# Stripping old wooden furniture



## Delengowski (Mar 16, 2012)

Okay I'm stripping the paint off of my sisters furniture in her room(was once our grandmothers) the plan is to strip the paint, sand off of the old the lacquer with a coarse then hit it up with a very fine sand paper before painting it. This is my first time ever doing a project like this, I have painted, sanded, but never stripped before. currently this is my project








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I still have bits of paint everywhere, but what really brings me here is the paint smearing thats all over








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Now I have a lot of left of residue from the paint stripper; should I just wipe that way with a cloth? I bought mineral spirits and steel wool (medium) but I don't think I'll need it. And that paint smearing can I just sand that off when I do the lacquer?

Thanks


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## chrisstef (Mar 3, 2010)

Id try using a card scraper on the flat surfaces. Much easier than sanding. Restoring amd strpping furniture is a tough job requiring a ton of patience. It a gorgeous piece of furniture tgat youre bringing back to glory. Good luck


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## tenontim (Feb 24, 2008)

For future reference, a heat gun and putty knife and/or small wire brush works really well for removing the bulk of the paint. Then you just have to use stripper to get the paint from the areas that you can't get to with the putty knife or wire brush.


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## lunn (Jan 30, 2012)

Try Kutzit brand remover it's liquid. I hate the gells. At this stage your at now. Use a small paint brush and apply stripper let it set a few mins. dip the brush again and scrub the area and wipe off. Only do a small area at a time abt. 8"x8" Keep the stripper clean never pour more than it takes for the area. For the detail areas keep applying till most of it is gone. Then i use a small soft brass brush. When all the paint/finish is gone pour the stripper onto 0000 steel wool and give it a good washing that will remove the rest of the resadue Never Never sand. If you sand even a small spot it will stick out like a sore thumb. Patience is the best tool for the job.


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## Tennessee (Jul 8, 2011)

I partially agree with lunn. I LOVE the gels, and make sure your paint stripper has methylene chloride in it. Put on a small area, as lunn says, let it sit, scrap it to the next area, let it sit, and keep repeating until you realize the paint stripper finally is stopping, then remove and put on a new batch. It is amazing how many times you can move it and it still works.
In the pictures, it is obvious the paint remover took off the thinner coats of paint, but you also got into the lacquer in areas. A gel will sit, has a really slow evaporation rate, and does the job much better than a liquid.

Finally, people hate this, but hopefully you are outside, because I would wash with lacquer thinner. It will cut through both the stripper, any remaining lacquer, and give you a nice wood finish. You can put it liberally on a t-shirt and wipe, and it should remove the remaining finishes, or use steel wool as a wiper.
Lunn is right when he says never sand. Also, the 0000 steel wool can be used when doing the lacquer thinner wash-off. No water, please…it will raise grain and possibly ruin the wood.


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## huff (May 28, 2009)

To answer your question about smeared paint left over after you do the stripping I have to agree with lunn about using Kutzit liquid stripper to wash off the last of any paint and lacquer. I like the gells to start with if the paint is really thick, but I have better luck cleaning out the final details with the licquid stripper and some steel wool. Keep the stripper clean and it will do a great job getting rid of the smeared paint and lacquer. Wipe off excess with rag. You do want to wash down the project with something like lacquer thinner or acetone to remove all residue. All strippers have wax in it to help reduce the drying time, so you really want to wash off all residue before you apply a new finish (especially if you are going back with a clear finish like lacquer. Lacquer hates wax and will react instantly if there is any wax left.) You shouldn't have to be as careful since you plan on repainting your project.


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## kattygomes (Nov 22, 2012)

Yes.. A card scraper is the best option for cleaning the surface of furniture. It cleans the spots of old paint very easily. But always remember that never use the scraper too hardly otherwise it can harm the surface of furniture.


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## dhazelton (Feb 11, 2012)

Heat guns are fine for thick paint removal IF you don't care about the inevitable scorch. Carbide blade in a paint scraper or paste stripper to get the heavier stuff off (remove with wide putty knife) followed by rubbing with fine steel wool dipped in a pan or time can of the liguid stripper, sometimes called 'After-wash" on the can. Since you are repainting you don't need to worry about a little residue left in the pores. You'll get to a point where a quarter sheet or third sheet electric sander will take over, starting with 150 or 220 grit paper depending on how much paint is still left behind.


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## JAAune (Jan 22, 2012)

I generally use semi-paste stripper to do the heavy work but prefer a liquid stripper for the end where I use a stiff floor scrubbing brush to clean off the surface. A scraper is great for flat surfaces.

After stripping, everything gets washed successively using green Scotch Brite and mineral spirits, lacquer thinner and alcohol.

Sometimes I will sand and scrape afterwards but if I'm trying to keep the patina all the cleaning has to be done with stripper and solvents.


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## RussellAP (Feb 21, 2012)

I'd throw some 40 grit on a ROS and make that job on the surface take about 5 minutes to a beautiful bare wood. A mouse with 60 grit will get the rest (second pic) but don't push too hard.


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## dhazelton (Feb 11, 2012)

That dresser is veneer - don't use 40 grit. 40 grit is for floors.


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## RussellAP (Feb 21, 2012)

Ah, didn't know it was veneer.


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