A Look at Laser Paint Stripping

Fireplace paint stripping

A look at how laser paint stripping could change the way we strip our fireplaces

Laser Paint Stripping Fireplace image by Boyan Dimitrov (via Shutterstock).
Grate Expectations: thanks to laser paint stripping, rust and extraneous paintwork can be eliminated without mess. Image by Boyan Dimitrov (via Shutterstock).

Lasers are sensational. If Goran feels the need to put on his favourite music CD, stereo sound is played back with clarity. Give or take the odd skip, perhaps. They are used for engraving and barcode scanning. They are good for decorative uses a la Jean Michel-Jarre at London Docklands some thirty years ago. Of late, we have learned about laser paint stripping. Instead of chemicals, a laser beam could be used to strip the Cover Plus Cornflower Blue off a charming fireplace.

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A Trio of Wood Finishing Films

wood paint stripping

A look at how wood finishing techniques are honed in furniture restoration

wood paint stripping

With the nights getting lighter, the spring cleaning season isn’t too far away. For many, spring cleaning involves heavy sessions with the vacuum cleaner and dusting display cabinets. It is also a good time to give your wooden furniture a spring clean. Perhaps a touch of wood finishing and stripping may suffice. This has inspired our trio of wood finishing and stripping films.

Wood finishing enables us to restore our wooden furniture to an ‘as new’ condition. It adds shine to our pianos and sheen to our sideboards. Its character is restored, even more so if daubed with gloss paint in previous years. That is what we like about wood stripping and finishing: it brings our furniture back to life. Exactly as the designer and carpenter intended.

1. How to Strip Stain From Wood : Furniture Repair Tips

In our first clip from the eHow At Home YouTube channel, we see our craftsperson stain stripping half a table. This clip is clearly aimed at beginners and described in plain English.

2. Finishing Mahogany: 3 Tips for Beautiful Color in Your Woodworking Projects

Our second clip is a eulogy to the joys of mahogany. It also stresses how flexible it is for staining and easy to work with. The narrator gives us an insight into three staining techniques.

3. Classic Boat Finish On Mahogany

If you have an oyster yawl in Whitstable or a sailing vessel on The Solent, this third clip might be useful to you. In 21 minutes, we see how wood finishing techniques, tips, and materials were used by boat builders.

Premium Doors and Furniture, 01 February 2017.