If you need help ventilating the area, use fans to circulate air. Place a box fan in the nearest window to help blow air out, for instance. The stripping process gets a little messy, so working in a controlled environment helps protect your home in addition to ventilating the fumes from the stripping product you use.
The oldest chemical stripping products contain something called methylene chloride. It’s very strong, so it’s nothing to take chances with. There are newer chemical strippers that don’t use methylene chloride and at least don’t smell quite as bad as the old ones. Solvents like lacquer thinner also are pretty strong, so keep your safety gear on. The same goes from protecting yourself against debris while you’re sanding.
All of the protections you need are available online or at most hardware stores. Pick them up while you’re getting the products you need to strip away a finish. Drop cloths are great for covering large areas like on upholstered furniture. You can use straight pins to hold the drop cloth to the fabric. Damage prevention is part of the process. It may not seem like a big deal now, but taking the proper precautions now means fewer mistakes to fix later.
It’s best to focus on treating one area at a time. That way, the chemical won’t dry out before you’re done with it. Chemical products are meant for paint, varnish, and polyurethane. If you have another type of finish, you do not need to use such a harsh product.
Every product is different, so the manufacturer may instruct you to wait a different length of time before continuing. If the surface coating doesn’t crack and bubble, wait a little longer. You could try laying a plastic bag or drop cloth over the wood to keep the stripping chemical wet while it soaks in.
Use a plastic scraper if you have one. While you can use a metal one, it is more likely to scratch the wood. If the chemical stripper dries before you finish, add more and let it soak into the wood again. It doesn’t hurt the wood, but you can’t remove the finish when it’s dry.
Soaking the steel wool and brush could help you remove stubborn spots.
For some products, you will need mineral spirits from a hardware store. It’s a refined type of paint thinner. Dampen a rag in it, then scrub the gunk off the wood. If you’re using a particularly harsh type of stripping product, you may need to get lacquer thinner. It is similar to mineral spirits and applied the same way.
If the finish turns cloudy from either the denatured alcohol or lacquer thinner, then it is a half and half type. It is a combination of shellac and lacquer, so mix equal amounts of the solvents to remove it. If the finish doesn’t react to either solvent, it is varnish or paint. Paint is easy to spot, but varnish is clear like shellac and lacquer.
These products dry very quickly, so tackle a project in sections. You’re better off perfecting each part of a wood object one by one instead of scrubbing them all at the same time.
If the solvent doesn’t seem to affect the finish at all, you may be using the wrong type for the finish you have. When the solvent works properly, it dissolves the finish instead of softening it and making it look cloudy.
As the rag becomes dirty, replace it with a new one to avoid spreading the old finish.
For very stubborn spots, switch to steel wool. Try using grade 00 very fine steel wool for hardwood and grade 000 extra fine steel wool for softwood.
You don’t need to neutralize the solvent or do anything else to clean the wood after it has been stripped. Once the wood looks consistently dull and dry, you’re done with the finish.
Any debris left behind could get sanded into the wood, so make sure you get all of it before continuing. For stubborn stains, use something stronger, such as by mixing 1⁄4 cup (59 mL) of vinegar into the soapy water. You could also pick up a commercial wood cleaner from a nearby general store.
Any debris left behind could get sanded into the wood, so make sure you get all of it before continuing. For stubborn stains, use something stronger, such as by mixing 1⁄4 cup (59 mL) of vinegar into the soapy water. You could also pick up a commercial wood cleaner from a nearby general store.
You could also use a sanding block or sandpaper. These options aren’t as strong as a machine sander, but they also aren’t quite as quick or consistent. They’re better for small areas that can only be reached by hand. If you don’t have an orbital sander, you could also use a power sander. Keep in mind that it’s stronger than an orbital sander, so it chews through paint and even wood more quickly.
If you aren’t having any luck dealing with the finish, switch to something coarser like 150 or 80-grit sandpaper. Coarser sandpaper is more likely to damage the wood if you’re not careful with it, so work slowly.
Wipe the wood clean each time you change to a different grit of sandpaper. If you take a break between steps, also take time to wipe down the wood so you don’t grind debris into it.
Always start with the lowest grit sandpaper you plan on using and end with the highest one. The 220-grit sandpaper will always come at the end when stripping wood if you need it.
