Fish outta water...with a blackwood mantle :)

Well,I spose the title says it all...I'm a complete woodworking newbie,but,as coming from the automotive industry,im not a complete dill,and can work with my hands :).
I had a crack at sanding and coating our floorboards,and it came out ok,so,I done stuff in the usual man way...I became a master woodworker in my own mind,and jumped in head first...to an interesting old tasmanian blackwood mantle.Well,at $80,I couldnt say no :)

I have no idea about its age,apart from it being heavy and old..but I do remember seeing something similar as a kid in my aunts late 1800s house.I plan to make it work in my home,and incorporate it into my existing tas oak mantle with some outside the box thinking..

Now,obviously,its been painted...but,luckily,its been painted poorly...theres 1 main coat,plus a light undercoat over the top.The finish underneath hasnt been sanded,and looks in good condition.I picked some paint off with my fingernail,it comes off sorta easy,tried the heat gun,it comes off,but its leaving paint residue and im hoping to get the paint off without damaging the original finish.

So,a coupla questions...
1.Does anyone have any idea on the approx age of a piece like this?
2.Its a darker than natural stain..would the original finish be shellac or varnish..as i said,im a newbie :)
3.Is there any easy way to strip the paint without damaging the old finish?.

Thanks in advance :)

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With something that old, my first step would be to check for lead based paint. I would not apply the heat gun or even sanding until the lead test is done.
Once you are sure it is lead free, then you could try paint strippers.
Assuming you want to go back to bare wood and finish again.

Yea,ive gave up on the heat gun idea,the paint isnt peeling very well,and i dont want to scorch it,or damage it by scraping...I was really hoping to get rid of the paint and save the original finish,as i have an unrestored floor standing valve radio and unrestored mantle clock that would match in well....but,if need be,I can go down to bare timber and recoat it..will all paint strippers eat at the original coating?

I believe there are a lot of paint strippers around. Obviously some will work better than others. Some more environmentally friendly than others. You say original finish. That was probably a shellac. Which could be cut/stripped with metho. As for the paint over that well without knowing what it is....
The clock and radion would more than likely be shellac. Which means a more delicate approach. Can you test a small piece which is out of sight? eg at back low down. Try a small cloth dipped in metho and gently rub the surface and see how it goes.

I am surprised that others with way more experience than me haven't dropped in with suggestions.

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Originally Posted by Lyle

I am surprised that others with way more experience than me haven't dropped in with suggestions.

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I cannot really make the claim re experience compared to others on the forum, but do have some ideas. I think it dates from between 1910 to 1925, most likely the later date. The original finish would have been shellac. The best way to remove the paint is a heat gun. Yes, I know it isnt perfect, but with care you can leave a thin layer of the original shellac with a few traces of the paint. Then the magic of shellac becomes clear. 0000 steel wool, Bristol Museum mix (or UBeaut cleaner) and you remove all traces of paint but keep an original finish to build up with more shellac (please not orange flake, use a better one). The orifinal would have most likely had a dark stain but you do not need to replace or add to that if you follow my procedure... Good luck.

Well,a sucess story :).

After gleaning lots of info from this and other sites,i decided on going with citri strip.
used plastic over the top after layering...it came off reasonably well,but was still left with lots of paint residue.

I really didnt want to sand the patina out of the timber,so bought a stronger "uni stripper" at the recommendation of a antique restorer...tried a little on the bottom,and it started to slightly discolor the timber..so,I gave up on that idea..

just by chance I had a tin of enamel thinners in the shed...out of desperation I poured a little on some 000 steel wool..and it worked :).So,a very long day later,it was stripped.

I managed to track down some garnet button shellac,made a rubber,and got coating it...I didnt overdo the polishing as i didnt want to spoil the unrestored look,and the leftovers are coming in handy for the walnut trim in the 1951 mk7 jaguar outside :).

heres a coupla pics of the almost finished result...I have been a little lazy,and havnt got to waxing it yet :P
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