Woodwork/Bleach Up-Date

Hello Everyone!

Since the last post several things have happened.

First of, I have caught the 'crud' that's going around. SWMBO has been keeping me doped up for the past few days.

With the exception of a few hours Saturday afternoon I've been in bed for the most part. More about this later.

After a couple more treatments of the Calcium Hypochlorite we got all the stain out we could.

Today, I have spent several hours, gently, sanding the woodwork to get the rest out.

The powder room door jambs and lintel are finished; the basement one isn't.

If you look at the basement door you can still some dark splotches.

My arms are tired and the sniffles have come back, so I've called it quits for the day. The basement doorway will have to wait till tomorrow.



Here's a better view of the powder room door.

The inside parts of the casing and stops have not been sanded yet.












Okay, as mentioned we got out for a few hours Saturday afternoon and I paid for it later that day and Sunday.

Believe it or not I wore out the head on my Makita finish sander so I needed to get a replacement. Luckily there is a tool store in the big city that had one.

While at the tool store I went ahead and picked up some new items for the Multimaster.

I've added a sanding finger to the attachment collection as well as various grits of sandpaper to go with it.






Tomorrow I will try it out, as well as an 'alternate' use for a worn-out blade.

Well, till next time...

Cheers!
Larry

Bleach Saga Continues!

Hello everyone!

As I write this the subtle scent of bleach is wafting the the house.

I spent a good portion of yesterday hunting down the next step in the bleaching process - Calcium Hypochlorite.

Most of you probably know this stuff by the many names it goes by when sold as pool shock. It is commonly sold at places like Lowe's and Wal-Mart. However, it wasn't that easy to track down. Those places only stat to carry it during the late spring and summer. The next place to check was a pool supply store. Eventually an open one was found and some of the chemical was procured. It was an interesting purchase. The dealer kept giving me this 'look' as if he knew I was up to something bad with this stuff. When I explained what I was doing he just continued with this 'look' along with a 'yeah right' thrown in.

Oh well...at least I got the stuff.

Here's the woodwork after using the regular Clorox bleach on it. Figured you might as well see how far it has come in the bleaching process.












This is the section of woodwork I use as my 'Purity Control'.















Here's the nasty stuff.

The brand of Calcium Hypochlorite used is called nu-clo Hit Hard.

Per the instructions for pool use you use 1 pound (the whole little bag) per 6,000 gallons of water.

I probably used close to 1/4 cup for 1/3 gallon!! The on-line instructions for using this stuff on woodwork said to mix the crystals in water until they no longer dissolve. So I'm guessing about 1/4 cup.

From what I understand, this stuff is extremely dangerous to use.

Before I even cut the bag open precautions were taken. The front and back doors were open as well as the windows in the kitchen (thank goodness it was a little warmer than normal). Heavy duty rubber gloves were donned as well as a respirator. I had planned to use goggles as well, but they wouldn't fit with the mask.

BOO!!

Your's truly. Don't I look fabulous?!














This is the stuff mixed.

It was all bubbly and frothing, and even with the respirator the smell was bad.



Once the gunk was applied I left for fresher air.

When I ventured back in this is what I found. The bleach had dried and now it looks like salt deposits. It'll be washed off before I go to bed - that ought to be fun.

Doesn't this look bad?!

I wonder what it will look like tomorrow morning after it's been washed off and the wood has dried?












Well, till next time...

Cheers!
Larry

Quick Up-Date on the Bleach

Hello Again everyone!

Thought I'd get in a quick post about the wood bleaching.

We were planning on applying bleach to all the stained wood today around 3 in the afternoon. However, SWMBO wasn't feeling too good (I think she's getting the 'crud' that's going around here) so I decided to do just a small patch instead. I really wanted to see what would happen but I didn't want to fill the house with bleach smell if she isn't feeling well.

After apply the bleach (about an 1/8 of a cup), and rubbing it in, I left it alone. I was a bit depressed because nothing happened!!

About two hours later SWMBO and I went out for a bit and before we left I checked it again.

This time there HAD been a change!!

WOOWHOO!!!

Take a look.

The bleach did take a lot of the stain out!














Tomorrow I'll saturate the rest with bleach and give it a chance to work. I'll also wait and see what Mr. Neil has me do next.

Well, till next time...

Cheers!
Larry