How can I remove old paint from plaster mouldings?
There are lots of proprietary paint stripping formulations on the market. Follow the manufacturer’s instructions and any warning labels. Wear protective clothing, gloves and goggles. Distemper may be impervious to some strippers. Steam may help to soften it enough to enable it to be chipped out by hand, using wooden sticks, dental picks and old toothbrushes. All the interior mouldings were stripped out of my house in the 1970s. How can I find out what was there originally? You will need to do some detective work: look for evidence of old decoration: bumps in plasterwork (which may show up better under a raking light), old fixing holes, hardboard or plywood covers on doors and banisters. look at neighbouring houses of similar age and style, to see whether they retain their original mouldings. Ask you neighbours if you can sketch, photograph and measure the mouldings. look at books about Victorian interiors visit preserved Victorian interiors that are open to the public. Should I pick ou
