looks OK - if not replace the whole piece. Can you reproduce the
profiles?

> that little border trim and  crown molding??? Some of it got demo-ed!?

Have you priced what new replacements will cost?

> 10) Can I glue trim back to wall with liquid nails or other adhesive and
> use fewer or no nails?? If I gotta nail it -what size nail Boards 
> 3/4in.thick & 1/2in. drywall??? Should I pre drill holes-very hard nail 
> bending stuff!? How many nails per foot??  That liquid nails is sweet and 
> strong????Whats best????

Don't use liquid nails. Imagine how you'd be cursing now if that had been 
used originally. Nail it, using finish nails or brads. Use the same nail
holes where possible.

- Bennett Leeds
[email-masked]

Opinions are mine alone.