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I Used To Be A Stripper

March 30, 2013 by Brynne Leave a Comment

Subtitle: Weekend Shenanigans.

I recently posted this picture on The Gathered Home Facebook Page, asking if anyone could guess what these items were:

brackets


Here’s a picture from the original Craigslist posting to help you along:

shelving unit

And one more to give you a better idea:

shelving unit 2

Four metal tracks, lots of metal brackets, and a bunch of shelves (some of them teak, many of them spray-painted over with chocolate brown) equals a Danish mid-century modular shelving unit!

In rough shape for sure, but the few un-painted teak shelves gave me hope for the others.

And that’s when I became a stripper. 

Long ago I purchased 3M Safest Stripper.  The container promised no need for gloves and a low odor that was safe for indoor use, so I smeared the white paste across the surface of one of the shelves and waited the recommended hour.  The product didn’t bubble or crackle to show that it was working, but after an hour I used a plastic scraper to see what was under the paint.

paint stripper

A) What. A. Pain.

B) Yep, it was teak.

The paint scraped off the surface with a fair amount of elbow grease, but unfortunately left behind scratches and divots filled with old paint.  It was at this point I realized that this might be a bit more work than I anticipated…

That’s when I stopped being a stripper.

I decided to become an empowered woman. 

I pulled out the Ryobi 1/4 Sheet Pad Sander that I treated myself to last weekend and decided to give sanding a shot instead. On the kitchen floor. Ladies, don’t try this at home… your husband may politely request that you move outside after a thin layer of sawdust has landed on top of everything nearby including the guitar he is playing.

As you can see, I moved outside, and the power sander did a much better job:

sanded teak shelf

The darker strip on the side is where I tested a little bit of Watco Danish Oil to see how it would turn out.
Girls, if you’re considering turning to stripping, think again.  A power sander is the way to go!

Can’t wait to post the whole finished shelving unit – this is quite the project, but I think it will be so worth it.

Brynne
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I believe the best kind of home is a gathered one, full of treasures with a story to tell. Join me in celebrating a lifestyle of finding and making beautiful things, right where you are. Read more...

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