Heat Gun, Where Have You Been All My Life?

Mother’s Day isn’t my favorite holiday. It used to be fine, and really, it should still be. I have *my* mom still, and I *am* a mom still. But when Craig died, I lost the one person I really want to recognize the job I do as a mom. So there is some sadness there.

On the brighter side, I now feel no shame in buying myself a Mother’s Day gift and this year it was….drumroll, please…a DeWalt heat gun.

Months ago, I lost steam when it came to stripping. Paint. Stripping paint! The chemical strippers were not getting the job done. After several frustrating attempts, I shelved the project. I mean, there is no lack of other things that need to be done around the Old Lady.

Then my new subscription to Old House Journal started showing up. And ads for heat stripping tools. Then I remembered a drunken conversation at a Christmas party with friends who’d used a heat gun to strip an old door. Finally, the lightbulb came on in my brain (the wine intake may slow the synapses a bit, hence it taking 5 months to recall the conversation). Also, when you buy an old house, most cocktail party conversations center around said house. #imoldandboring

Annnnyyywwwaaaayyyyy…yesterday I took my shiny new heat gun to the Old Lady and started stripping.

And oh. my. goodness. Holy cow. That thing WORKS! The “couple hours” I was going to spend turned into 5 hours. I stripped until I couldn’t hold the heat gun anymore.

Then I started on the amazing built-in, which is covered in at least 3 coats of paint: gold, pink, blue. The detail is going to be tough. I ordered a kit of dental tools. I think the tiny scrapers will get into the nooks and crannies better than any tool I could find at Home Depot.

The built-in is quarter-sawn oak and it’s gorgeous. It’s going to be a labor of love to get it all stripped, but the stunning beauty of it will make it all worth it. Or maybe the fumes just went to my head…

Nope. It’s stunning.