StripAll Antique Sales & Refinishing RR#1 Long Sault Ontario, K0C 1P0 Canada 1-613-534-8494 or Email StripAll
                          A super Hint                                             Filling Holes In mouldings
For staining small items, make your own stain                Heres my recipe for filling up those little
from several rusty nails in a jar of white vinegar.            holes in baseboard & mouldings. Mix a
Cover the jar and let it sit for three days. If the             dab of matching paint with enough corn
colour isnt dark enough, add more rusty nails.              starch to make a thick paste. When filler
nails. Use on natural woods as you would any             dries, you can hardly see the patch.
stain.                                                                          When dried its finished

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                          Holes in the wall                                             Stuck Stamps
Deep, ugly looking nail holes in your plaster                Unused stamps that are stuck together
wall can be filled by mixing a little talcum                     will seperate easily if put in the freezer
powder with a few drops of water, force mixture        compartment of your refrigerator. After
into the holes smoothing it off with your fingers            an hour or two, pull them apart gently,
around the edges.                                                       you will find the mucilage intact.

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Match Scratches                            Steel Fittings                            Loose Casters

To remove match scratches from painted surfaces, rub with cut side of a lemon, and rinse with cold water applied with a cloth.   The brown stains on the steel fittings of the range can often be removed by rubbing with a rag dipped in vinegar. Then polish in the usual manner.   When you are troubled with loose casters, in the legs of your furniture, fill the holes with melted paraffin wax and put the casters quickly back into place.

Gilt Frames                                           Lace                                    Sticky Drawers
Gilt picture, frames can be nicely cleaned without danger of tarnishing, with a cloth dampened in beer.    A good way to mend a hole in lace is to place a piece of paper under the hole and stitch on the sewing machine untill the hole is filled. Then pick out the paper, very fine thread should be used for the stitching.   If drawer sticks or squeaks, put a little dry starch on the rubbing surfaces. This a better job than soap or paraffin because the starch wont become gummy and collect dust.

Hardened Glue                                     Soiled Blinds                           Scratched Glass
Hardened glue can often be softened to usable consistency again by placing a few drops of vinegar in the container.   A coat of white shoe polish will make the soiled or yellowed white tapes on your venetian blinds look like new.   Small scratches on glass table tops or on the glass screen of your T.V. set are often nicely removed with tooth paste,rubbed on with a soft cloth, and then polish off with another.

Usefull Handle                                     Lamp Shades                           Cracked Dishes
Clothes pin is a usefull handle in awkward chore of screwing cuphooks into the kitchen cupboard shelves.   Parchment lampshades can be cleaned by rubbing with a fresh piece of white bread or an art gum eraser, or with a cloth dipped in milk.   If you have a dish that is cracked, but not broken put in a pan of milk and boil for 45 minutes to obliterate the crack and strengthen the dish.

Brass Cleaner                                Fresh Cushions                     Unpleasant Smells
Mix one part salt, one part flour, and one part vinegar. This will form a paste that you can paint on and let sit untill it`s dry. Then just wipe it off and buff. It works on copper too, and is much easier than other types I`ve tried.   Cloves under furniture cushions keep things smeeling fresh and clean for a long time.   To get rid of unpleasent smells on leather, put object into a plastic bag with a cup of uncooked dripped coffe grinds, seal bag and leave it over night . Then throw away the coffee.

Stinky Leather                                Paint Odor                           Grass Stains
Tomato soup or paste will remove unpleasant smells on your leather soffa or other leather attire.   To remove the odor of fresh paint from a room, cut a few pieces of lemon into a pail of water, place in the room and allow this to remain for several hours.    To remove grass stains rub the garments with molasses , roll up for an hour, and then wash in warm water and soap suds.

Cedar Branches                                Wood Stain                           E-mail Your Tips
A few fresh cut cedar branches, put them in the bottom of your wooden blanket box or hope chest. Cover with tissue papers keeps everything smelling fresh and keeps out the moths.    When I was a young lad my in 1935 my dada use to mix chewing tobacco and varsol made a nice burgundy color to make it darker just ad more tobacco.   If you have a old wives tale tip from the past email us the tip and we will post it on this page.

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Disclaimer                                          First Degree Burns
Please use common sense and your own discretion, we are not responsible for anyone using old wives tips. You try these tips at your own risk            No blisters or open wounds. Have you ever burnt yourself cooking, hot grease splash, pour Javex over burnt area, instantly stops the burning sensation. Repeat as needed you wont belive it !!!

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