this post was submitted on 30 Dec 2025
35 points (97.3% liked)

Woodworking

8131 readers
93 users here now

A handmade home for woodworkers and admirers of woodworkers. Our community icon is submitted by @inquanto@lemmy.world, winner of the Christmas 2025 gift contest with a lovely series of hardwood cutting boards.

founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
 

Restoring an old medicine cabinet with an apparently rough life, pulled from a junk pile. The interior was coated in thick white paint. I stripped that with a water based stripper, then sanded back with 80grit. That went pretty well but there is still quite a bit of paint deep in the grain, almost acting as filler in some of the larger/deeper fissures

Thinking of a few options:

  • Manually picking out the paint, possibly with some heat. Probably not feasible as there are so many little flecks. A stiff brush helps, but so far not much luck
  • Keep sanding back, which would probably require removing a lot of material to access all of these deep grooves. I'm leaning towards this, but also holding out hope that there might be a way to loosen/flush it out without losing too much wood
  • Consider wax/stain options that might even it out. Least favoured option. I suspect the white might not take stain well, and pop even more. My original plan was just tung oil finish, which I'd still prefer

Any advice on ways to handle this?

top 12 comments
sorted by: hot top controversial new old
[–] actionjbone@sh.itjust.works 19 points 1 week ago (1 children)

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.

[–] eternauta@lemmy.ml 7 points 1 week ago (1 children)

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.

[–] actionjbone@sh.itjust.works 3 points 1 week ago

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.

[–] Marafon@sh.itjust.works 10 points 1 week ago

Like grandpa always said you'll never be done sanding, you just get to decide when to stop.

[–] Assassassin@lemmy.dbzer0.com 9 points 1 week ago (2 children)

Other than just painting it white again, I think sanding is gonna be the solution here

[–] eternauta@lemmy.ml 5 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (1 children)

Yeah this is where I was headed haha. Thanks!

[–] Assassassin@lemmy.dbzer0.com 3 points 1 week ago

No worries homie, good luck with all the sanding! It's the neverending struggle of woodworking.

[–] Marafon@sh.itjust.works 5 points 1 week ago
[–] CompactFlax@discuss.tchncs.de 7 points 1 week ago

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?

[–] southsamurai@sh.itjust.works 4 points 1 week ago

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.

[–] knightly@pawb.social 3 points 1 week ago

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.

[–] Cort@lemmy.world 1 points 1 week ago

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.