Oh boy looks like it's chore time.... looks like I got meself into a Dragon Table-like project !
![Scared :scared:](https://www.eevblog.com/forum/Smileys/default/scared.gif)
Now that the bedroom is operational, there are a couple of shelving units I would like to move to the bedroom, to free space in the living room / lab.
But before I do that I would like to renovate them a bit and repaint them a different colour....
Old man made them for me just 20 years ago now. The old varnish has yellowed badly, even though IIRC it said on the can it is UV resistant to prevent just that. My ass...
Also I painted the background of them inside, Lotus British Racing Green / BRG.... but this won't fit the deco theme I want for this new house.
Plus, I have moved places a few times and there are battle scars that need to be fixed...
So I emptied one the units from the dozen junk boxes containing mostly EE and computer stuff.
Quick clean with a wet sponge to remove all the dust... then tried to sand the scars to see how it's going....
Problem is that this old varnish reacts like gum. Tried with 120 grit first.... slides over it like it were a wet sponge, not a dent !
![WTF? :wtf:](https://www.eevblog.com/forum/Smileys/default/wtf2.gif)
That's annoying, as I wanted to key the entire surface of the unit with 120 grit before applying a coat of primer (old varnish is solvent based says the old man, but I want to repaint it with acrylic lacquer I already have in stock, that I used for the plinths and interior doors).
So I tried with 80 grit paper.... now it does make a dent in the varnish... but only ONE dent ! You wipe it just a few times, literally 4 or 6 wipes / strokes, and the paper is already clogged with varnish, already useless !
![WTF? :wtf:](https://www.eevblog.com/forum/Smileys/default/wtf2.gif)
So I tried 50 grit instead, but I have only that in the form of disc pads to be mounted on my power drill on an adapter. So I tried that... it does work, at last !
So I was able to remove the scars this way. Then I could use the 80 grit by hand to smooth the carnage that the 50 grit left. The 80 grit now works because the 50 grit removed enough vanish, and exposed the wood, so the 80 grit paper doesn't clog as fast.
So....that means that if I can't key the surface directly with 120 grit... I need to first do the entire unit at 50 grit, at least a quick pass, then do it all over again at 80 grit, then again at 120 grit...... LOTS of work!!!
![Scared :scared:](https://www.eevblog.com/forum/Smileys/default/scared.gif)
I absolutely do not envisage doing it by hand, I am not a slave, and have better things to do, and limited time now I am back at work so.... I guess I will have to do like dragon and get some cheap ass but half decent sanding machines. The small kind that fits in your palm... one that takes " pointy " sanding pads, so I can do the edges and corners inside, and another machine that can do the flat areas quickly and easily. Orbital is it called ?!...
Can't afford to buy any fancy good quality tools, I am on a tight / non existent budget here... so I will look for sub-50 Euro machines. IIRC the dirt cheap / crap ones are at 10 or 20 Euros.... really crap though. I will try to find something a bit less shitty, in the 25/50 Euros bracket, per machine.
I have two of these big shelve units to do, and also a third unit that's full of drawers, 26 of them... an antique that a friend gave me. From the '50s. Need to sand all the drawers inside to make them look decent again, smooth, and get rid of the old dried out mold / black stains..... so lots of sanding to do ! Hence need machines....
It's too hot here to do any painting, but I thought I could do all the sanding / prep work first, then in a couple weeks or 3, when the weather cools down a bit, I could then do the painting.
Yes Saskia I need all your cool Festool gear, for sure....
Oh, and last evening as it was almost dark, I surprised an adult coypu busy eating my vegetable garden, caught him on camera so I can provide evidence to the court once I drag him there..... bloody thing...