Steamrolling thru the Oak restoration for real now!!! It's easy!

[Bungalocity]

 
So ok, now I'm sick of dilly-dalling about taking my time, so I've decided to tackle this thing full-force once and for all.
My goal is 1 room per month and I'll be done by Christmas.

Simply put, I now believe I've mastered the procedural logistics of what order to do a given room in, and it goes something like this:

1 - Pry-Bar all the oak moldings, door trim, casings, and window sills out, and remove their nails from the BACK side, never pull thru the front.
And get a nice vice-grip buffalo-headed pliers.  The 8 or 6 ct. nails will shred the wood if you take them out the front!
Also you can use a putty knife for leverage so you don't gouge holes in your plaster.
  And you'll want to use 4 or 6 ct. nails for most of the wood later, you'll go right in thru the same holes.

2 - Mark the back with a pencil, a marker will bleed if you get stripper or thinners on it! (room, left or right, top, arrow etc)

3 - When all the trim and baseboards are off then scrape the hell out of the walls with a new, sharp 2" rigid putty knife. Get the paint buildup around
where the wood met the walls. patch all holes and float the sloppy past patching. make sure you sand all of your patching very well or it'll look like the previous owners did it.

4 - If the stress cracks in the plaster are really driving you nuts, don't tape it or it'll show! Gouge (knock out) all the way to the lathe or it'll come back.
Get a bag of 45 minute joint compund and mix your own. That little can stuff is for housewives!! Other common trouble spots are diagonal above doorways. Knock out the old plaster and just do it old school it's the only way.  Sand until smooth, and mix and patch a 2nd or 3rd time and sand again until it's perfect.

5 - Now to the wood.....

I set up a sanding station in the basement at the front of the house and this system is flawless.  I bungied a box fan in the little corner bungalow window and open a 2nd window in the back of the basement so all dust and fumes go out into the front bushes. I also staple-gunned thick commercial grade plastic drop to the ceiling with strong tape. It doesn't have to be airtight, you need the circulation. But as long as the negative pressure is blowing outside from where you're working, you shouldn't get much sanding dust in the rest of the basement...

6 - To prevent burnout, I set a goal of one piece of wood per day to finish, that keeps me motivated to see the constant progress and beauty.

7 - I use BIX or Kleen strip sprayable stripper, but I don't spray it. The bix is thick like gel, and that goes on the first coat.  Then after about 5 minutes I use my new sharp scraper and the Butternut Hell comes clean right off. Then I use the sprayable, and brush it on as well, and most remaining residue comes off really nice.  You can  use a cheap nylon brush for this.  Just wash it in water between uses and it'll last a long time.

8 - Make sure you have a hoodie or sweatshirt. With the windows open you'll be a little chilly and it'll protect your arms from the sting of stripper splashing up at you. And old shoes. Make sure you take all of your clothes off before going back upstairs as the stripper gunk will get in the soles of your shoes!

9 - You can spend the money on Kleen Strip washer or you can be cheap and use water, and NO you will not discolor the wood!  That'll go away when you sand. The Kleen Strip is a spirit, and it does better than water and you can sand sooner after as it'll dry faster than water. I'd give water at least 3 hours before sanding. But you use steel wool with either to get most of the remaining junk off. I tear a pad in thirds so I can get the most surface area usage.

10 - You should have 99% of the paint/varnish off by now, and if not no biggie....80 Grit will get the rest!!
DO NOT use a random orbital or ROUND sander, as you'll have swirl marks from hell in there.
Use a square palm sander, I got a decent one from HD for about $45.   Cut your sandpaper sheets in quarters and make sure you use the hole punch for the paper once it's on so it gets sucked up into the sander, dust buildup will not be good and leave texture marks in the wood, even hard Oak.

11 - Get a decent rubber-nosed respirator!!! Oak will make you feel like you have the flu. Plus you don't know what else is in that wood like from lead paint and the stripping chems...  Mahogany will make you feel like shit. I don't use one when I stain or strip but sanding, yes.

12 - Make sure you run the palm sander up and down with the grain.  Oak will look scary and uneven but it's a pretty manic wood to begin with. The 220 grit will even it out.  Then, switch papers and slap the 220 sheet on there.  But never let it sit in one place, keep it moving fast like you were doing it by hand.

13 - Now the more graceful part of the sanding, the part where you FEEL the wood. Fold a half sheet of 220 into THIRDS and finish it off. GO up and down the grain, feel the wood. It's a thing of beauty, naked like the day it was born. 

THE STAIN
14 - I use Zar Rosewood, it's thick as pea soup and you can work it for a long time and regulate it's thickness as you take it off.
I NEVER use Minwax.  It has a finish already mixed in, and I just don't like it.  Too much gloss. I add that later in the Tung Oil section....

