So the process for stripping the floors wouldn't suck so bad if
1) we had an empty condo
2) we didn't have a 2 year old at home
So with those two things in mind you can bet that 99% of our work gets done with little to no natural light well after the hours of 10pm.
So the SoyGel gets spread onto the floor with a 4" paintbrush. A good healthy coat.
Then we wait at least 5 hours. My husband likes to leave it overnight (to my disagreement) and even though it's practically dry & 100% soaked up ~ i must admit ~ it still scrapes off well.
Scrape off gel & paint (like normal with any paint remover)
Wipe off excess
Scrub with scrub pad & peppermint scrub. Rinse with water. *
*this is a major deviation from 'the video'. They suggest purchasing a degreaser & renting a wet floor buffer thing and shop vac. Even if we thought we could bust it out in a weekend (~ which i don't think we could) It still adds a few hundred dollars I'm not exactly keen on spending. So given that the floor wasn't ever a garage and the only grease is my husbands elbow grease ~ we're gonna try and take the cheap way outta this process.
Monday, October 19, 2009
Picking a Color
So despite ordering 11 stain options ~ we were able to quickly narrow it down to 4 by the time we acutally around to 'testing' it out.
Part of it was seeing the colors stained at my new monthership. And part of it was just common sense.
The only unfortunate part about a STAIN is that its just that. a stain. The max i would recommend leaving the color on is an hour. Although we do have one spot that still has some color residue even after only 20 minutes.
The process:
1. dip an old t-shirt in stain.
2. rub on painstakingly beautiful paint-free floors
3. stand and look quizzically at the floor for hours on end.
4. take photos so you can look longer and confuse yourself even more.
5. soap & water to remove
6. for tough spots we use our home made peppermint scrub. (i'll have to add a link later)
Oh and for the record ~ we're choosing green.
Tips & Tricks:
DO NOT USE PAINTERS TAPE. Somehow - for some reason - there must still be the slightest residue left on the floor that the tape picked up and we now have very straight, odd linear lines on our living room floor.
Part of it was seeing the colors stained at my new monthership. And part of it was just common sense.
The only unfortunate part about a STAIN is that its just that. a stain. The max i would recommend leaving the color on is an hour. Although we do have one spot that still has some color residue even after only 20 minutes.
The process:
1. dip an old t-shirt in stain.
2. rub on painstakingly beautiful paint-free floors
3. stand and look quizzically at the floor for hours on end.
4. take photos so you can look longer and confuse yourself even more.
5. soap & water to remove
6. for tough spots we use our home made peppermint scrub. (i'll have to add a link later)
Oh and for the record ~ we're choosing green.
Tips & Tricks:
DO NOT USE PAINTERS TAPE. Somehow - for some reason - there must still be the slightest residue left on the floor that the tape picked up and we now have very straight, odd linear lines on our living room floor.
Awe Man - MORE Work?!?
So of course once the stripper was home we had to do an immediate test patch ~ in the closet of course.
Well it seems that they put a nice layer of paint over the entire floor. I don't really know where / why or even if it is technically paint, but... something is there. And the paint remover takes it up.
When we did our test patch we were once again surprised what a clean layer was underneath. It certainly looked significantly different than the middle of our floors where there was 'no paint'. Which meant...damn it...there was paint. A lot of it. And it was everywhere.
Soooooo its back to Amicus. But by this time we've chosen our stain and decide not to be TOTAL idiots and perhaps combine a trip. Total cost: xxx
And of course while this is all going on - a science experiment from our fridge :)
its about as kinky as we get in this house anymore. a gratuitous picture of a tomatillo & squash love.
Well it seems that they put a nice layer of paint over the entire floor. I don't really know where / why or even if it is technically paint, but... something is there. And the paint remover takes it up.
When we did our test patch we were once again surprised what a clean layer was underneath. It certainly looked significantly different than the middle of our floors where there was 'no paint'. Which meant...damn it...there was paint. A lot of it. And it was everywhere.
Soooooo its back to Amicus. But by this time we've chosen our stain and decide not to be TOTAL idiots and perhaps combine a trip. Total cost: xxx
And of course while this is all going on - a science experiment from our fridge :)
its about as kinky as we get in this house anymore. a gratuitous picture of a tomatillo & squash love.
Why do i bother?!?! (paint stripping)
So on yet another trip to Home Depot (yes its really those close and i'm really that hopefull)
I was desperate to get moving on step 2: paint removal.
I had scraped away bits and pieces with my razor, but there was a TON of pain from the contractors spray painting the baseboards. I guess in novice painting brain I can fathom the pain of painting thousands of baseboards by hand, but duuuuuuuuude that paint is a bitch.
my O.N.L.Y option: Behr Concrete & Masonry Paint Stripper. I didn't like the WARNINGS ~ so in the rain and waaay cross town (to another state in fact) I rolled over to my new favorite store.
They didn't have the EcoProCote product i had come for ~ but they recommended Franmar's SoyGel. I paid my $58 plus tax for my gallon (yes that's near double the cost of the acid above) and picked up a pretty noVOC blue paint and a few other odds and ends i simply couldn't live without and went across to the street to the french antique store to continue pretending like i had money.
For a super nerdy comparison check this out - the MSDS (materials safety data sheets) information for both products
Behr Concrete Paint Stripper - here
Franmars SoyGel - here
I was desperate to get moving on step 2: paint removal.
I had scraped away bits and pieces with my razor, but there was a TON of pain from the contractors spray painting the baseboards. I guess in novice painting brain I can fathom the pain of painting thousands of baseboards by hand, but duuuuuuuuude that paint is a bitch.
my O.N.L.Y option: Behr Concrete & Masonry Paint Stripper. I didn't like the WARNINGS ~ so in the rain and waaay cross town (to another state in fact) I rolled over to my new favorite store.
