Shellac and stripped door

Karen is down with me this weekend, so she can help make some electrical tweaks in the room. But before the work starts, we make a trip over to Cape May to buy some lace curtains for the other bedroom. Originally we were going to look for curtains that fit exactly the windows, but after searching online, it seemed that most curtains used standard lengths. A few offered custom lengths, but it would end up being very expensive, so we decided to go with one of the standard lengths of 63 inches. There’s a Swedish shop in Cape May that sells lace so we picked out a design there and purchased 2 curtains to help finish off the other bedroom.

Lace curtain with a few inches of overhang.

Both curtains installed.

Back to work and first up is changing out the two outlets and light switch for retro designs. The light switch gets swapped out for a push button version and the two outlets are replaced with brown outlets to match the rest of the house. Karen does this work because I hate electricity and the changes go without any surprises. These outlet boxes were secured snugly so we didn’t need to move them or replace with new boxes.

Removing the existing light switch.

Swapping out the outlet with a traditional brown one.

Outlet installed.

After the outlets, I worked on the woodwork to start getting shellac coats down. I did a few passes of sanding using mostly synthetic steel wool although I did use some real steel wool for some spots that were a little rough. I mixed in some turpentine to thin out some of the stain because I applied it a little thicker in this room compared to the other room. Once the final sanding was done, I do a pass using 1lb cut shellac applied with a brush.

Shellacked woodwork.

Shellacked woodwork.

Woodwork with push button switch.

While the shellac dries, I revisit the gas pipe and notice some rust appearing. I strip this off using steel wool and apply another coat of boiled linseed oil. With the shellac done, I go back to the door and continue the post-stripping prep. I wash the wood down using TSP. In some spots where there’s darkening, I do spot cleaning using Bar Keeper’s Friend which lightens the wood. After that dries, I do another wash with boiled linseed oil soap. Wait to dry again, and then sanding with 220 and 440 sandpaper to deal with any raised grain from all the washing. While sanding, I also knock down the epoxy repairs from last week. I vacuum up the dust and then do a wipe down using turpentine. In any areas that are too light, I use a little bit of water-based dye and then finish up with a coat of a mix of boiled linseed oil cut with turpentine at about 50-50.

Washed and sanded wood.

Wiping down with turpentine.

Applying boiled linseed oil resulting in a richer color.

After applying linseed oil.