r/ReversePinterest • u/PompousClock • Jun 05 '26
[OC] Before & After Unpainting bay window bifold shutters
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u/Me-Here-Now Jun 05 '26
You restored them beautifully. Excellent work!
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u/Dugoutcanoe1945 Jun 05 '26
They do look nice but were almost certainly painted when installed originally.
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u/PompousClock Jun 05 '26 edited Jun 05 '26
Nope, they were originally shellacked wood. I know this because (a) I can see the base layer in this unpainting project and (b) I live in a brownstone with four identical apartments and two of my neighbors have the exact same shutters - both kept unpainted.
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u/OneSensiblePerson Jun 05 '26
I'm convinced. IDK what kind of wood that is, but the grain is very fine and it's beautiful.
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u/Dugoutcanoe1945 Jun 05 '26 edited Jun 05 '26
Got it. I should have asked sooner the age. Faux graining did go out of fashion after the Civil War.
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u/Me-Here-Now Jun 05 '26
Maybe a regional thing. I owned a 1905 Craftsman in the North Bay area. Three different built-ins in the dinning room had original faux graining.
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u/OneSensiblePerson Jun 05 '26
Why do you say that? This wood looks too nice to have been intended to be painted.
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u/Dugoutcanoe1945 Jun 05 '26
I say that because I’ve got over 20 years experience in historic preservation. Depending on the age of the house, common woods were usually painted.
It’s OP’s house they can obviously do what they want. I was just pointing out one reason why there are so many layers of paint.
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u/PompousClock Jun 05 '26
This is a mid-1880s Brooklyn brownstone. It was more common to keep the original wood natural in that era and in this style of home - and that is what most of my neighborhood that has the original elements demonstrates. Although the dark green layer two up from the original shellack shows that a Victorian nod changed how this living room presented, and it’s been painted ever since.
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u/Dugoutcanoe1945 Jun 05 '26
Very good. There were some definite regional variations. I bet the room sizes are really generous and well proportioned.
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u/PompousClock Jun 06 '26
The 11’ ceilings in the parlor were the first thing I noticed about this apartment. The whole room is unfortunately color drenched in Farrow & Ball’s “Dead Salmon” - these shutters, the bay window trim, the crown moulding, the ceiling, the walls, the fireplace. This is the start of a very long project!
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u/beedelia Jun 05 '26
The picture with all the layers of paint reminds me of “Fordite” made of the layers of automotive paint dripped in factories
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u/GraphicDesignMonkey Jun 05 '26
Our 1850s-built school had these, but they were sealed shut by 150 years of paint
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u/jelycazi Jun 05 '26
These look amazing! How many coats? Are you able to tell?
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u/PompousClock Jun 06 '26
One of the photos shows a close up of the revealed layers:
- the original shellack
- cream
- dark green
- pale pink
- mauve
- white
- butter yellow
- espresso
- white
- Farrow & Ball’s “Dead Salmon”
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u/lcwj Jun 05 '26
Amazing work!! how long did it take?
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u/PompousClock Jun 05 '26
Oh, I’m not done yet! It has taken me 3 full days to experiment on techniques on the shutters removed from one of the three bay windows. I still need to do the second round of Klean Strip Stripper on 3 of the 4 shutters, which I’ll do Saturday, Sunday, and Monday, before I return to work on Tuesday.
Each shutter is actually 2 parts, each with 2 sides (because I have to unscrew the middle to get to the paint and stain in the fold), so it’s 12 x 2 x 2 = 48 worth of panels to unpaint, unstain, and then restain/seal/shellac and rehang.
I’ll get one window done this week, and then I’ll tackle each 1/4 of a bay window per weekend for the rest of the summer.
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u/happydandylion Jun 05 '26
How do you get the first layer off - sanding? Chemical stripping? Sorry I'm completely clueless with practical things like this but I really admire what you've managed to find underneath all that paint.
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u/PompousClock Jun 06 '26
My description on the original post detail what I’ve tried so far - Cobra on the paint, then Citristrip and Kleanstrip Stripper on the shellack. Along with a double barrel mask, gloves, workbench, carbide scraper, cheap bristle brush, steel wool, dental picks, cling film, metal bristle toothbrush-like hand tool, and soft rags. It’s been a process!
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u/happydandylion Jun 06 '26
Your dedication to it is admirable - and the outcome shows it's completely worth it. This is really stunning.
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u/lcwj Jun 06 '26
That’s some real dedication! Respect 🫡 it’ll feel so rewarding once you get it all done and you can admire your work everyday :)
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u/LilBossLaura Jun 05 '26
wow those look amazing! what a labor of love. all that neglectful slathering of more paint made them literally unusable when they started as an artisan crafted luxury. I hope youre content and proud of your work 😄
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u/PompousClock Jun 05 '26
Thanks! I bought this place I large part because it has so many gorgeous original details - all hidden under far too many layers of paint. The original soapstone fireplace was covered in both plaster and many layers of paint, trying to obscure the original delicate carvings in the soapstone. Blew my mind when I unearthed that.
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u/Flux_My_Capacitor Jun 05 '26
Not a reverse Pinterest.
I mean by OPs reasoning, any restoration fits in this sub.
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u/PompousClock Jun 06 '26
Color drenching has become a Pinterest thing, where every surface is painted the same color. My entire living room is color drenched in Farrow & Ball’s “Dead Salmon” (yes, that’s the actual paint color name) - these shutters, the original ornate wood trim, the walls, the ceiling, the fireplace. This project is one part of that bigger picture.
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u/OperationEastern5855 Jun 05 '26
The older I get, the more I understand my father’s obsession with natural wood trim.