Used Scaffolding Planks. I get goose bumps when I think about them. I am always looking out for them and I have a million things lined up to do with them. In South Africa they are made of Pine and are 5 cms thick. The cement from the construction sites almost fossilise them and gives them the softest grey/white patina you can imagine. The ends of the rented ones are often painted in a beautiful faded Teal,.... to die for.
Together with that, the knicks and knocks they get on the building terrain just cannot be artificially added to a new plank. The soft-to-the-touch rounded edges cannot be created with a sander without eating through the cement patina. One thing is for sure, the fakes just don’t do it for me, it has to be the real thing.
That said, to get any builder to part with his beloved planks prove harder than you might ever imagine. For some reason they are not even interested in a straight swop with a new plank. Be prepared to use all your charm, leave Hubby at home, ... wear lipstick.
Back to the planks. If you get them for free, as I always aim for, they will be damaged. That is not necessarily bad. They might have a crack through the one end, but the other end might be perfectly fine.
Do not worry about storing them. No rain or sun (we don't have snow) will ever damage them, so just leave them outside, lifted from the ground, in a flat position.
It is best to prepare them before you cut them up. Firstly remove all visible nails with a crow bar and/or a hammer. Also remove the metal parts that reinforce the ends, unless you want to keep them for effect.
Secondly, you want to get rid of all the loose, powdery cement and any hard cement residues, but you do want to leave the patina.
You will need: Spirits of Salts (Sout Suur), a brush, goggles, rubber gloves, protective clothing, running water for rinsing and a baby sitter.
Meet the players! |
Warning: Spirits of Salts is an industrial strength acid, it eats through skin (and probably clothing) that is not washed immediately after contact. It also dissolves cement and gives off gas, so do not do this on your paved driveway and make sure your area is well ventilated.
Do not let the warning put you off, it is immensely satisfying to see this stuff bubble and do its job. Rinse it off when the bubbling has stopped, usually after a minute or so but there is no rush to rinse it before you have done the whole plank on all sides and ends.
I’ve had planks with very resistant chunks of cement stuck to them. Try and scrape the biggest pieces off... with something hard that looks like it’s meant to do this. (not your kitchen knife,... find something in the garage). It might then require a second coat. As long as there is vicious bubbling when you apply the Spirits of Salts, there is cement that can come off.
Also do not fear when you see the yellow wood appear when you rinse them, as soon as the plank is dry the powdery cement patina returns.
This is a cleaned, wet plank. The colour will change back to a white-grey when it is dry. |
Your plank is now ready to be transformed. More on that in a later post.
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