Attrition...

Sanding the hoof rails

I have a new plan; I am now spending half an hour each lunch time sanding Zaphod's stand on the balcony. Except when it's raining.

Eventually the job will be done.

You can see in the photo the one I have spent hours sanding. You can also see there's quite a lot of red bits still.

Gordon Bennett, will it never end?

More Nitromors, wire wool, and sandpaper needed!

Sorry this blog has slowed down. It's the red paint.

I started on the hoof rails at the weekend. The wood is worn by years of use, and glutinous red paint is in every groove and cranny. I shall buy in more supplies (the guy in the local tool shop rubs his hands with glee when he sees me coming) and press on next weekend.

I'm not nearly there yet.

Still sanding...

A long job

Yesterday I spent another few hours sanding Zaphod's stand. As you can see from the photo, there's still a way to go. And I haven't even started the hoof rails.

Naturally, with a hundred and twenty year-old stand, there are plenty of dents, scratches and cracks, all of which are filled with beastly red gloss paint. This has to be removed, though the wood won't end up looking like new - I wouldn't want it to anyway!

You can also see I've been avoiding the stencil, for fear of removing it. I've had plenty of good advice from Rocking Horse Elite's eBay group. The stencils were normally (but not invariably) done in ink rather than paint, which is why the paint stripper did not lift it off. I'm anxious about tackling it; I'm going to leave it till last, then tiptoe up to it with cotton buds, Nitromors and white spirit.

Jackie Darnborough's 'twin' horse has the stencil too.