Expert: Eileen Cronk - 2/9/2009

Question
The furniture we are trying to refinish, has been handed down from our mothers grandmother.  It is in amazing shape as far as the wood is concerned, but is in need of some overhaul from wear and tare.  I was told that something this old has an almost plastic like coating on top, for protection, and we starting sanding down a piece, which was not easy. We wanted to know if there were a particular stain remover that would assist us in getting down to a workable palate.

Answer
Hi Jennifer
Nice to hear from you.
Your 80 year old pieces will not have plastic on it unless someone applied it in later years.
It appears you want to refinish these old pieces..correct?
You cannot sand off a finish in this manner.
It must be stripped off with paint stripper.
So here are my instructions for doing this job.

INSTRUCTIONS FOR STRIPPING FURNITURE
The first thing you must do is assemble the material to do the job.
The stripper is the most important item.  
I am hoping you can get "CIRCA 1850" brand paint and varnish remover in your area.
Here is a link
http://www.jamestowndistributors.com/userportal/show_product.do?pid=1694&familyN...

MATERIAL LIST For the stripping stage.
1 gallon stripper
3 boxes of Bull Dog steel wool in medium grade.
One 3 inch oil based paint brush.
Rubber gloves (like you do dishes with), and a pair of cotton gloves inside the rubber ones.
People react differently to stripper. A lot of people feel heat through the rubber gloves, but I feel cold. Have no idea why.
An empty large coffee can. (for the stripper)
A couple of old tooth brushes.
Lots of old rags (I like t-shirts or cotton but for this first stage whatever you have)
Lots of newspaper to protect the garage floor
LOTS OF VENTILATION..A MUST
That's all you need to get started.
HERES WHAT YOU DO...
Work in sections.
Brush on the stripper with the brush. Stripper will quit working if it dries, so keep it wet till the finish softens.
Then take a rag and wipe this mess off.
Then another coat of stripper, rag off again, then while the wood is still wet, take the steel wool and rub with the grain till the wood is nice and clean.
Depending on the material you are removing, another coat of stripper is often needed but you will know this as you progress into the job.
Use the toothbrush in crevices.
Thats all there is to it ...move to another section and continue.
No other prep is necessary...and DO NOT SAND
When the stripping is complete, stain and apply your top coat.
Please let me know if anything is not 100% clear.
Good Luck and great question
Eileen