HomeRefurbers

Refurbishing Knotty Pine

« back to Home Decorating & Design forum

Topic by PJA posted 07-07-2008 11:17 PM 10546 views 0 times favorited 9 replies Add to Favorites Watch
View PJA's profile

PJA

1 post in 5445 days

07-07-2008 11:17 PM

I’m looking for ideas on refinishing 45 year old Knotty Pine.

Currently I have a 700 sq. ft. cottage on a small lake in Northern Michigan. Over the next year and a half I hope to turn it into a 1500 sq. ft. home. I would like to save some of the Knotty Pine walls. I’m not looking for a Rustic look, still I want it to look like it belongs in “The Great White North”.

The original structure is 1 1/2 inch thick Knotty Pine. It was put out buy a local mill up there, I don’t think they sold many. The walls were never smooth planed and probably not as dry as they could have been. The boards are a little rough and sap continued to come out of some of the knots for years. Now it is dry but there are bubbles and runs of sap in places. I believe the wood was coated with Linseed Oil. It has dried out and in a few spots is even starting to gray slightly.

Over the weekend I took of one of the interior doors and started sanding. The paper clogged up real quick and it took over two hours to sand one side. I can’t imagine sanding several walls. Also as I sanded I ended up with old finsih in the planer marks which meant I need to sand it quite smooth to get it consistent. If I do that I lose all the color “patina”, which would be a shame.

I am thinking about trying a solvent to remove the finish and probably use steel wool in hopes of smothing the walls somewhat as I go along. If that doesn’t work it would seem my only alternative would be to sand and refinish.

I know a contractor would just cover the walls, the labor cost for what I want done would be ridicloulous. Well I want to save some of the look and I have more time than money (and not much time).

I would appreciate any suggestions.

What would a good solvent be to try striioping off the finish?

Am I missing any other options?

Suggestions on Finish.



View PaBull's profile

PaBull

694 posts in 5487 days

07-11-2008 03:48 AM

Do you have any pictures to share and show?

I would choose a corner, out of the way and do a trial. First thing I would try is a stripper. With a stripper you might be able to keep the mill marks. Is there a local refinisher in town, who could help you?

For refinishing I would be interested to see how two coats tung oil sealer/finisher with two coats of oil base polyurithane would look. Maybe you have some old pine to try it on.

Good luck, and keep us posted.

View Dick, & Barb Cain's profile

Dick, & Barb Cain

121 posts in 5550 days

07-11-2008 04:41 PM

After your done with the sanding, I’d recommend sealing it with shellac, to prevent further bleeding of the sap.

-- ** Dick, & Barb Cain *************** http://lumberjocks.com/jocks/Chipncut

View AntonioL's profile

AntonioL

2 posts in 5139 days

05-20-2009 08:33 AM

Very informative article, thanks for sharing it to the public. Making changes in a house is really something to ponder and given concern. Meanwhile, in connection with the utilization of money, The U.S. Mint is the organization responsible for printing and coining money. There are U.S. Mint production facilities in several locations across the country, and they have a new product to put out. The new thing they are rolling out is a new penny series. The new pennies, which will take more in installment loans to make than they are worth, feature several scenes of Abraham Lincoln (since we’re on a bit of a Lincoln kick these days) from childhood, his tenure in the Senate, and during the construction of the capitol building. It’s a noble effort, but with the cost of the new equipment and design, one wonders if the U.S. Mint will need debt relief from coining pennies.

View april_luv's profile

april_luv

10 posts in 4615 days

11-03-2010 08:52 PM

By the way, is there a local refinisher in town?

-- aluminum decorative fences

View apsara's profile

apsara

2 posts in 3517 days

10-17-2013 10:34 AM

A simpler solution to update this problem is painting the surface. It will give you a new look and save you a lot of money in the end.

View homemquerajuda's profile

homemquerajuda

1 post in 2387 days

11-20-2016 01:15 PM

Thank you. The best article. I like it. Testomaster Funciona Mesmo

View dangolree's profile

dangolree

20 posts in 1589 days

10-04-2020 11:38 AM

I regularly visit your site and find a lot of interesting information. Not only good posts but also great comments. Thank you and look forward to your page growing stronger.
https://www.jssor.com/hammers/one2step.slider

View wahlnut430's profile

wahlnut430

1 post in 683 days

07-21-2021 01:55 AM

Knotty pine can be difficult to finish, I’d recommend clear pine to be able to finish like these floating shelves here:

https://brickmillfurniture.com/collections/floating-hanging-wood-shelves

View gtrboy77's profile

gtrboy77

2 posts in 665 days

08-08-2021 02:43 AM

I’d hate if you had to use a chemical stripper to strip all of the knotty pine versus sanding, but that’s another option. I would refinish with either shellac or an oil just to keep it both natural and minimal chemicals.

You must be signed in to reply.

DISCLAIMER: All views and comments posted by members are not necessarily those of HomeRefurbers.com or of those working on the site.

Latest Projects | Latest Blog Entries | Latest Forum Topics

LumberJocks.com :: woodworking showcase