“The Blanket Box”
Today i have begun the transformation of the Blanket Box. The Box was lovingly crafted by my father Nigel Melbourne Stanley for his soon to be wife Beverley Peters in 1952. Sadly in April of 1953 Beverly died from blood loss and septicaemia after my birth. She was 17 years old. I was 3 weeks old when she passed away. My father was killed on the 6th of August of that same year by a drunken driver aged 21.
The blanket box has travelled with me throughout my life for 58 years, and has been transformed a number of times to suite the decor it found itself in at that point in time. I am not sure what type of wood it was made of but I do know it was an apprentice piece constructed by my father for an examination.
Step 1 will be to strip the layers of paint back to bare wood.
After some internet research i have found a product called Citrus Strip with which to remove the old paint safely. The people at Doyles hardware Mitchelton as usual where wonderfully helpful.
Here is some info about it.
Citristrip Paint Stripper, from The Flood Company Australia, is a safer paint stripper. It is based on citrus extracts from oranges and made with bio-degradable ingredients. It is easy to use, very fast acting, and can remove multiple layers of most paints from wood, metal or masonry in less than 30 minutes. To take care of coatings that take longer to soften, Citristrip stays active for up to 24 hours. It does not harden or evaporate in a short time and will stick to vertical surfaces. Its orange colour makes it stand out from the surface, so it’s easy to see which areas have been coated. Citristrip Paint Stripper is available in sizes of 500ml, 1 litre, 4 litre, 10 litre, and 500ml for Paint Remover Wash. Coverage is 2 to 3m2 per litre depending on the thickness of the paint layers.
This is what the exterior looks like before the stripping process. Such a sad sight
Interior covered in cream paper with a scattering of small apricot coloured flowers. I will need to recover inside. It has some water damage marking on the paper
This small label i will try to keep. My father attached it to the inside back wall of the box.
Several hours have passed and i am contentedly exhausted. I applied the Citristrip a bit too economically on the first coat. I waited the 30 minutes recommended and felt a longer wait would have been better as well as a thicker application. But, after some elbow grease and a sharp paint stripper a great deal of paint several layers thick peeled away almost effortlessly.
Progress so far at least 3 coats of paint removed. Down to the 1970’s make over Lucas and I did of our version of wood grain
I have ordered another container of Ciristrip so unable to progress until it comes in.
Just purchased the second can of Citristrip and applied a nice thick layer to the front and one side waited a little longer this time and was able to strip through the final layer of paint as well as the original coat of varnish back to bare wood. I can now identify the wood. White Cedar which is a very rare wood. Originally obtained from the upper Clarence Valley of Northern New South Wales.
Sunday 25/09/2011
Still applying more Citristrip, almost stripped right down to bare wood few stubborn spots left, but i think i made good progress today. Thinking of attaching brass carry handles to either end. I know its not original but i think it will enhance the look and definitely help when carrying or transporting the box. Finlaysons at South Brisbane is the likely place to look for good quality handles.
