Re: Furniture Stripper

Don,

I'm working through a similar problem. What I'm finding out is that you first want to clean the piece with either turpentine or mineral spirits with a cloth rag, (I prefer mineral spirits because turpentine just simply stinks!). Lightly buff the chair with a clean cloth once the filth is removed from the chair and it is dry. This will tell you if you need to replace the finish. If you decide that this is the thing to do, then follow these steps: Try denatured alcohol first to see if you’ve got shellac. If this doesn’t remove the old varnish, try lacquer thinner to see if you got lacquer. If this doesn’t work, then it is varnish and that means modern strippers. Formbly’s seems to at least try to protect the patina. A plastic putty knife and no.3 steel wool rolled inside out seems to me to be the best tool when removing the old finish. Also, using a clean steel wool and cloth to wipe up the excess seems to work too. If you use a total stripper, mineral spirits or paint thinner seems to help clean up the stripped area.

If you decide that the finish is basically good but need some repair, then do the above test for the type of finish on a small “out of the way” spot on the chair. I am told that you can apply shellac and lacquer on the existing finish. Varnish will not bond to older coats and has to be removed and reapplied.

But regardless of what you do, never use water! Water will raise the grain, destroy the patina, and may cause warping. Many people say use mild soap and water when cleaning the piece, but I think that’s only when you already have a good finish to protect the wood.