crown moulding staining woes

[thixle]

Since there are a few people knowledgeable about both renovations and wood work...

One of the main things we liked about our new home was the moulding and wood. Well, upon closer inspection *cough cough* there is paint slopped all over the edges, lots of screw holes over the windows... It's not *horrid* but I don't like it. I now SEE all of the crap spots, especially since I took everything down in the kitchen so we could get rid of the unsanitary ceiling tiles and super old wallpaper.

I want all of the wood to match throughout. It's all a beautiful warm stain. Someone tell me I can sand the paint off the edges and apply stain sparingly to the raw spots? And that I can get something to plug the screw holes that are the same color?

I really don't want to paint, but if that's the only way... ugh, I suppose I will eventually. In a few years. Hating them everyday until then, lol. (We have major stuff to do before we get deep in "pretty stuff")

Here's some pics of the super messy house. Believe it or not, it's not so bad today, but I'm not updating photos til the kitchen is back together again (the hall has the best shots of the wood http://www.flickr.com/photos/2755284...7613605244644/ and you can't even see the damage and paint in the photos, lol)

[Ola_]

They have putty pencils and fillers that you can get at places like Home Depot. I did a quick search for "wood putty" and got some results, but you can probably use other words to get more. We have something like this for our hardwood floors. It comes in a bunch of different colours and even if you can't find an exact match, often you don't see it till you're right up close (it's certainly much better than paint!). Plus wood typically has different colours in it because of the grain and stuff.

You can sand and re-stain but that's a bigger (and smellier) job. Kind of depends on how big the spots are though.

[thixle]

nak
ok, good, I can fill the holes.
Now, the stain. Might be shellac? Varnish? Surely not polyurethane? It's shiny, either way, so it probably isn't an actual "stain."

You know how when someone does a bad paint job and paints the edges of the moulding? Yep, almost every piece, at least covering 50% of the edge (the part at a right angle to the wall) : On the plus side, there is very little paint anywhere else (the part you directly look at)

What I'm asking, I think, is can I spot-sand and put another coat of something on, or will that make big ugly blotches? Or do I have to sand everything back to bare wood?

[SleeplessMommy]

Option 1: sand 100% of the trim and re-stain it all.

Option2: gently use a paint scraper to remove just the paint dribbles - you may not even need to touch up. Check the paint department for a nice scraper.

Option 3: paint over it all!

Option 4: Magic eraser + prayer. This will work better on dirt and pen marks, not paint.

Option 5: replace all trim!

I would suggest #2 for the "least work" option, with a pretty good chance of a nice outcome.

[lightheart]

the finish of the wood may be a

stain... a coating with a colorant usually put down on the wood that it absorbs that locks the fibers

top coat or a sealer such as a poly or a shellac or a varnish

some sealers have stains in them.

also is the stuff on the trim oil or water based? oil can be put over water based whereas a water base will have a pretty tough time sticking and finishing well to an oil.

I would try like the PP said and try and scrape the paint off, maybe on an edge that faces a corner that you can't see and go from there depending on how difficult it is. You could try sandingg a side like this that faces a corner and if it doesn't turn out nice then don't do any more.

[SAHDS]

1. use a putty knife to gently scrape the paint off of the moulding
   
2. buy some wood putty (make sure it's the kind you can stain) that is a close match to the stained moulding and fill all holes
   
3. restain by spot (I like the 'pens' because you can be a lot more precise)

I think this will do a fine job and will be an easy fix.