Restoring Jarrah Window Treatments, Door Frames and Skirting Boards

[April]

After having spent months stripping the paint off all the window treatments, doors frames and skirting boards in our newly acquired "renovators delight" (and sanding them) I'm looking for advice on the quickest, most cost effective way of staining the Jarrah which after 70 years is a quite a way from perfect.

Basically we're trying to avoid having to spend much more time on them putting putty in the crevices etc and just want something that retains the wood appearance but will cover (or mostly cover) the marks and flecks of residual paint......we aren't looking for perfection given that we have about a week to finish it so the floor guy can come in.

Any and all suggestions would be most appreciated.

Cheers

[Robert WA]

There are a dozen different jarrah stains that can be diluted and rubbed or brushed onto old jarrah. None of them that I know will make residue paint look like jarrah, although they will make it look less conspicuous.
The problem with staining jarrah is that you may lose the definition brought about by the colour differences in the timber.
If it has rubbed down to good colour, why not just put on a clear finish. That will leave you with the rich jarrah colours where it has been revealed and the residue paint will mark you as a recycler and an all time good guy.
One tip:
Brown Texta pens over in-grain rubbed down paint, particularly white paint, conceal it pretty well. DAMHIK.

[Tonyz]

just a thought but why not wait till after the floor guy's been, with new paint/stain on the skirting boards its possible he'll scratch them anyway.
Tony

[April]

Thanks a million for the advice - I'm heading down the newsagency for a couple of textas!

I think keeping the natural Jarrah colour etc will be much better too.

[Robert WA]

April.

Talking of Texta pens.....My son, his wife and their 2 kids are visiting at the moment. 2 year old Charlotte had a little drawing spree with a black Texta pen on our antique mahogany dining table, lovingly restored some 10 years ago and oil finished.

I can now tell you that meth. spirits removes Texta from oiled mahogany.

If you overdo the application of colour, you may be able to recover the situation with meths. In any event, it would be there to drink if the job really went edgewise.