How To Clean Wood Trim Around Windows

Trim Repair: How to Fix and Revive Trim

Updated: Jun. nineteen, 2019

Renew dull trim in one weekend.

FH09APR_REVTRI_02-2 Family Handyman

Renew the lustrous advent of stained and varnished woodwork without the messy stripping process. Nosotros prove you how.

Pace i: Beginning with a thorough cleaning

stained baseboards

Photograph ane: Remove old paint spots

Soften onetime paint forth the edges of trim and stained baseboards with alcohol. A rag wrapped effectually a putty knife lets you scrub the trim without slopping alcohol onto the wall.

You can dramatically better the appearance of stained baseboards and varnished woodwork without all the work and mess of a complete stripping and refinishing chore. We'll show you a much easier process here—and you may even be able to eliminate some steps if your woodwork is in meliorate shape than ours. Only gather the supplies in a five-gallon saucepan and tackle the renewal project one window or door at a time whenever yous accept a few spare hours. Start in a corner or in an camouflaged expanse—meliorate to learn from your mistakes there than on the front door.

The kickoff footstep in renewing your woodwork and stained baseboards is cleaning it to remove grease and grime and create a contaminant-free surface for the new cease. Wash the woodwork with a TSP substitute. Use just enough cleaner to wet the surface. Scrub with a sponge dipped in the cleaning solution. Then rinse with a sponge and clear water and wipe off the wood with a dry rag.

If there's pigment slopped onto the edges of your trim or spattered on the surface, now's the time to clean it off. A rag dampened with denatured alcohol will remove nigh paint spatters (Photo 1). Alcohol won't harm most finishes, but it will dissolve shellac. Don't worry if some of the terminate comes off. You can touch information technology up later (Photograph seven). Protect the walls with masking tape to prevent the alcohol from damaging the paint. For tougher paint spatters, apply a fine constructed abrasive pad (such as a 3M Wood Finishing Pad) dipped in denatured alcohol.

Step 2: Scrape and sand badly damaged areas

Photo two: Scrape eroded areas

Scrape away badly weathered finish. A carbide paint scraper removes the old end much faster than sandpaper. But be careful not to gouge the wood.

Photo three: Bleach out nighttime stains

Bleach away deep stains that scraping or sanding won't remove. You don't have to scrub; just permit the oxalic acid penetrate and lighten the stain.

Photo 4: Sand bleached areas

Sand the bleached woods later it dries. Showtime with 120-dust sandpaper. Then sand with 180-grit. Vacuum the dust before staining and finishing.

Window stools and other areas exposed to moisture and sunlight may need to be completely refinished. In spots such as these where the wood is discolored and the finish worn away, you'll go the best results by scraping and sanding to expose bare wood (Photos 2 and 4).

If the wood has night water stains that scraping and sanding won't remove, you can remove them with oxalic acrid (Photo 3).

Caution: Wear protective gear, including goggles, rubber gloves and a long-sleeve shirt, when you work with oxalic acrid. Mix the oxalic acid in a plastic container. Add 1 oz. of oxalic acid powder (about 2 tablespoons) to 1 cup of hot water and stir it until the powder dissolves. So brush the solution onto the stain with a disposable sponge brush and permit it piece of work for twenty minutes. You can repeat the process to further lighten the stain. Wipe the bleached woods with a sponge and articulate h2o. Then neutralize the oxalic acrid by applying a solution of three tablespoons of borax to one gallon of water with a sponge. Finally, rinse the bleached wood with water once more and let it dry out overnight. So sand information technology with 120-grit followed by 180-grit sandpaper (Photograph four) and stain information technology to friction match the rest of the woodwork.

Footstep 3: Roughen the finish and fill small holes

Photo 5: Roughen the one-time finish

Rub the wood with an abrasive pad to create a slightly roughened surface for the new finish. Vacuum the dust from the surface before wiping on a new coat of cease.

Photo 6: Fill up holes

Fill up holes with perfectly matched putty. Just knead different colors together until yous get an exact match.

To brand new finishes stick well, slightly roughen the old finish outset (Photo 5). Synthetic finishing pads are the all-time option because they conform to profiles and aren't as aggressive as sandpaper. Buy medium and fine and experiment in an inconspicuous area. Apply the pad that roughens the stop without removing any stain.

Fill holes left past nails or screws with soft forest putty. Wood putty is bachelor in many colors that you lot can alloy for a perfect match. Application is easy. You lot but push it into the hole and wipe it off (Photo 6). There'due south no sanding required. Buy several shades of putty, ranging from dark to light, that are similar to the color of your trim. Then mix them to friction match the woods surrounding the hole. Push the putty into the hole and wipe off the backlog with your fingertip. Then remove residue from around the hole by wiping over it with a clean rag. If your woodwork has filled boom holes that accept darkened and no longer friction match, pick the former filler out and replace it with soft putty. Buy water-based putty if y'all plan to use water-based polyurethane.

