Thursday, March 3, 2011

Today I Got to Know a Stripper (this post is G-rated)


Ok, confess right now. How many of you scrolled down to look at all the pictures before you thought of reading this?

pfft.



I've just resigned from my much-loved job in the kindergarten. You can read about that here. (There was a change of management and the new management...well... brought too much......
change.
'Nuff said.
)

So I'm taking a break at home. And that has its benefits....cos today I got to know a stripper!

Some months ago, this is what the cat husband dragged in. It has to be at least 50 years old.



My Mum wanted to get rid of it cos one of the glass doors had broken. So it had been sitting around her house for the longest time. My husband insisted we bring it home. I didn't want to, cos I knew who'd have to work on restoring it, y'know?



We huffed and we puffed and brought it home, where it has been for several months.

Since I became unemployed (this week), the other day I huffed and I puffed and shoved it into our Iswara (!), legs sticking out and all, and took it to the carpenter's to have new glass doors fixed. For the shoddy job he did, I could've done it myself (I grumbled about the cost - 120 ringgit for the two doors. I didn't want him to do just one, in case it didn't match the other)



Then I tried sandpapering it. But the ancient paint was so thick I knew it would take me forever
to get it off.



Painting a new coat over several layers of old paint would give it a horrid finish. So back to the DIY blogs I went.

Aaah....a stripper! That's what I needed. Come to me, babay!

Paint a thin coat of stripper on. And look what happens within minutes! WHOA! The paint starts to 'bubble' up and comes off dry, easily! (yes, that's me with mask and gloves on)



My stripper in all her glory at work! Don't you love what she does? (and she only cost 10 ringgit, wink wink) This was my first time ever! I loved watching her do her thing.


Then, you use a scraper and scrape the whole paint thingy off. This has gotta be the most fun part.





Ok, it isn't as easy as I make it sound. Cos under that layer of thick, white paint, there was a thin layer of greyish-blue paint (geez, fifty years ago, they had such a nice paint colour?).

I tried brushing on a wee bit of the stripper but it didn't bubble up. It just got a little gooey. And I was afraid to brush on more lest the wood got eaten into.

But this blue layer was thin, so I decided to just leave it and sandpaper as much of the white paint off, as I could.

And then I saw them! So that's what my husband must have fallen for! It was those gorgeous, curvy legs!






I'd seen them before but now I was looking at them in a different way. In an after-4hours-of-stripping-and-sandpapering way. Sheesh.

And now I'm putting-my-left-hand-over-my-heart-with-my-right-hand-raised-up-in-a-Scout's-honour, to say that I did NOT deliberately put this piece of news there! I just noticed it as I was uploading these photos! (read the newspaper...)

Morals of this story:

1. don't judge a book/blog post by its title

2. there's still potential in old things (and people)

3. if Tiger Woods hadn't hung around so many curvy legs....perhaps he might not have gotten
into so much trouble...

4. if you're going through a period of sandpapering, with people rubbing you up the wrong way, at school, at work, at home.. perhaps it's to show you the stuff that you're really made up of.

gulp.






Stay tuned for the reveal of this sandpapered vintage beauty....
(ummm....I'm talking about the cupboard!)





This writer takes a lot of trouble to come up with these crazy posts. Do take a minute or two to leave a comment which will be much, much loved! And have you signed up as a follower yet? Promise you, all posts will be G-rated.

14 comments:

  1. I didnt cheat, I read every single word dying to know who the 'stripper' is ...to think how men fall for things unbeknown to female and for the 'stripper' to look at the beauty beneath things ... cant wait to see the result.
    You can make more out of this - furniture stripper oops i mean restorer ...
    Note : Blogger had done other restoration works

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hoping to find,
    some peace of mind,
    one throws away layers,
    of paint and mould.

    Who would have thought,
    that a $10 can that was bought,
    could be so therapeutic,
    for the soul!

    And when work is done,
    stripper,
    & restorer..
    finally, become ONE!

    ReplyDelete
  3. OMG...you have a gem there. If you are thinking of getting rid of it, give me a call and i will go fetch it. I looooooooovvveee old furniture. If you remember when you came over to my house i had a few of them around.
    I know how satisfying it can be when you work with your hands and to try new things but take your time. Iqbal likes to rush through it and will leave out a step or 2.
    Way to go Val. I'm glad you have found a new interest to keep you busy till you find a new job etc. Sorry it didn't work out with the kindergarden.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Aunt Val, I did not scroll down to see the pics ;) read from the 1st line til bottom, i knew u wud post about the cabinet!
    You should do more posts like this one. For EACH DIY project of urs!!! :D
    Awesome job, keep it up!

    ReplyDelete
  5. HeR$heYs, good girl! (for not looking at the pics first) yah, i have a lot of ideas and drafts. just takin' my time...thanks for your comment!

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  6. Val, that is a beautiful piece and her legs are gorgeous! I think its going to turn out really good. Your hubby certainly knows about legs! Keep us posted on the progress. Sorry about your job, hugsxx

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  7. Huda, I love how you say "Blogger has done other restoration works"...How come I don't know about this?

    Pattieboo, oh my, all this stripping has obviously inspired you....

    Oli - wha-? for all the trouble I'm taking, it's staying put, thank you! :)

    Allycat - poor hubby, always gets teased by me.

    ReplyDelete
  8. oh wow Aunty Val... this just shows how beauty and curves become even more appreciative as they age (contrary to popular belief) , more so when you take take time to look beyond the aged crooks and crevices and strip till you find the inner beauty that once and will always be
    only a good eye, patience, passion and love could spot these

    ReplyDelete
  9. from facebook:

    Rajee Kanmani March 12 at 8:25am Report

    Your sandpaper blog was so hilarous that i couldnt stop laughing. And you delivered a good message in that. Keep it up aunty. Do well.

    Kanmani,

    wow, a reader from Australia. thanks!

    ReplyDelete
  10. I bet you are glad you rescued this beautiful piece of furniture! All your hard work and effort will be so worth it in the end. Love those curvey legs!

    ReplyDelete
  11. Red Door Home - yes, I am glad. Will post the finished piece ummmm....by this month?

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  12. ahaha.. u re hillarious! definitely tuning to ur blog more often!! =)

    ReplyDelete
  13. goingkookies, okaaaay...i ain't gonna complain.... :) (sign up as a follower then i think it will notify you each time i update which is about twice a month)

    ReplyDelete