15 - Drop the coin, and get a real brush, Purdy bristle, at least 2.5". It'll run you $14+ but it'll last for years if you clean and comb it right.
Brush on so thick that you can't see the wood anymore. Let it sit for 5-8 minutes. Keep working it along the grain with the brush. It won't tack up like latex paint. Again, feel the wood. You're dressing her up for Prom, and she'll look so good you'll be so proud later.

16 - I got a 100pk of latex gloves non-powdered, and I am almost out of old socks, but yes, I slip a sock on the glove and rub the stain off, regulating the darkness/coating until I'm satisfied of the contrast between the grain and closed wood.

17 - THis is the most difficult part of all, and that's making sure of an even stain. For some reason my old Oak is notrious for being uneven and I had to develop this art over time, and sometime going back later and stipple-dry brushing a second time to spot any light areas.
In this regard you'll realize that it's truly more of an art than a science!

18 - Let dry for at least 24 hours before attempting any kind of finish. 
I personally have grown to really LOVE Tung Oil, it's natural, and you rub it on and off like car wax. It comes from the Tung Tree in China, not the bovine kind btw....I do use Minwax brand and the stuff isn't cheap but lasts a long time. I'm still on my first can (qt.) after 1/3 of the house is done.
It's terrific, you start with at least 2 coats and then the more coats you put on the more of a gloss it takes.  You can really feel the wood too.  I will never use Polyuerethane again except my floors as that is just plastic.  Smells nice also.

19 - When replacing the wood, make sure that all painting is out of the way.  I use a Nail Set which is like a little pick that you hammer the nail to finish the drive. It'll countersink the nail and you can patch it later.  I have had some issues with using 6 ct. nails, as the Oak is very precarious when it comes to splitting along the grain. In some cases you may want to use a little adhesive behind the wood, along with 4 ct. nails which will not split the wood. 
If you have a strong sub-woofer then the adhesive is recommended with smaller nails.  Knock hard on the wood to see if it'll vibrate!

20 - For some casings and door frames that are obviously non-removable (see pix below), you may have to use plastic drops taped to the ceiling to keep an air-proof barrier for the dust, protect the floors with tape and plastic (don't let stripper hit you floors unless you plan to have them refinished!) and just follow the previous instructions above

[maraire]

I've always said never get in the way of a man who has a plan. Sounds like you have it all covered. Very good indeed. Where were you 25yrs ago when I did the same. I really could have used your logical approach to a very trying job. Good luck, sounds like you'll achieve your goal of Christmas.

p.s. Very impressed

[BRoWN]

No doubt a detailed How-to in front of our very eyes.

[Bonster]

Bungalocity - are you refinishing as a matter of taste (i.e. you don't like the butternut finish), or because your woodwork is in bad condition?

I would eventually like to refinish my woodwork which was painted over, but the unpainted molding I have in place I am happy with (incl signs of aging). I would like to pull it down to do my ceiling repairs, though.

[Bear]

Very nice Bungalow you are a man on a mission...

I bought a new toy you may be interested in for reinstalling
your oak...An air powered brad nailer, this is a wonderful tool...

This bad boy lays 3/4" oak perfectly into plaster, I never cracked
a single pc and each nail is perfectly countersunk that is barely noticeable.

I recently put a 3/4" bead-board ceiling in my back porch, I sure am glad
I did not have to nail the 800+ brads by hand.

Got the whole set up for $130 at Menards.

[Bungalocity]

Y' know I gotta tell you, I absolutely LOATH that late 60's butternut/beachwood/pickling style with it's awful drapes and wall-to-wall
carpeting.  I mean it's just so un-cool.  And it was designed to cover up as much of the soul of the house as possible.  Thank God only
the Crowns are painted. The coved nature of my crowns are beyond my skill level. I need to find a skilled craftsman to strip those!

Overall the wood is almost perfect though, of course the window sills which I managed to pry out in one bedroom were split in some places
and weathered.  All the window sills are weathered to some degree but once through my regiment the one I did came out almost perfect.
If Oak is split, it needs to be glued and clamped before the sanding. Oak is so grainy that the cracks blend right in if glued properly.

Post some pix so we can see!

THis is what it looked like the first time I viewed the property. Quaint but not the nasty mission look I have in store.

[Bungalocity]

I bought a new toy you may be interested in for reinstalling
your oak...An air powered brad nailer, this is a wonderful tool...

Actually I have a P&C nailer with a compressor and battery built in!
I was going to use that but I just feel the need to go old school. It'd
create more holes than the original ones....