Footstep 4: Apply stain to hide dings and scratches

Photograph 7: Utilize matching stain

Hibernate scratches, chips and worn away finish with a fresh dose of stain. Then wipe the woodwork with a clean rag to remove the excess stain. Let the stain dry overnight.

Completely refinishing the area may be the merely way to make flawless repairs to badly damaged doors, windows and moldings. But you lot can greatly meliorate the overall appearance of worn or damaged woods with less drastic measures.

Disguise big areas where the stain is worn away past dabbing stain over the light areas to alloy them in. The patched surface area may not lucifer exactly, simply at least the spot volition be less obvious. Or simply wipe the surface of the wood with a rag dipped in stain to fill in small-scale scratches and imperfections—you'll see a big improvement (Photograph vii). Wipe the stain on. And then wipe off the excess with a clean rag. Let the stain to dry overnight before you employ the end.

One of the trickiest parts of a wood restoration project is finding stain to match. You can pry off a small slice of trim and inquire the paint section to mix stain to friction match. Some paint stores and habitation centers offer cheap sample packets of stain. You tin can choose several samples that are close to the color of your forest and experiment in a hidden surface area to find the best color match. Then buy a larger container. Some other approach is to buy 2 or iii cans of stain that are shut to the colour of your woodwork and mix them to go the right color. Use an eyedropper and disposable plastic cups to mix minor batches until you become the proportions correct. Continue notes then y'all tin reproduce the results in a larger batch.

Step 5: Apply the fresh finish

Photo 8: Wipe on polyurethane

Restore the shine with a fresh coat of polyurethane. Wipe on poly gives you a faster, smoother finish with less mess than castor-on poly.

The final footstep in your trim renewal projection is to use a fresh coat of finish. Wipe-on polyurethane is a skillful choice because information technology's fast and like shooting fish in a barrel to apply. You lot simply wipe it on with a soft rag and let it dry. Each coat is very sparse and dries apace. You tin can recoat in two or three hours if you want a thicker end for extra protection. Several coats of wipe-on polyurethane are required to equal the thickness of one glaze of brushed-on varnish, just information technology's easier to go a smooth, drip-free finish with wipe-on poly.

Fold a cotton wool rag to create a pad. Then dip an edge of the pad into a container of wipe-on polyurethane and press it against the side to wring out the backlog. Wipe the polyurethane onto the wood in long strokes in the direction of the wood grain as y'all would if you were using a castor.

For window stools or other trim exposed to sunlight, consider using spar varnish. Spar varnish has built-in ultraviolet protection and is more than flexible, then it holds up better in areas exposed to sunlight and water. Experiment on a chip of trim or in an inconspicuous surface area to see if the slightly amber tint darkens the color besides much. When y'all've completed all of the steps higher up, your woodwork will wait similar new and be protected past a fresh layer of finish. If y'all don't accept time to do an entire room from beginning to stop, but tackle one door or window whenever yous take a few spare hours. You'll be washed with a room before you know information technology.

Circular Upwardly Your Supplies

Y'all'll demand the materials and supplies listed in "Additional data" below for a basic wood renewal project, including several for refinishing window stools and removing stains. Nearly of the tools and supplies are bachelor at paint stores, full-service hardware stores and home centers. Visit an art supply shop for the artists' markers. Oxalic acid is available online at rockler.com or at woodworking stores and some hardware stores and lumberyards.

Simulated Woods Patch

Dings and dents too large to fill with soft putty present a unique challenge. If yous can't supercede the wood, the next best matter is to patch the damage with filler and colour the patch to friction match. Use hardening-blazon filler similar Durham'due south Rock Difficult Water Putty. Apply the filler carefully with as little excess as possible to minimize sanding. Let the filler dry and sand it smooth, being careful to avoid sanding away the finish on the surrounding wood. So utilise felt tip markers to "paint" the patch to match (photos below). Art supply stores are the best source of markers—yous'll find endless shades of chocolate-brown. Most other stores carry only one or two. The repair won't be perfect, just y'all may be surprised past how inconspicuous it is from a distance.

Required Tools for this Project

Take the necessary tools for this DIY project lined upwardly earlier you beginning—you lot'll save time and frustration.

Rubber gloves

Required Materials for this Projection

Avoid last-minute shopping trips past having all your materials set alee of time. Here'due south a list.

Originally Published: January 07, 2019

Source: https://www.familyhandyman.com/project/trim-repair-how-to-fix-and-revive-trim/

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