louvered shutters - dipping

[spacemarine]

hello,

im repainting my antique shotgun home (new orleans) & its shutters. the shutters are of the louvered variety. from my research, it seems that having them dipped may be the best way to go.

there is a place near us that does it for $4/foot, doesnt sound bad. im just wondering about warping -- does dipping pose much of a risk to the delicate louver blades? are there other concerns i should be aware of? Strip Ease is the restorer, i have heard good things about them, but i wanted to learn first what questions i should ask them prior to doing it.

thanks for your help!

sm

[Aardvark]

Had a pair of pine doors dipped a few years ago. The kind consisting of stiles, top and bottom rails and 15 glass panels about 250mm X 125mm separated by profiled mullions and rails.

When we got them back quite a lot of the joins had opened and some of the components had slightly bowed. Some gluing and clamping and some planing was necessary to re-square the doors and tighten the joints.

It's a good thing I had replaced the doorframe too otherwise there would have been gaps round the doors you could drive a bus through.

I think it's entirely possible that the results would have been different if the door had been a standard panel door.

YMMV but HTH

[AAllc.architects]

As aardvark notes you should be prepared for some repairs after dipping. We had some louvered shutters dipped to remove layers of old paint. Contractor failed to pick them up in time and they were left in the tank. It took some time for the wood to dry before repairs and painting. T

[spacemarine]

interesting. my girlfriend spoke w/ them on the phone, they said that what may happen is that the wood surface may become "fuzzy" w/ fibers of wood after the dip & wash (power wash?). im not sure exactly what this means, but if its superficial fuzz, then id think sanding would take care of that.

ill call and talk to them myself, try to see exactly what they mean.

but, now im not sure if its a good idea. perhaps just rough sanding would suffice to prep the shutters for prime & painting?

sm