You Win Some, You Lose… Wood Consolidation

Sorry, I’ve had some technical difficulties trying to write this post.

But anyways, I’ve had some good and bad news. The good? I’m officially done cleaning the brick! The bad? I’m done because further tests haven’t shown any noticeable improvement. My house looks a little dirty next to the house next door… and next to the bottom few feet of itself, which I did get clean. (It looks a little brighter than this now that the bricks are dry.)

But compared to where we were a few months ago, I should just calm down and feel good.

And good news? Stripping the cornice is really done now, and for the most part, the wood almost looks brand new!

The bad? Well, I have a few minor concerns. There’s some minor weathering all over, mainly toward the bottom, along with a few inches of rot at each end near the top. I’ve read that weathered wood doesn’t hold paint well because it’s so dry. The old school solution is to mix linseed oil and turpentine, let that soak in, then go over it with an oil based primer. But I was nervous because linseed oil is mildew food and there’s already a bit of rot.

Then I read about epoxy wood consolidants. The idea is to let plastic soak into the wood and then when it hardens, the wood is strong again, and this fixes the dry rot. And apparently a high end painter in San Francisco gets paint to last for 15 years on old Victorians doing this. So I mixed up an epoxy wood hardener and was surprised to see it looked thick like honey, not like something I thought would soak in. But I tried anyway and…

The wood does seem harder but it’s good and thick on the surface. And super shiny. In some parts it was so thick that I darted up the ladder with an old tee shirt (and also a beer!) and was frantically wiping it so the details of the wood still show through.

Then before I could get any more done what I had mixed up started to set in the container. Not that I wanted to proceed like that anyway. So I read that there’s a similar product from another manufacturer that is thinner and penetrates better. I could buy it, but I don’t like throwing darts at the wall to see what sticks when every dart is like $100. I also read that what I bought can be cut 1:1 with a special solvent from the same manufacturer to thin it out. And I read that the solvent is basically marked-up acetone.

So I asked my dad about all this and he said, “Yeah, I have a quart of acetone in the garage. I was gonna give it to Mom. She pays too much for nail polish remover.” So, that’s what I’m trying next. Thinning it, mixing a small amount, and working in the morning when it’s not as hot so it stays liquid longer. But not this weekend. It needs to be done in dry weather.

So that’s the plan. Unless any of you has any better ideas.