They didn't have the EcoProCote product i had come for ~ but they recommended Franmar's SoyGel. I paid my $58 plus tax for my gallon (yes that's near double the cost of the acid above) and picked up a pretty noVOC blue paint and a few other odds and ends i simply couldn't live without and went across to the street to the french antique store to continue pretending like i had money.
For a super nerdy comparison check this out - the MSDS (materials safety data sheets) information for both products
Behr Concrete Paint Stripper - here
Franmars SoyGel - here
Damn you YouTube
Or perhaps I should thank them. I don't know. Part of me wants to be grateful because we finally found some help. However ~ this is also were it went from dumping some stain and varnish on a slab of concrete to a blog-able project.
Soycrete Concrete Staining - How to Video
Shortly after this video I ordered:
1) the full length video - $29.99 (yes it was worth it, but i'd check for a used copy first)
2) 12 out of the 16 sample colors $33.00
3) shipping $7.31
Home-Depot'ed:
1) 2 razor blade scrappers
2) something else
Then i FINALLY found a local supplier of the the 'SoyCrete' products from EcoProCote at Amicus Green Building Center. Certainly, a drive but as a local supplier (with comparable prices to the internet) how could i say no. (please note it took me forever to realize 'SoyCrete' is the name of the stain specifically, not the whole line of products for finishing ones floors. And I'll admit that due to this early misunderstanding its ingrained in my mind and i'll probably use them interchangeably. Forgive me.)
Soycrete Concrete Staining - How to Video
Shortly after this video I ordered:
1) the full length video - $29.99 (yes it was worth it, but i'd check for a used copy first)
2) 12 out of the 16 sample colors $33.00
3) shipping $7.31
Home-Depot'ed:
1) 2 razor blade scrappers
2) something else
Then i FINALLY found a local supplier of the the 'SoyCrete' products from EcoProCote at Amicus Green Building Center. Certainly, a drive but as a local supplier (with comparable prices to the internet) how could i say no. (please note it took me forever to realize 'SoyCrete' is the name of the stain specifically, not the whole line of products for finishing ones floors. And I'll admit that due to this early misunderstanding its ingrained in my mind and i'll probably use them interchangeably. Forgive me.)
Removing Carpet.
ugh. this is nasty dirty business.
even though we steam clean 2x a year and vacuum at least as often (ha ~KIDDING MOM)
it was still some nasty stuff to remove.
Take Away Notes
1) cutting around furniture is not lazy, but sensible when your husband is doing all the work at midnight while the rest of the world sleeps.
2) take your time with the removal of the tack strips. You'll be grateful for the smaller holes come refinishing time.
One thing we were both pretty shocked about was how messy the concrete was underneath the carpeting. Holy Paint batman. Forgive my ignorance as i don't often hang around constructions sites, but that was our first glimpse of -- this aint no weekend project robin.
Research
So once the decision was made to refinish our concrete sub floor we took to home depot like any good suburban yuppie would do.
The looks we got were of sheer ridicule. You want to do WHAT? Where? and WHY? (note these were very similar responses we received from our family)
The kits were all for finishing one's garage and no one could answer questions about toxicity, off-gassing, eco-friendly alternatives, or heck ~ even how one would go about doing such a project.
Sooo it was off to the internet i go. Below are some links I found useful. Please note...there ain't a whole lot out there that i was able to find and that's one of the reasons I started this blog.
-Concrete Courageous, HGTV
-Repairing Cracks, HGTV
Then I found what would finally set this project in motion.
-Carter Oosterhouse uses sustainable cedar and eco-friendly concrete stain in a backyard makeover.
A soy based, US made, non toxic alternative. EUREKA!
I'll admit we're pretty crunchy in our everyday lives (cloth diapers, farm fresh foods and all that jazz) but aside from making our cleaners we haven't dove into the whole home aspect much yet. a) its expensive and b)it kinda seems silly to toss out perfectly good 'stuff' for new ~ even if it is 'friendly'. So its slow going as we replace old with (ha often older) but sometimes - something better for our bodies. Because i'll admit. While this whole eco friendly thing is great, fashionable and good for the planet and all. Its all about what we ingest, digest, inhale, and exhale from our bodies. This one to be specific :)
The looks we got were of sheer ridicule. You want to do WHAT? Where? and WHY? (note these were very similar responses we received from our family)
The kits were all for finishing one's garage and no one could answer questions about toxicity, off-gassing, eco-friendly alternatives, or heck ~ even how one would go about doing such a project.
Sooo it was off to the internet i go. Below are some links I found useful. Please note...there ain't a whole lot out there that i was able to find and that's one of the reasons I started this blog.
-Concrete Courageous, HGTV
-Repairing Cracks, HGTV
Then I found what would finally set this project in motion.
-Carter Oosterhouse uses sustainable cedar and eco-friendly concrete stain in a backyard makeover.
A soy based, US made, non toxic alternative. EUREKA!
I'll admit we're pretty crunchy in our everyday lives (cloth diapers, farm fresh foods and all that jazz) but aside from making our cleaners we haven't dove into the whole home aspect much yet. a) its expensive and b)it kinda seems silly to toss out perfectly good 'stuff' for new ~ even if it is 'friendly'. So its slow going as we replace old with (ha often older) but sometimes - something better for our bodies. Because i'll admit. While this whole eco friendly thing is great, fashionable and good for the planet and all. Its all about what we ingest, digest, inhale, and exhale from our bodies. This one to be specific :)
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