Expert: Eileen Cronk - 11/9/2008

Question
QUESTION: Our 70's home has real wood walls which we have neglected to care for, but now we are remodeling and want to keep them. Along the bottom and creeping up several inches are some unsightly stains, which we don't know the cause of.  Also some ink or crayon marks and various other spots and liquid stains.  I was told to use a bleach solution and when that didn't do much, I tried it full strength, with better results except it not only lightened the stain but the wood as well.  I applied it with a toothbrush for the most part.
Then I looked through my collection of products and found lacquer thinner which said it would remove stains, so I tried that.  It removed the green marks which may have been a kid drawing with a marker which must have been there when we bought the place over fifteen yrs ago! I also tried sanding the stains, which leaves a mark where the stain was.
We were also told to apply tung oil after we had done the best we could.
What say you?

ANSWER: Hi Bobbi
Nice to hear from you.
What say I?...LOL
I say these are either cedar or pine boards that have never had a finished applied to them.
The stains you see coming up from the bottom are actually moisture marks where the boards have "wicked" moisture possibly from washing the floor or cleaning the carpet.
The liquid stains you describe can actually be from just water splashes. You would not think water would mark like this but it does.
Bobbi I have seen such walls many times that look exactly as you describe.
So I say...if you want to restore the walls to perfection (which I would do), they should be stripped with paint stripper.
Now I know you are thinking the old girl has had a few too many but this will bring your wood back to life.
And it will be fairly easy as you are not removing finish.
Yes you could start sanding back to new wood but do you want to loose all the lovely aging these walls have now acquired?
And do you want the awful dust?
And if its cedar, the dust is awful.
After the stripping I would apply a stain to even out the color, then the tung oil.
If you need instructions for doing this get back to me.
And don't forget that if you just apply the tung oil over what you have now, you have sealed the wood and whatever marks are there now.
Hope this helps
Kind Regards
Eileen

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thank you, Eileen.  Oh, yes, please instruct me on the use of the stripper and the stain.  We just installed white oak natural select sanded in place floors to lighten up the rooms, and we don't want to darken the walls any more than they already are (they're already darker than the floor). So is the stain to be applied here and there as needed to even it out?
Excited to hear your response,
Bobbi

Answer
Hi again Bobbi
Too bad the wall wasn't dealt with prior to getting the new floors installed as any stripper that gets on the floor finish will ruin it.
You will have to be really careful doing this and completely protect this floor. I can't be responsible for a ruined floor LOL.
Perhaps you should consider sanding at this stage.
If you can stand the dust a random orbit sander will handle this very nicely.
I also note in your last letter that the ideal would be for the walls to be a bit lighter and sanding will do this.
But I will answer your question as asked.
Bobbi many years ago I discovered by chance the effects of stripper on bare old wood. This came about while I was stripping an old oak dresser that someone had started and never finished.
The areas that had already been stripped and left bare for years had turned an awful grey color while the areas I was stripping were the usual lovely gold oak color.
I felt I was in for a big sanding job until I applied stripper to these bare areas and really rubbed them with steel wool.
Lo and behold this removed all the grey and discoloration.
It was like it revitalised this old wood.
And I did not have to sand and remove all the wonderful traces of age the wood had aquired. And this actually restored what I call the "patina" of the old oak.
There are those that will argue and say the patina is only in the finish but this is hogwash (in my humble opinion LOL) the wood itself aquires this patina also.
That is what I was suggesting it will do to your walls (without knowing about the new floor and you wanting the walls lighter).
The process is simple.
Use an MC stripper (ask at your hardware and follow safety measures).
Get one that clearly states on the label "made for vertical surfaces".
Get several boxes of medium grade steel wool pads (not SOS).
Work from the bottom up.
Apply the stripper with a wide paint brush maybe only one or two boards at a time.
Stripper quits working if it dries so don't get ahead of yourself.
By the time you get to the top of the board with the stripper, you can go back to your starting point and start to rag it off.
Then while the wood is still wet, use the steel wool and agressively rub with the grain until the wood dries.
Stain must never be applied here and there.
It must be applied over the entire surface.
But to use it or not is your choice but I feel it will even out the color.
Now having said all that, I really recommend sanding now after hearing all the details.
Keep me posted.
Kind Regards
Eileen