Internal Trims and Skirting

Hi and welcome to the forum - the area of interior timber restoration is quite specialised and can be fraught with disaster. From the pictures, your home looks like a Late Edwardian/Early Cal. Bungalow - seeing the exterior would tell me the precise date and region.

Anyway, you clearly wish to return your trims to the highest level of finish, which I applaud - importantly, your trim will have had years of various finishes applied to it and it is vital to establish what needs to be done.

Here is how the process works (according to me anyway)

1. Identify the timber
2. Identify the finish
3. Select the correct product/s to remove the oxidised/inappropriate finish
4. Neutralise the chemicals in the products used
5. Wait long enough for the material to dry and re acclimatise to the home
6. Refinish and fall back in love with your home



It seems a very lengthy process but it's worth it and doesn't really take that long.

The range of products on the market today, is staggering. the people who are expert in these tasks are few. The best person to do it is you, IF you have the time and energy/commitment.

there are many mechanical devices that can help make it a lot easier and even though they may cost a few bucks, at the end of it all, you still have them to use on other projects.

You may have picked up that I love period homes... I have advised on, or performed a few hundred restorations and would be pleased to assist if you need some guidance

Best of luck with it and don't forget to let other members know how you get on - it really helps. Once you become expert (and before!) you can help others to "get the details right"

BTW it helps to list your suburb and age details in the sidebar as it helps members know better how to help, especially when deciding whether to speak in metric or inches, or send you to Wangaratta or Williamstown for stuff

Above all, have fun!

Hi again

The finish could be anything, but I am yet to find a product that can't be repaired or refinished .... just takes time/focus/energy/money and commitment



the all time worst product was Estapol Antique - that stuff will survive nuclear winter I reckon. Nearly impossible to remove, but it can be done. Your place doesn't have it I don't think.

Obviously chemicals and rapidly dividing genes (babies especially) need special attention. These days, almost all of the products available are safe to use, provided the instructions are followed. Heaps of ventilation and bubby going out for the day is the best thing I reckon.

Many of today's strippers are citrus-based and far less volatile than their counterparts.

The door sounds like it is "crazed" and actually might be a good thing - the finish is likely to be a natural varnish that may well be able to be repaired without too much fuss.

The best thing to do is get each surface finish identified (as far as is possible). Then create a schedule for doing the work in manageable chunks, because there is nothing that eats away at domestic facility more than having a job 80% finished for weeks longer than estimated, so really think about how long stuff will take .... start with the smallest job you can, to see what you will be up against.

Finally, yours is a substantial home, renovated and extended sympathetically, it seems. If you're interested to know more about Bungalows, there are several excellent books and a brilliant magazine dedicated to the subject. They are all American and concerned with that country's bungalows. Californian Bungalows are (in large part) mere shadows of their US parents, but it is definitely possible to renovate and decorate one of these to be closer to how they were meant to be.