Libbie Hawes of Brownstoner Philadelphia featured Thomas Mansion
in her column "Building of the Day"
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Recently I had the experience of working with the orbit sander to remove the rough surfaces remaining on a pair of shutters. I did enjoy the efficiency of this tool but I firmly believe nothing is better than doing it the old fashioned way with a block and slice of sand paper in hand. After I completed the sanding I removed paint from small crevices with dental tools to expose angles and details hidden behind paint build up.
This entry is going to take a personal twist reflective of what an internship should be all about. Internships, volunteer work, taking opportunities, and getting experience all have one invaluable trait. This trait is the likelihood that the person going through the experience will stumble upon a sort of personal reality check. This reality is indeed a lesson, one that might come unexpectedly through the process of trying new things. It is a cross-roads: the path of the work circumstances meeting the path of individual circumstances. I am at this point in my path. These two roads have met and I am now seeing the work circumstances (conservation) with my individual circumstances. My individual circumstances include allergies and asthma. Despite my love for conservation work, I believe at this juncture it would be irresponsible to continue to sand, scrape, and paint. Even though I have taken all the necessary safety procedures, as does everyone working at Thomas Mansion, it seems Thomas Mansion's enigmatic spaces have shed too much mysterious dust on my rather fragile immune system. Luckily, Thomas Mansion and the Trust have a great deal of talented and devoted staff and volunteers. I can rest easy knowing Thomas Mansion is in the best of hands and I have no doubt the project will come to fruition. I am compelled to share these individual circumstances and this cross-roads with the readers of this blog because life is about sharing, and it is about learning, coming to terms, adjusting ones goals, and never giving up on finding a way to pursue a passion. When I am at Thomas Mansion I thrive on having shared experiences with the staff and volunteers, and sharing a common goal. I thoughtfully questioned the appropriateness of sharing these specific details of my life in this blog. I have decided to do so based upon my conviction that personal experiences and developing relationships between people on the most genuine level provides the backbone for all good and successful work, and most importantly sets the standard for a fulfilling life. I am grateful for the opportunity to have learned this lesson amidst this very special building, surrounded by motivated people who care about protecting history. I plan to devote more time to recreating a historic furnishings plan. I see it as my way of strengthening the significance of Thomas Mansion and uniting history with the community it belongs to. Learning how people lived, what they owned, and where they might have sat to contemplate the same life lessons I am learning today brings people together. It is common ground, common intrigue, and human nature. The furnishings plan will showcase all things inspired by art, material, and history. I still plan to take photographs and spend time at Thomas Mansion, just maybe less intimately with the conservation work. I will still work to bring awareness to Thomas Mansion.  Today I worked with Meg, an apprentice from this summer, on painting a small room that is accessible through the hallway leading from the library to the dining room. The room is an antechamber to a bathroom (which still has its original fixtures). The space will temporarily be used as a kitchenette for the staff of the Trust. Just one month ago the walls were covered in moldy fabric. Now the window as been restored and replaced and the walls have been scraped, sanded, primed and painted. We used a neutral color (above) called "Papaya". The name does not quite reflect the color itself. This is the same paint color used on the exterior of the Fairmount Waterworks on Kelly Drive. While I worked with the roller, Meg edged around the ceiling and base to make sure all the spaces were covered. In hope of giving the room a crisp and bright appearance we decided to use "Bone White" for the ceiling and moulding. Thanks to Meg for being an excellent teacher.   The Process: 1) Remove existing coats of paints through scraping techniques. - Heat Guns: Heat helps loosen the paint from the surface so it is malleable for lifting off with scrapers without damaging the material underneath. - Silent Paint Removers use infrared lighting to heat the paint and are useful for large surfaces because it can rest on the surface, unlike the hand-held heat gun. - Scrape with the direction of the grain. 3) Sanding the surface to smooth the surface for the primer and paint. 4) Primer & Painting A note for preservationists or perfectionists It is not always a good thing to remove all traces of the paint because it is important for those who examine the building later on to use remaining or missed paint chips for analysis. This is nice to keep in mind when you feel compelled to perfectly remove all the paint from every crevice. The Benefits of Paint Removal - Exposes details that have been concealed through years of paint coats. - Removes alligatoring (cracked paint surface that resembles alligator skin) which is a sign of paint failure over time.  Tools  Safety with Lead Paint: Gloves & Mask  revealing details |
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