Cabinets, Furniture, Woodworks/refinsh chairs

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Expert: - 8/12/2009


Question
How can I tell if I have lacquer or varnish finish on the old chairs.

Answer
Hi Ben
Nice to hear from you.
Its fairly easy.
A lacquer finish will soften by wiping a tiny hidden area with lacquer thinner.
A varnish finish will not. The only thing that will remove varnish is paint stripper.
A shellac finish can be removed with denatured alcohol.
But all three finishes can be removed with paint stripper so if you are stripping old furniture you really don't need to ID the finish unless you want to duplicate it after stripping off the old.
Great question
Regards
Eileen

Cabinets, Furniture, Woodworks

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Eileen Cronk

Expertise

Hi..I can answer most questions about the repairing,stripping and refinishing of all your old furniture and wood items(the things we call antiques)I can give advice about what to buy/avoid at auctions/flea markets. I do not give appraisals on antiques.

Experience

I have been refinishing antiques for the past 30yrs. While I have taken several courses over the years,I have found that "hands on" learning is the best teacher. Perhaps I can help you avoid some of the mistakes I made while learning.

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