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From: Pudge99
Date: 11-19-2005, 02:40 PM (1 of 7)
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OK. I am turing into a yardsale junkie. Last week I found an old sewing machine cabinet. Today I found five cute little chairs. All need some tender loving care. I have never stripped furniture before. When I googled it I got an assortment of sites and they were all confusing. So I thought "What can it hurt to ask here?" Does anyone here refinish furniture? If so what do you find works best? Some of the chairs are painted and some are stained and varnished. I want to strip them all so I can match them to the furniture in the rooms they will be going into. Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated. 
Gina
Pictures of my successes and failures Pfaff 2040 Janome Mylock 134D Singer Futura CE-100 w/ Autopunch Husqvarna Viking 3D Sketch |
User: Pudge99
Member since: 10-30-2001 Total posts: 1375 |
From: Sancin
Date: 11-19-2005, 04:25 PM (2 of 7)
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Messy job, Pudge. Lots of chemicals available for stripping. Ask at your local hardware store and follow the instructions. I like Poly Strippa, but have used others when Poly Strippa not available. You do need to work in a well ventilated area as you will find out as soon as you open the container. Wear rubber gloves (are thick ones available for this, but ordinary kitchen gloves are ok). The stripper does burn the skin. I wear glasses but if you don't you should wear goggles. The stained chairs you will not be able to paint as the stain will not take the paint even if you get the varnish off (which strips with a different chemical than paint), but are you sure they are stained or are they the colour of the wood? Some finishes are nearly impossible to strip. I am currently (for 3 years) trying to strip a dresser but get down to a milk like finish that seems inbeded in the wood. I was going to oil stain it but seems I may have to paint it. Before you start make sure your working area is well protected with newspapers (the stripper eats through plastic) and have a waste container you can throw out. As you strip the finish off, dump the gunk into the container. Have lots of rags available as well and ensure you leave the stripper on the requesite time. The rags are to wipe off your stripping device after each use. The removed paint hardens so wipe immediately. After you finish you need to clean off the stripper by whatever method the label says. One year I did 12 pieces then took them outside and hosed them down. The water will raise the grain on the wood so dry it off quickly and let it dry well before painting. Really sand well if you want a slick and even finish to your paint. Need to sand 2 or 3 times. Fine sand between coats of paint with fine steel wool and wipe well before applying the next coat. Chair legs are hard to strip because of the curves, if they have them. One can purchase different stripping tools, including curved ones for curved services. I bought a heater to try to strip not long ago, but in another post Margo said it was a worthless tool. I have not tried it yet. Good Luck - be prepared for the stripping to take a far longer time than you expect it to. In some cities there are places you can take furniture to in which they 'dip' the items in a vat of stripper (lye, I believe). I did not like the effect I got when my partner took my dining room chairs there. PS If your chair legs are a little loose make sure you glue or whatever you are going to do before you paint. Really wiggle them as the stripper may have loosened some joints. *~*~*~* Nancy*~*~*~* " I try to take one day at a time - but sometimes several days attack me at once."
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User: Sancin
Member since: 02-13-2005 Total posts: 895 
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From: Chrysantha
Date: 11-19-2005, 10:51 PM (3 of 7)
I used to strip and refinish furniture...last time I took my stuff to a professional dip/stip place. It's takes a day or 2, they dip everything in a tank, that way you don't mess with the stuff. It also cleans away ALL the stain, so that it CAN be painted or restained. They dry it for you. Then you bring it home and do whatever you want with it...it didn't cost much. I didn't have to have a mess. Didn't make myself sick or burn myself. (of course now they have that new stuff you can buy that looks like jelly and doesn't smell OR burn). Allergies make me take the easy way out... 
Chrys
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User: Chrysantha
Member since: 09-06-2002 Total posts: 2414 
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From: LauraM62
Date: 11-20-2005, 10:36 AM (4 of 7)
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I can say too much fun! I have stripped furniture, kitchen cabinets, etc. And yes, dipping is easiest if possible. Other is the chemicals will burn, so cover, venilation, rubber gloves! Sometimes it will take several coats of the the stripper to remove layers of paint. After all the stripping, lighting dap wiping the item, then a light sanding. If you want to paint something that has been stained before use Kiltz primer before painting, the Kiltz primer made for blocking oil stain products! It worked wonderful on my kitchen cabinets I did. Took them from a dark walnut to a beautiful white. I also used a deep oil based paint though to keep oil paint with oil paint since they had been stained previously. Although I also used the Kiltz on some real wood paneling that had been stained, used the Kiltz 2 coats, then 2 coats latex interiox, turned those walls much brighter.
LauraM
SW Indiana If everyone cared and nobody cried; If everyone loved and nobody lied; If everyone shared and swallowed their pride; Then we'd see the day when nobody died --'If Everyone Cared' by Nickelback |
User: LauraM62
Member since: 08-10-2003 Total posts: 246 
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From: Sancin
Date: 11-20-2005, 04:58 PM (5 of 7)
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Laura, I had forgotten about Kiltz! It is a great product. I used it on some accoustical tiles that were water stained and they painted beautifly. I also used in on some walls that had bad oil stain from a medication my dog used to take. I guess Pudge, it is a matter of time usage for you.
*~*~*~* Nancy*~*~*~* " I try to take one day at a time - but sometimes several days attack me at once."
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User: Sancin
Member since: 02-13-2005 Total posts: 895
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From: Pudge99
Date: 11-21-2005, 09:41 AM (6 of 7)
Well time isn't really an issue. I don't have to have these done by any certain time. I am just bored with all my current crafts and wanted to learn something new. Once I get all this old furniture done I am going to take a whack at building something from scratch. I want to turn my donwstairs living room into a floor to ceiling library. Don't know if it will ever happen, but I am at least going to try it. Probably gonna do a lot of this  but ohhhhhh when I finally get it done.
Gina
Pictures of my successes and failures Pfaff 2040 Janome Mylock 134D Singer Futura CE-100 w/ Autopunch Husqvarna Viking 3D Sketch |
User: Pudge99
Member since: 10-30-2001 Total posts: 1375 |
From: Longblades
Date: 11-21-2005, 03:46 PM (7 of 7)
| My DH learned a neat trick for stripping wood furniture, broken glass. You basically just shave the paint or varnish or whatever it is off the wood. The advantages are: you get a really smooth finish that does not need sanding before you apply whatever first coat of your chosen finish and you can get into small parts of your work with the small corners of glass. Disadvantages: you can get cut pretty easily, you can gouge the wood, you cannot remove stain that has seeped into the pores of the wood. Oh, forgot an advantage: silly one but it is awfully satisfying to deliberately break an old unused window and actually get some use out of it. |
User: Longblades
Member since: 07-14-2005 Total posts: 182 |
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