How did I screw up my trim?

I recently made my first attempt at refinishing the woodwork in my 100+ year-old house. I stripped the paint off of some kitchen window trim--using PeelAway 7--and everything looked great. (the stain was still in there but it looks good)

I let it sit for 2 weeks and then, as various manuals have instructed, I started cleaning the wood with mineral spirits to prepare it for finishing. Since there is still some residual shellac in the pores, I quit using mineral spirits after a few minutes and switched to denatured alcohol.

And then I noticed that some of the woodwork now has a couple of hairline splits in it -- one nearly a foot long. Did I cause this with my "cleaning"? I'm nearly positive that the wood didn't have the splits in it before. Can alcohol or mineral spirts cause this? (I also used a bit of water)

Please help me before I kill again.

Any information or advice would be very much appreciated.

Carrie,
welcome and please, there's no need to kill again!:eek: Unless you applied your paint stripper, mineral spirits or alcohol with a large hammer or similar you didn't cause those splits. Most likely they were there all along, but removing the finish has highlighted them. Plus you are looking at them close up, which is not how you would usually look at them.

Mick

hi and a BIG welcome to the forum! You will find a wealth of information here and more than enough opinions to keep your brain hummin' (and possibly, blood boilin') for ages!

It is a little difficult to gauge the issue with your trim but it may be that the products applied have caused shrinkage due to their drying the timber out considerably more than they had been while painted....... but it doesn't seem likely. I feel it is more likely the splits were there and they had been disguised by the finish. What do you intend to refinish them with? I know it would be difficult, but if you could take a pic or two of the affected areas it might help ...... in fact, some pics of your house would be good too.

Above all - Have fun!

Thanks so much for your help! I really appreciate it. Here is a photo of the wood:
http://www.stayfreemagazine.org/split-wood.jpg

I'm not sure what kind of wood it is but I suspect oak.

One more question (if you don't mind): I have two handy options for the seal and finish: Deft Sanding Sealer + Deft Clear Wood Finish (oil based). Or MinWax Wipe-On Poly for both. Since this is a window in the kitchen I need something durable and moisture resistant. If you have any thoughts on whether one of these is better than the other, could you let me know?

Here is the only other pic I have of the woodwork at the moment. The previous owners sealed and finished this and it looks great (excusing the lousy paint job)... Obviously, it's missing a piece in there, but I hope to get a fascimile when I can afford it...
http://www.stayfreemagazine.org/house/missing-piece.jpg

hi again - you'd be amazed at the difference in detail levels between our countries (assuming you realise this is an Australian forum) - We have none of the finer quality trim work in our homes as a rule. To your trim - I know it doesn't help much, but that timber could be anything! If the ruddy appearance is "natural" then I suspect it to be Mahogany, but it could be a number of things ..... Oak is unique in that it displays fiddleback quite prominently when cut from quarter sawn material - I can't quite see any of that in your trim..... doesn't mean it isn't there - just cant see it. And if that's a kitchen trim, then you must have SOME KITCHEN! You'd probably shudder to see what my kitchen trim looks like - simple mouldings, mitred - no header trims or anything fancy at all. Regarding which finish to use, we have a dilemma in that proprietary products carry different brand names internationally. My preference in a high humidity area ranges based on what I am doing - in some cases you may want the timber to be fully sealed - in others you may want it to breathe and thereby release any moisture buildup, as moisture gets in no matter what........having said that, I lean toward a marine grade sealer I guess..... making sure to get it into any joints. Of course, even in a kitchen, no one is going to throw water onto the trims so this type of product may be total overkill. Regarding the missing trim on your room divider (if that's what it is) it may be more practical to have a piece moulded from a composite material, then matched in colour ..... the difference in cost between that and carving it would be phenomenal I think and no one except you would know the difference. I for one, would love to see more pics of the interior of your home as well as the outside - it looks like a beauty! I would be happy to post a range of images of Aussie Home Styles if you'd like to see the similarities an differences.

have fun