While we are talking about salvaged materials and their reuse, let me mention the trim we bought at The Rebuilding Exchange. Although it was very economic, it required some time-consuming prep work.

As one would expect, used trim is typically stained, lacquered or painted. To remove the paint, Cathy took out the Silent Paint Remover and suspended it from a couple of saw horses.

This ‘industrial setup’ allowed her to crank out spanking clean trim at an intimidating speed.

Although the Silent Paint Remover works great on paint (as the name suggests), we found that lacquer and stain is better removed with the Soy Gel product. A couple of coats and a little scrubbing typically do the job.

What we appreciate about the salvaged and cleaned up trim is that it has character. Unlike new material, it has history and tells a story.