Restoring Wood Furniture : How to Remove Old Wood Finish

[szametha]

be sure to clean the wood thoroughly with solvents after stripping, for any dried stripper remaining can seriously weaken the new coat of varnish. Be very careful when sanding after stripping. Dust of remaining dried stripper in the air can burn your eyes and soft tissue of nasal cavity and mouth.

[jws54]

I have my taping knife for scraping off the finish using a heavy coat of paraffin base stripper (heavy body).

do the top first . I keep garbage pail close & scrape junk into trash,. I use lacquer thinner next to "wash the pc" use #1 steel wool. go with the grain. I use more stripper on tough spots with number 1 steel wool. No cross grain scratching and wash with thinner and wool again, Wipe down with the grain using lac. thinner. and a rag or Bounty towels.with grain.keep it wet & don't stop.

[MatthewRaw]

I agree. This video has little to do with it's title. I want to know HOW, not a history of a piece of furniture. An unusually poor video for Expert Village... well below their usual standard.

[fernando5821]

@MatthewRaw It's simple chemistry. Most, if not all, pre 20th century furniture was finished in wax or shellac. What's a solvent for shellac? Methyl Hydrate. Wax? Paint thinner usually does the trick.

[bluesmanreturns]

really lame video he should talk about what h eis doing instead glue and non related stuff

[mommy80908]

What is he scraping off??

[forpetessake38]

I want to remove the polyurethane finish on my guitar. Would it be easier/better to sand it or to use a paint remover/thinner?

[rexinre]

Actually you would want to use both. First use paint stripper, then scrape it off going toward you not away (opposite of the video above) going with the grain. Then you want to sand it using med to fine sand paper to remove the remaining finish the paint remover didn't get. Try this first on a scrap piece or a not so obvious part. I use this method on all the furniture I refinish and it works great.

[jws54]

@rexinre I usually go away from me so I don't get that hot stripper on my pants or shoes. I keep it wet throughout using more stripper and steel wool #1 or 0 and more stripper on tough spots. Lac thnr on the whole with steel wool and wash down with more lac thnr and Bounty towels. Keep it going, no lunch, no phone calls.

wear good gloves and long sleeve shirt and eye protection or facemask, long pants too. With the grain, like you say. I just don't use much paper if the wood is okay.

[fernando5821]

@rexinre Nope, you don't sand after stripping; you use solvent to remove the vestiges. Sanding will make you life a living hell if you want the finished product to look excellent.

[MarcoTUV]

@forpetessake38 man polyurethane varnish is the most dificult varnish to remove, im not sure remover or thiner can help you should apply remover but try in a small area of you guitar, you will see how it works but parcially i think the best way is sanding, be patient Polyurethane finishing is very hard.

you can try with car paint remover but always try in a small areas and good luck