# Refinishing oak veneer table... Citristrip? Harsher chem stripper? Orbital? Or 1/4 sheet palm?



## Canofworms (Apr 15, 2014)

This table has the original factory finish and what appears to be a poly coat on top. 
If it were solid I would just use the stripper, but I don't want to pull up the veneer. 
If it were solid I would just use 60,80, 100, 150, 220, 320 sandpaper on it. 
The floor guy who lives across the street says to use my orbital sander and not my 1/4 sheet palm sander. 
I don't want to mess it up… 
Stripper would be less harsh on the veneer, but may release the glue and thus the veneer.
What say you?


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## JAAune (Jan 22, 2012)

A solvent-based stripper followed by solvent wash is the safest solution but don't use the dip method. Kutzit is good stuff but potent and you need to use it outdoors. It's too strong for indoor use unless you've got a proper refinishing setup in your shop.

Any sanding should be limited to a light hand-sanding with the grain with 220 sandpaper after the solvent wash is done and the wood is almost completely clean.


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## freddy1962 (Feb 27, 2014)

Excellent advice from JAAune.


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## Finisherman (May 3, 2013)

I agree with the above. Solvent based strippers are much less likely to harm the veneer than sanding. Follow the stripper with a wash of denatured alcohol or lacquer thinner to remove the residue from the stripper. Then hand sand with 220 grit sandpaper. A good solvent based stripper is unlikely to release the glue. Refrain from using any stripper that contains water. Also, avoid using a water rinse after the stripper, even if the label on the stripper tells you that you can. Using water on a veneer is always risky.


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## Canofworms (Apr 15, 2014)

Ok. So I used a lacquer finish stripper that mentioned veneers in the instructions. By the end I was using my large soft brush that I use on my car wheels to apply it quick and evenly. Then using a 1" putty knife to scrape up slices of the stuff. Followed by a second and third stripper application with a large stuff scrub brush. Two or three washes with mineral spirits. Then 220 sand and a 320 sand. 
It now looks like this


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## Canofworms (Apr 15, 2014)

After stain. You can see why I bothered with a veneer table.


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## Finisherman (May 3, 2013)

Good work. That table looks really nice.


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## Canofworms (Apr 15, 2014)

Thank you. 
I hit it with a few coats of stain with an extra two coats on the perimeter to even it up. 
Then three coats of wipe on satin poly followed by 0000 steal wool and then butchers wax.

I probably should have skipped the 0000 and went straight for the wax.


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## BinghamtonEd (Nov 30, 2011)

I like to apply the wax with 0000, just get some on the steel wool and work it in lightly. Let it dry and buff.


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## Canofworms (Apr 15, 2014)

I've done that with a wipe on poly with great success but I have no idea why it worked.
The table has many different directions of grain and I couldn't seem to get the wipe on poly to be absolutely perfect. 
I think I may try that with an oak table I just did with Danish oil.


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## BinghamtonEd (Nov 30, 2011)

I wonder if the varying grain directions caused the wipe-on poly to build up more in some places rather than others. Wiping across an open-grain wood like oak could leave more buildup than wiping with the grain.

Either way, it looks like you did a great job there.


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