What's the most efficient way to strip paint from wooden furniture with lots of curves and fiddly bits?
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Answers:
For a "relatively" easy DIY ,Look for one of the newer heavy paste strippers.
Less smelly & toxic than most solvent types.
look for the one that you wrap with plastic film after you apply it. ( home centers)
The "paste" strippers lift the paint off in relatively dry , thick, patches & does not create the "mud" you get w/ gel or liquid
strippers.
If you're lucky there will be shellac or varnish under the paint which will help release the paint.
Ornate pieces may take a couple of applications to get most of the heavy stuff off.
Please avoid sanding, it will dull the detail of the "fiddly bits" .
A gel or liquid stripper can be used for details.
Bronze wool is best since it does not scratch the wood or leave "hairs" behind.
Toothbrushes & bamboo skewers are good for picking out
tight spots & crevices.
A final cleaning with a liquid stripper & then mineral spirits.
A commercial stripping shop will not be able to do much better & generally charge more for an ornate piece because of the detailing.
So, basically , avoid sanding ,.metal tools & take your time.
The devil is in the details so the better your prep the better your finish.
Best regards
Sand it. Takes a long time, but strippers are a gooey mess.
Use a Dremel tool.
Get a scrubbing brush with REAL BRISTLES ...the brown bristles, not the nylon type. Gloves, goggles, open space to work in. Just normal nitromors stripper, use brush to work into/out of corners etc. Do not allow to dry on. When the paint has broken down, wash with Sugar Soap. Any little bits can be removed individually. When finished, the wood will have a 'furry' feel. Light sand off on the wood, use wire wool for curves and mouldings.
Take it to a furniture refinisher and have them dip it for you. That will take off all the old finish. Then you can lightly sand and refinish easily.
Dad's paint and varnish remover. Most paint stores will carry this product. When you purchase a can it will come with a spray bottle. Spray and let sit for a while, you can cover the piece with plastic and let it sit longer. The plastic will help slow the evaporation. Take course steel wool and rub all areas you sprayed. It may take a couple attempts. When you have reached an acceptable finish, rinse with denatured alcohol before staining ect.
I just refinished a coffee table that was actually a Gog that turned.My father was on his death bed dying of cancer but i finished the table before he passed away.I bought everything and tried everything and the only thing that worked was hard labor and plenty blisters from sandpaper.My father ask me to finish it before he died and i did it.Believe me there is no easy way or special removers like advertised.Sandpaper is the #1 key to refinishing your piece of furniture
The easiest way is to take it to a commerial frunitire stripper who can drip strip the pieces. He can give you prices pretty much on the spot. The advantage here is that the chemicals do the work or lossening the varnish,paint, stains - etc. that would be so time consuming to do by hand.
Down side, chemical stripping dries out the wood as it works on removing the finishes from the pieces being stripped. So you'll want to allow time for these pieces to regain lost moisture before re-finishing.
I would NOT recommend applying oil to the piece to speed the rejuvination / rehydration process. Oiling will make the raw wood LOOK great but the oil blocks water from entering the cells of the wood to really hydrate the wood all the way thru.
I would consult with the stripper about moisture loss and his recomendations on hydration, and how long you should wait to re-finish. Good Luck.
The most effective will be a liquid gel type chemical stripper...be certain to 'elevate' the furniture above the very well protected floor... i use layers of newspapers for covering ...directions are rather straight forward on each can... toughest for me is waiting to allow the stripper to do it's job... use an old toothbrush to get in those intricate areas ... likely it will require several applications as the epa rules have greatly influenced the chemical content of strippers that are available to retail customers... many of the original formulations that really work well are only available to the professional trade... good luck
a hand sander and a dremil tool and lots of time...i am taking a break from that job this second...
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