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stripping wood beams

trinity | Posted in General Discussion on January 3, 2005 12:18pm

Hi All,

I have a home with wood beams and panelling between the beams which is all stained and varnished a dark brown.  It is quite dreary and I want to strip the color from the beams and hopefully lighten up my house.  Sand blasting is out.  Too expensive and disruptive.  Does anyone have any good ideas…I’m stumped.  Thanks so much.

Lee

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Replies

  1. Davo304 | Jan 03, 2005 01:10am | #1

    Removing the stain from the interior beams sounds like a lot of work.

    As I see it, your options are mechanical stripper, which is messy...chemical stripper...very messy...or perhaps painting or staining over top; but paint coating needs to be compatible for adhereing to varnish topcoat.

    Other option would be to remove dark paneling and re-panel in a lighter color...would greatly lighten-up room, but labor intensive.

    Stencil beams with decorative design or rout  small grooves or designs in beams and install inlay....also a bit labor intensive.

    Paint or wall paper over existing paneling...works well, but some labor.

    Install drywall over exposed beams...complete with corner beads etc, and mud seams and then paint....beams will look  more modern and crisp, and wood grain effect will be lost...you may not be after such a look. Depending on beam configurations, may be impractical or way too labor intensive. 

     

    Sorry, not much help.

    Davo

    1. trinity | Jan 03, 2005 05:33am | #2

      Thanks ...  you did give me some new ideas.  If it wasn't one of those up high upside down projects it wouldn't be so daunting!

      Thanks again,  Lee

  2. tradesman | Jan 10, 2005 08:43am | #3

     

    I did a job several years ago where the situation was similar to your description. The overall design called for the painting of the beams in a high-gloss off-white and it looked stunning. The contrast of the beams and the dark ceiling went along with the dark furniture and the light colored wall/carpet design.

    If you want to preserve the wood character repaint in faux wood grain.

    Enjoy the work!

  3. capecodda | Jan 14, 2005 04:33am | #4

    Depending on the age and condition of the beams, planing the beams might be a viable option. If planing is successful and you're unhappy with the color, you try bleaching the exposed beam. You could probably use an electric planer on the face of the beam, but it'll make a big mess. Make sure to check for any metal in the beams, and take several thin passes with the planer to avoid digging in to the beams leaving them scarred.

  4. DANL | Jan 31, 2005 01:38am | #5

    If you do like another person suggested and replace dark panelling with light, dark beams may be okay; but if not, you could "pickle" them by painting with white oil-based paint and wiping off excess. Could also case the beams in lighter wood (1X).

    1. SMSHARP | Feb 03, 2005 03:13am | #6

       I have used a 4" grinder with a wire cup to remove the surface of hand hewn beams with satisfactory results. With the right touch you can clean up the beams nicely without removing the 'character' of the beam.

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