Honestly? I would finish it as is. I'd leave those traces of white paint behind, as scars of its past life. It'll create a really interesting pseudo-patina - a one-of-a-kind piece.
Woodworking
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That's a fair point too. I certainly don't usually aim to look brand new, just some TLC that still allows for some of the history to also be seen. The advantage of this being old is that it's all solid timber, no particle, veneer, panels etc. So I can hit it pretty hard.
As Marafon said in another comment, sanding is the eternal task. Reminds me of the Orson Welles quote "If you want a happy ending, that depends, of course, on where you stop your story."
I feel like I'm not quite where I want my ending on this one yet, but will get there at some point.
Totally reasonable! I'm sure it'll look pretty cool when you're done, and it's valid to feel you're not quite there yet.
I love real wood for reasons just like that.
Like grandpa always said you'll never be done sanding, you just get to decide when to stop.
Other than just painting it white again, I think sanding is gonna be the solution here
Yeah this is where I was headed haha. Thanks!
No worries homie, good luck with all the sanding! It's the neverending struggle of woodworking.
I concur.
Cabinet scraper. Heat can also work; if you get it warm and scrape it, it can lift the edge and you can peel it back.
Or just lean into it. It’s a highlight?
Heat + scraper should get it down enough to get the degree of removal you want without either removing it all, or losing a lot of wood.
Solvents wise, you might try something a little more aggressive applied very thinly via a rag.
Seems like the kind of situation that sandblasters were invented for. They've even got ones that use dry ice as their abrasive so they won't leave any grit behind in those holes.
Another coat of stripper, then paint scraper, so you don't rub the paint into the pores with sandpaper. Might try the stiff brush while it's coated in stripper.