Scavenger Chic

Remove Paper Stuck to Wood….Easily?

• By Joan
• April 8, 2020
• 11 Comments

Remove Paper Stuck to Wood

If my husband has to work on weekends or in the evenings he’ll usually use my youngest son’s desk. It’s large, the room is bright and while son #3 was away at college the desk usually didn’t get much use.

That all changed a few weeks ago when everyone came home to work.  Normally we would make do if this was just a weekend but these are not normal times.

Hubby needed a permanent home to house all his work junk and since he’s in meetings most of the day the room not only had to have good internet, it also had to be quiet. He quickly settled on my oldest son’s old room to set up shop. 

And now for a desk…After pulling out a piece of plywood (too rough) and another miscellaneous table, too small, he finally settled on this sofa table to be his perfect desk.  We had picked it up a few weeks before at an online auction and it was going to be my next project.  He claimed it for his own and finished setting up his new home office.

These are the actual pictures from the online auction which may explain how I got these three pieces of furniture for $3.  The table was listed as a sofa table so I wan’t even considering it as a desk.  And while other people may see the white paper stuck to the top as a problem, I saw it as a project.

By the time I got to see the new office setup, hubby had already moved out a dresser and rocking chair and was busily trying to get the paper off with his fingernail.  I told him to stop picking because I had a handy dandy easy way to get the paper off (and it was going to be my next project).  Besides that, he couldn’t get any more off.

The instructions on the internet were easy enough… spread olive oil generously over the stuck paper, wait a half hour then wipe the paper away.  Easy peasy.

After a half hour, nothing.  After a couple hours, nothing.

Another website claimed Vaseline would do the trick just as easily.  

After a half hour, nothing.  An overnight soaking did not do anything either. 🙁 

Whatever glue was holding the paper in place was not water or oil soluble.  If hubby didn’t need the desk for work this week I may have just taken the sander to the whole top.

A razor blade did do the trick with some gentle scraping.  If this is your last resort as well, hold the blade as if you’re scraping the extra paint off a window trying not to dig into the wood.

The olive oil didn’t take off the paper but it did hide the scratch fairly well.  For a little more coverage I gave the desk a coat of Watco Danish Oil   which I seem to be using in a lot of my projects lately.  One container goes a long way.

Look what a difference the Watco oil made on this upcycled stool.

I had to apply the Watco oil at night so it would have a chance to dry and wouldn’t interfere with someones working at home duties.

It’s gorgeous now!  The piece was advertised as a sofa table but it does make the perfect desk.

The “office” is all ready for a month or two of working from home.

If the lamp looks familiar, he’s from a thrift store makeover last year.

The stars are Pottery Barn inspired made from reclaimed hardwood flooring.

Grout Cleaner

I have one more project I’ve been working on this week..cleaning the grout in my kitchen.   If you have a glass stove top you may just have this soft scrub type cook top cleaner.  After cleaning my stove top, for some reason I bent over to see what it would do with grout. Omg, it was fantastic! Using both an old toothbrush and a sanding sponge then wiping away the excess with a damp rag.  The cleaner was about a third gone when I started to use it but I filled it up the rest of the way with water so it would be both easier to spread and it would last longer. 

Do you have a favorite way of cleaning grout?

Stay inspired and stay home.

Related posts:

Easy Makeovers, A Desk, A Nightstand and A Chest Salvaged from a dump! Mid Century Modern Desk Refresh DIY Nightstands from an old Desk