Kibkom North Cyprus Forum

Hello All,

Does anyone know of a reputable business that will take existing wooden window / door shutters, strip off all existing paint, and repaint properly, off-site, then replace, along with any new stays / hinges, as required?

The above may well be too much to hope for, so if you know of someone who can do at least some of the above, competently, please let me know.

Cheers,

HH

After 100 views, without a single reply, it looks as though it will be a DIY job for the Spring!

HH

Well, after many years here I haven't managed to find anybody to do this unfortunately. If you do find somebody, please let me know!

I ended up doing mine myself , all products ( primer,wood filler, top coat) from Marshalls , a Good electric Palm sander made it alot easier.Just remember which shutter belongs to which window as sizes /positioning of brackets differ greatly.

Hi All, i hope you're ok and keeping warm?

Our in house carpenter can remove wooden shutters, sand, treat and repaint. If you'd like anymore information or would like to discuss this further please do not hesitate to contact us on 0542 8525258, info@catalkoyhomegarden.com or pop in and see us at our show room in Catalkoy just along from Sah supermarket.

We look forward to hearing from you.

Thanks for the replies (Agobard and ttoli), and PM (Sophie).

If I can't find someone to do the work properly, off-site, then doing the work myself would be the next best option.

Over the years, we've suffered the pain of having all sorts of construction and decorative work botched by others on our home (and also seeing it done on neighbouring properties), and I can only imagine the mess that would be made of the shutters, walls, and terraces, if I were to trust someone else to do this job.

The hardest part of a DIY job will be achieving a good brushed-finish on the wood, but I'll manage somehow. Better get it done before Summer comes, or the heat will make it even tougher.

HH

Hello Egepen,

Thanks for your post - I'll get in touch soon.

Cheers,

HH

If you want to do it yourself, buy quite a few bottles of drain cleaner from the supermarket. Then you will need a plastic container maybe a barrel mix crystals with water and place the shutter in for a couple of hours or until the old varnish is soft enough to scrape off.
This is how doors are stripped in the UK.

I forgot to mention you could pressure wash the old varnish off.

Get end dipped in Lefcosia easiest way

Where in Lefkosa can we get things dipped? and any idea how much?

Many Thanks

karmels wrote:If you want to do it yourself, buy quite a few bottles of drain cleaner from the supermarket. Then you will need a plastic container maybe a barrel mix crystals with water and place the shutter in for a couple of hours or until the old varnish is soft enough to scrape off.
This is how doors are stripped in the UK.

That's a good tip, Mel.

The stuff used to clean drains is Sodium Hydroxide, otherwise known as 'Caustic Soda', it is a very aggressive chemical with a multitude of other uses (soap manufacture, dishwasher powder, oven cleaner, rust remover, to name a few) and produces heat when in contact with water. It will start to dissolve the flesh of your fingers as well, so do take care! My Mum used to clean the various parts of her ancient cooking stove by soaking them in a bucket of Caustic Soda solution - I'm amazed that she still had fingers!

Mr Pound do stock a product which has a similar, although not identical, chemical action to Sodium Hydroxide - It's in a I Kilo green packet, called something like 'Soda Crystals' and I think that the contents are ' Sodium Carbonate Decahydrate'.

I can't guarantee that it would be efficacious in removing paint, but at 6TL a Kilo, it might be worth trying on a piece of painted wood to find out - considering that the small packets of drain cleaner from supermarkets cost around 7.5TL for 250 grammes...

I am told that Sodium Hydroxide itself is used by Pool Maintenance companies, so it will be available (probably in 25KG drums!) from Pool Equipment suppliers at a more reasonable cost - one of the retail outlets might be prevailed upon to sell you a smaller quantity if you provide a suitable container.

Let us know how you get on!

And be Careful!

Hi Keith, The only powder I found to work was the drain cleaner, we used it on our boat to strip old paint from the cockpit roof and it worked fine.

Hello All,

I've decided to pass the work on to Egepen.

If you fancy trying the DIY paint-stripping, be sure to take every precaution with these chemicals, whatever the volume involved.

HH

Its the same chemicals as the one I suggested only in paste form.
Best of luck with your shutters.