Sanding Difficult Parts (Pool Table - Pics attached)

Hey all,
Im restoring a very very old pool table. It was painted brown and had laquer on it. It was about 20 years old when I got it.

I've sanded down the flat parts of the table, legs and bumpers. However, there are a few bits on the table that I am having great difficulty with.

I have a dremel and a Mouse (little black n decker sander) and still have trouble getting into the little bits..might need more attachments.

Could someone assist with how to sand these down. I want it down to total wood so I can hit it with fine paper and get a nice smooth finish and have it ready for oiling and varnishing. I need all the paint off becuase once I oil it, it will stand out like dogs balls..

Should I put some paint stripper on it so the paint will come off and then I can just smooth down the wood, or should I just keep sanding and try and get the bits I missed....I have no idea how to do this. Cheers.

Here are the pics....

To sand those bits, you will want profiles to fit the odd places.

You can do this by hand, cutting foam to match the profiles and wrapping bits of sandpaper around them (cut the profiles slightly undersized). For some profiles, sandpaper wrapped around a screwdriver head or dowel rod will work. Whatever fits in the odd places.

Alternatively, you can purchase a profile sander which often has available a number of stock profiles (concave, 90 degree, convex, etc.) and sometimes a kit to make your own. Good profile sanders are not cheap, so it depends on your budget. :)

This may work for you.

Put some "glad wrap" over and into the grooves you want to clean out.

Mix up some plastic filler - often called "builders bog' etc. its the 2 pack filler used to do repairs on cars or whatever.

Make a mould up by pressing it into the grooves of the timber ( on top of the gladwrap) and before it sets press into it a block of wood or something that will allow you to use the end result as a block to place abrasive paper over. Make the bottom of the wood rough or groove it/add small nails etc to help get a good bond between the two though it should stick well.

The "gladwrap" should peel away and leave you with a moulded shape you should be able to then sand out the grooves. As you remove material you may find it necessary to place a bit of cloth behind the Abrasive paper.

If you have and small marks at the ends or in difficult places break a thin piece of glass and use it to scrpae the finish off before sanding.

That my friend is a great Idea. Making a mould of the peice, I have some builders blog around here..the stuff dries quick too...GREAT!

If that doesnt work, Im gion for the paint stripper method.

It is difficult to tell from the photographs but would it be possible getting a router bit or possibly two to match the profile? or alternatively make a new profile which will remove the paint.

I watched a podcast on this recently and he sucessfully used a few different router profiles to match the existing moulding which cleaned it up nicely.

Thtas also a good idea Stinkalot...I will try and sand away the paoint but if not I'll have to invest in a router bit. Not sure how hard it will be.

Trying to use sanding only to remove paint from the details might be frustrating.
It's a very long time since I did a job like this but I remember I used paint stripper and sanded small pieces of hardwood to shapes to scrape out most of the paint before sanding.
The wooden scrapers don't cause the damage that metal scrapers would.

Yep, its beena pain to get the paint off, but I got some over cleaner out, soaked the wood in it for a good 20 mins. and used a hard brisle brush to get the paint off, came off like a charm, and then did some sanding to get the colour back in the wood coz the oven cleaner puts a greeny tinge in the wood, nthing you can see once you oil it.

I'll post pics up tonight of how it turned out.

I dont know where you mignt get some, but theres an old bloke at bentliegh market that sells offcuts of "sandpaper" from the auto industry.
this stuff has a fine grade but on a really stiff back,
I offten use it folded in half like a file to get et fiddly bits.
also I wouldnt worry too much, that dark stuff in the end grain will look fine when youve put the finish on,
if you take out all the dings etc your nice old table will look like a brand new one, unless thats what you want?
cheers
astrid

heheh...I've never restored anything i my life, and I must say, its very rewarding looking at the bits of wood sanded in their natural condition. I wet some of them with a cloth to see what it would look like, and it looks great.

I do want it to look new, but it wont, becuase its a very very old table, I dont really care, as long as I get a nice mirror finish on it when Im done, I'll be happy.

Im considering reclothing it myself...