Exposed wood

[Manalto]

Because of time constraints, I will have to leave my window restoration incomplete until I can resume work in a few months. Here is my question: Is there something I can do to those areas of exposed wood that don't get painted on this visit to the house? There are already areas, inside and out, where paint has flaked off, having left bare wood, perhaps for years. Also, I had to scrape quite a bit to get the windows unstuck and working again.

Satellite question: What is the proper finish for the channels/tracks of doublehung windows? These have been painted.

[heartwood]

I would apply a 50/50 blend of boiled linseed oil and turpentine to the bare wood and a bit over the flaking paint to make sure it reaches the wood...when you return to work on the window again, just scrape and sand as usual...apply blopentine (the 50/50 blend), oil primer and oil or water based finish paint...

the jambs should be left unpainted...the area below the top sash are essentially 'exterior'...I would apply the blop to those as well after scraping and sanding the remaining paint...

good luck....
....jade

[Manalto]

Is there a curing or drying time for the blopentine or can the oil primer follow immediately in the areas that will be painted?

Is there an oil primer brand that you would recommend?

[GibsonGM]

Best to let the blopentine dry about 24 hours before you apply oil prime, Manalto. I find that the turpentine odor really cuts down as it dries, almost letting you know it's "done".

I like any reputable brand's oil prime (Sherwin Williams, Ben Moore)...others have other favorites they use, too...some are more slow-curing than others, a bit, which can help penetrate a little more, but really - oil prime is only going to go in about 1mm anyway due to the size of its molecules.

BLO has a smaller molecular size, and with turps as a transport medium, it can penetrate further, which is why they're saying to use blop first. She's saying that you can use the blop and then come back to it later to oil prime...depending on how long you have to wait, you shouldn't leave oil prime uncoated too long, but the blop will be ok.

I recently started using it, myself...after 2 weeks, I drilled into a piece of wood I'd treated with it...wow, the turps smell came back a little, ha ha...it penetrated well into the wood. I've seen cross-sections of treated wood, and you can see the oil deep inside long after the 'cure' is done. Good preservative.

[Manalto]

That's great information, thank you. I've got the BLO and the turpentine, so will 'cook' up a batch. I picked up a gallon of Zinsser oil-based primer to use.

[phil]

not sure what's recommended on windows but my dad always said that drawers and (wooden) drawer guides shouldn't be finished it makes them stick, instead he just used a chunk of candle wax and rubbed it.

my plan is to do the windows with oil , do a few coats. the sliding parts too the blopentine is a wood finish not just a preservative and you can do many coats and sand it in with wet or dry paper if you like. then just rub wax on later to keep things sliding. Ill just paint only the outside facing parts of the window to protect from the sun but even the sills I will leave with just the oil finish. the unpainted frames and sills could have some shellac if you like but no rush. The normal rule for oil is i coat per day for a week then once a week for a month then once per year. so going away and leaving the oil is good for your process.

I believe the oil can be food for algae and life , but the turpentine is a bug killer so the combination is good and i wouldn't go to straight BLO for that reason, not only for penetration.

I found an old toothache remedy that said something like to use turpentine and opium and they used some wadding , I forget the order but I thought putting turpentine on your teeth was to kill the life in there.. it makes you happy to see a modern dentist.. I should print it out and give my dentist a copy for a chuckle.

[GibsonGM]

Yeah....no straight BLO please..it will mildew! But tons of ppl use the turps mix with no problems. It will help keep the exposed wood from being 'too dry' while you go away.

Adventurous to just oil the windows! I'm a paint guy...

[Manalto]

Some good points, Phil. Restoring the raw wood in the jambs and then applying preservative is a big project in itself; both inside and outside are painted in this house.

I envy those of you who are able to restore the natural wood in your windows and trim; mine are too chewed up, punctured with curtain hardware, bruised from the lock and general abuse to be restored to wood. It's too bad, really. In one of the bedrooms, the trim is painted dark brown. (Presumably by a drunken toddler, if neatness is any indication.) Where it's peeling, I can see what looks like richly-grained oak.

Just for absolute clarification - I do NOT paint the window jambs on the outside (exposed to the weather); instead I seal them with blopentine?

...i coat per day for a week then once a week for a month then once per year.

That's similar to an old-fashioned rule for how often to water when you transplant a plant.

[GibsonGM]

Don't feel bad, Manalto! The paint is as much the history as the wood itself! Nat'l Park Service rules say to bring the paint back down the the first stable layer, not necessarily to remove it all. But then later they do describe heat-gunning... They Suggest doing the minimum in terms of removal of historic layers. That is my justification for not totally removing all the paint...just a personal preference; others may vary. People here will not pay for a 'real' resto anyway, leaving their glazing beds vulnerable...as long as they are informed, it's their call. Hope the windows don't condense...

I hear you, I also have dings, holes etc. that would be very hard to make 'wood' again. Whether you paint the jambs is of course your choice (exterior). May depend on the style of home, too...I paint them as they are part of the exterior trim, and would never have been left just oiled in my area on a home after the early 1800s. Your situation (and Phil's) may vary.

To 'store' your peeling stuff, yes, just apply blop liberally (I mean, wipe it off when it drips on things, and so on...don't be an animal, LOL). Let it soak in. Then go away. It'll protect the wood til you come back. You can scrape a bit first to open it up, too, so the chips aren't getting all over the place.

Any rags you use - lay them out outside to dry...they can spontaneously ignite! Linseed oil has that property - just put them on the lawn to dry, or in a fire-proof metal can outside with water in it...soak them.

[Manalto]

The paint is as much the history as the wood itself! Nat'l Park Service rules say to bring the paint back down the the first stable layer, not necessarily to remove it all. But then later they do describe heat-gunning... They Suggest doing the minimum in terms of removal of historic layers. That is my justification for not totally removing all the paint...just a personal preference; others may vary.

The NPS must assume that those layers were decent quality and applied properly. What I have encountered here is crazed, flaky paint with, when it's not brittle, a peculiar rubbery texture. I agree though, to go down to the first stable layer - if there is one. Frankly, it came as something of a relief to absolve myself from the responsibility of returning the woodwork to natural wood.

I'm encountering that rubbery-textured paint again when removing the painted-over wallpaper from the walls (or trying to). Sometimes I can grab a chunk and peel it off the wall. It's stretchy and flexible. I'm going to see if some gentle heat (hairdryer?) will facilitate the process. If I can get all the wallpaper/paint off the walls, I'm wondering if it might be nice just to leave the raw, grainy plaster, which has turned a pleasant ochre color, as the finished wall.

Thanks for the blopentine advice and safety warning. I remember from my childhood the warnings about paint rags; those were the days when linseed oil was a common ingredient in paint, I suppose.