Tuesday, February 21, 2017

Removing Old Decoupage (Thrift Signs Before/After)


Did someone say 75% off of blue tags at Saint Vincent De Paul?!!!!!
I'm all over that!

Fifty Cents each for these plaques.  The metal screw-in rings on the top are almost worth that!
I scarfed these bad boys up.  Now to get that ancient old decoupage off....


I read you needed to spray them with wallpaper remover.  I knew I had some of that.  Somewhere.  Nope.  Must have been something I hung on to for fourteen years and finally threw out the week before because I was never going to use it.  That one time I shushed my inner-hoarding voice...

So I got a rag, and soaked it in ultra hot water and laid it over the pretty print that was so thickly decoupaged onto the wood.  It took at least twenty minutes to loosen up. I used a metal scraper, but only about twenty five percent of it scraped off, and then I had to repeat the process.  I found it best to just put the hot, wet rag over the picture and let it sit - the longer the better.  I kept it on the drying rack in the sink so I could periodically run hot water over it.  It really wasn't difficult, just not something that I could do quickly since it needed to sit and soak. 


Then I painted two of them black, and two of them white, and got busy with my stencils making signs (plus one odd ball - a jewelry holder with antique door locks!). :)


I can't even remember which doors these old locks came off, but I'm so glad I kept them (would you expect any different? I'm not exactly known for throwing stuff out).


After scrubbing them and getting the loose rust off with a wire brush, I painted them with oil based gold paint.  Then I secured them on with screws.  The black and white chevron pattern made it pretty easy to evenly place them.  I love whenever I don't have to measure!


This is always a popular quote: "What I love most about  my home is who I share it with".  
I hope that's true for you!  
Sadly, I'm all too aware of homes where this is not the case.  


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2 comments:

  1. I have used a mixture of water and fabric softener as a wallpaper remover in the past. It works. Love the signs, especially the one with the old locks. Great idea!

    ReplyDelete
  2. This is a great idea, and those are SO cute.
    I’m going to try this tonight.

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