Expert: Eileen Cronk - 4/4/2008

Question
thank you for your response,If you could give me some tips on stripping the paint i would appreciate it.Thank You Bob

Answer
Hi Again Bob
Here are my stripping instructions that have been modified for your heavily painted Hoosier

INSTRUCTIONS FOR STRIPPING BOBS HOOSIER
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...
Bob it is my opinion that you need this type of stripper to remove these layers of cracked paint.

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...
First remove everything that can be removed from the cupboard..doors drawers etc.
Work in sections. Perhaps one side of the cupboard at a time.
Brush on the stripper with the brush. Stripper will quit working if it dries, so keep it wet till the finish softens.
You will see the paint bubble and crack.
Take the scraper and scrape this mess off.
Then another coat of stripper, scrape off again,
Then another coat of stripper. Wipe this mess off with a rag.
Then while the wood is still wet, take the steel wool and rub with the grain till the wood is nice and clean.
Use the toothbrush in crevices.
Thats all there is to it ...move to another section and continue.
At this point you will know if your cupboards was painted at the factory because you will see the underlying wood has a paint haze that cannot be removed. Its soaked into the wood and turned it a cloudy white.
If you are lucky, and the cupboard was not painted it will have a clear coat finish that has protected the wood from paint absorbsion.
I hope you hit the jackpot LOL.
If the wood proves lovely under the paint just continue stripping
No other prep is necessary...and DO NOT SAND
If you find a paint grade hoosier, you can decide how many coats of the paint you want to remove.
Perhaps just the top coat that is cracked will allow for a nice paint job.
You will understand this once you get working on paint removal.
Its a miserable job and on multiple coats, its usually one layer at a time.
I have seen paint strippers advertised that claim to remove all layers of paint in one application, and perhaps they do..who knows.
No harm in asking around but where I live in Canada we can only get these things mail order and I have never bothered because years ago I paid my dues stripping paint and now refuse to do any jobs involving this. Like I said its a miserable job.
Bob I in no way want to discourage you doing this job.
This is only one piece of furniture...not many LOL
And either way this goes you will still have a lovely old Hoosier.
Please let me know if anything is not 100% clear.
Regards
Eileen