Rory's Tip of The Week-Lead Based Paint

Many homes built in America prior to 1978 were painted with lead-based paint.  This may include window casements and shutters.  If you are planning on using old window frames for your next prim project, here is a little advice.

Keep sanding to a mininum and wear a protective mask.  The dust is hazardous if breathed in by nose or mouth.



All loose paint chips must be removed.  Small children are especially suceptible to health risks from swallowing lead-based paint chips.



Handling items coated with lead-based paint and then putting your hands near or in your mouth is a concern. 



Whenever I repurpose old window shutters of frames like the ones pictured, I apply a coat of polyurethane or shellac over it, so that there is no lead based paint exposed.  This also solves nearly all of the problems associated with lead-based paint chips falling off onto the floor after it is hung.


Hazards of coming into contact with lead-based paints include, high blood pressure, headaches, nausea, brain damage, and slow growth in children.  Most homes built before 1978 contain it.  Many of us still live in older homes, so there are specific ways to deal with it, according to the United States Evironmental Protection Agency. 


Here is their link for more information.

http://www.epa.gov/lead/pubs/leadinfo.htm#buy



Please be careful when you suspect that something you are working with is a canidate for lead-based-paint, such as architectural moldings, banister railings and posts, old fencing, metal ceiling tiles, etc. 


Keep up the good work.


Rory

Rory's Tip of The Week-When To Use Shellac

Shellac has become at least in some respects the poor stepchild of finishes.  Although it was popular as a furniture finish in the 1800s and in the 1900s up until around 1920 or so, it has since been overshadowed by other products such as laquers and polyurethanes.  But, it definitely has it's advantages, and should not be overlooked.  When refinishing furniture I consider it a staple item.  Here are a few instances when I use shellac.


Shellac is an all natural product.  It is a by-product of a bug found in India and Thailand.  Shellac is often used in the maufacturing of candies and food products.  If you are looking for a product that when dry is one of the more non-toxic fiishes that you can use then shellac might be the one for you.


Shellac is clear or can be tinted to give you some color choices.  It comes in a spray can or in a brush on formula.  If you decide to use the brush on method you will want to cut the shellac with denatured alcohol, so buy a can of that as well.  The amount of alcohol you add will vary according to your needs.  A good starting point is a 50-50 mix until you get used to it.  It also comes premixed sometimes, in an amber or orange variation.  I use the amber quite a bit.  If you read my post about handmade Easter eggs, you may remember where I dappled some amber shellac on the eggs to give them some color variations. 


Shellac is known for a warm soft glow, especially the amber version when dry.  I like it a lot for refinishing old wooden sleds, prim flour bins and soft woods like pine and cedar.


I  also use it as a primer or sealer, especially when refinishing a dining room table.  Here is why...Over the years silicone based furniture waxes have become more and more common.  Silicone contamination of a piece of bare wood can be catastrophic.  Silicone, if left unchecked, will often cause a condition called "fisheye" in a fine finish.  In cases of severe contamination, it will cause your freshly coated table to look like it has the chicken pox.  It is pretty awful to contend with.  The really bad thing about silicone contamination is that you can't see it ahead of time, sanding won't take it out, mineral spirits and solvent won't remove it, and neither will paint remover.  So what do you do?  Shellac to the rescue!  Just apply a coat of shellac as a primer, before you put on your hard coat.  The shellac will seal off the silicone and keep the fisheye out of your finish.  I have gotten where I use it almost as a rule when refinishing dining room tables.  For this application I usually use the spray version.


Shellac is incredibly beautiful on old, worn, pine flooring.  It does not hold up to wear very well, but it can be reapplied to traffic areas where needed, and it dries quickly.  There was a time around the turn of the century when floors were commonly finished with shellac.


Shellac is also a really easy finish to use.  This is a good one for beginners.  It is a very forgiving finish.  The disadvantage of shellac is that it is not nearly as durable as a laquer or polyurethane,  so I don't apply it as a top coat on pieces that get a lot of use.  But,  it's  hard to deny the  advantages of shellac in the workshop.  Give it a try. 

Rory

Rory's Tip Of The Week-Avoiding Fire In the Workshop

When I was about 12 or 13 years old, one of my favorite antique shops to visit was on the outskirts of a tiny Missouri town.  It was in a huge old wooden barn on the owners property.  The mammoth roofing beams of the barn were made of solid walnut.  The barn siding was attached with square nails.  Inside that barn were some of the best american oak pieces I have ever seen, to this day.  Round oak tables with carved lion heads and claw feet, curved glass china cabinets with serpentine fronts, huge roll top desks, and set after set of carved chairs were all common staple items there.  In those days, turn-of-the-century oak was a hot commodity (pardon the pun) and inside this old barn was some of the best in the country...........And then one summer day, it all burned down. There was nothing left.  All was lost inside and out.  Once that old wooden barn caught fire there was no stopping it.  And like a lot of fires it was due to one careless mistake by the owner that could have easily been prevented, if he just would have followed this one piece of advice I am going to give you. 
The cause of the fire was determined to be from the spontaneous combustion of some paper towels, that were soaked with old paint remover.  The owner had been out in the barn stripping a piece of furniture on a cool summer morning.  As he was wiping off the remover with the paper towels, he simply tossed them on the floor, so he could throw them away later, all at once.  Stripping furniture was not new to him.  He had had done this hundreds of times.  He had a system and it worked fine for him until that one particular day.  When he was almost done with the stripping he became sidetracked and left the paper towels where he had thrown them.  Later on in the day the weather warmed up.  By the afternoon it was hot outside.  The direction of the the light from the sun changed and it started to shine inside the barn window.  It is believed that at some point the sun managed to shine through the barn window and into a large mirror not far from the pile of paper towels.  That is all it took.  It was over in a single afternoon.

So here is my simple tip of the week, to keep this from happening in your workshop.  Do like I do.  Keep a metal bucket handy, about half full of water.  As you discard old paper towels and rags, throw them in the bucket of water, and let them soak until they are ready for your trash pickup.  Also, be especially careful with old steel wool.  Steel wool is what they sometimes teach boyscouts to make campfires with.  When  steel wool is contaminated with something like mineral spirits or paint thinner it makes an easily ignitible combination.  So, also throw your old used steel wool in the bucket when you are done with it too.

Periodically I will take a stick and push all the flammables down into the water to make sure they all are completely soaked with water.  Follow this procedure any time you are using products such as stains, shellac, laquer, polyurethane, paint strippers, linseed oil, mineral spirits and thinners, or anything else that is a potential fire hazard. We are seeing the first signs of warm weather right now, so this tip becomes even more important in the upcoming months.  Be safe! Rory

Note: In the future I will be putting various condensed tips on the sidebar that may be of help to you as well as writing occasional full posts like this one.  I am here to help you.  Feel free to comment or send me questions. Keep up the good work.  Rory