Let me begin by noting that I am playing a little bit of “catch up”. I’ve just recently started this blog so some of the work i’ll be describing is already done. The plaster restoration work in the library took place about a year ago and required about 4 months to finish. Although a much more enthusiastic effort could have hastened it’s completion, I sometime lack the self motivation and am easily distracted.
The crown molding in the Library is approximately 8″ tall and is original to the building which was built in 1891. There was roughly 1/8″ – 3/16″ of paint on the plaster. From my guess, that probably about 20 coats. My condo was rental for a number of years which explains the excessive painting. Before I began, I had guessed that the profile might be overlapping leafs or palms of some sort. The few units in my building which still have the original plaster have not stripped it and and the others have removed it in subsequent renovations.
The former owner of my unit had recommended a industrial stripping product called Peel Away 1.
This is an industrial product which is the consistency of gypsum wallboard taping compound. The chemical is liberally buttered onto the plaster and then covered with a paper-like film. After waiting 24hrs, the paper is pulled off taking the dried chemical and 20 layers of paint with it.
