Sizing the Lining Paper

With all of the lining paper secured with seam repair, next up is sizing the lining paper with another application of diluted wheat paste. This can be a little bit dangerous because I find that applying moisture back on the paper can reactivate the original paste and the paper can start lifting up, especially around the seams. So I try to work fast and not over apply the sizing so I don’t ruin the existing work.

Sizing the lining paper.

After sizing, I clean out the room and take some pictures for the floor refinisher so he can see what he’d quote for the job. The floor has a variety of finishes on it, but I try and find the oldest part of the floor which looks like it had a dark brown stain. There’s a few damaged/cut areas in the floor too which I note in the pictures.

I think this is the area that best shows the original stain on the floor.

Some of the boards have come loose or were cut for various reasons.

The middle section was covered with a linoleum rug so that I think is the original color, then as you move out you see some of the newer paint over the original stain. Also note all the paint splatters that apparently no one used drop cloths when working in the room in the past.

I get the floor pictures over for an estimate and hit a few more seams with repair adhesive and then back to the doors which are turning into a nightmare. First up I decide that I don’t want to stick with paste wax and will go with Waterlox. I know it has VOCs, but it is an old formula and I think it looks great on the bathroom woodwork so I’m going for it. But the problem is I committed to paste wax which is a finish that doesn’t play well with pretty much any other finish. So before applying Waterlox, I need to strip the paste wax. I use mineral spirits, paper towels and some steel wool to start stripping off the paste wax.

Stripping off the paste wax.

Then while I’m stripping the paste wax off, I become annoyed with some dents I put in the wood during refinishing. The dents occurred from pressing down on the door when sanding. The workspace I was using was a small table that pushed into the wood causing dents. I decide to try and use an iron and steam to get the dents out. I put down a damp towel over the dents and then press the hot iron on the towel for a few seconds. It starts destroying the shellac but the dents do come out.

Steamed shellac.

With the dents out, the shellac needs to be stripped so I put down some alcohol to strip the shellac and then start sanding. I get the wood back to the bare finish, but now I’ll need to re-stain it.

Sanding out the repairs.