Stripping

[bigsteel15]

Get your mind out of there. This is a family forum
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Just picked up some family heirloom furniture. It's a dining suite that was probably store bought back in 45-47 as far as my great uncle's memory serves him. He's the only one left that would remember. It has a table (nice leaf arrangement), 6 chairs that need new seats and a smallish china hutch.
The finish appears to be either shellac or laquer of some sort. I was able to peel off a piece like an onion skin.
Does anyone know what finish would have been common and how to gently strip it? The pieces all need lots of TLC and refinishing seems necessary to do it right.
I haven't figured out yet if it's all solid or ply and of what material.
I may need some help with that also. I'm thinking either QS OAK or Mahogany at this point but it is stained dark so it's king of hard at this point.

[cabinetman]

Brian

It's possible for the finish to be lacquer, but most of the refinishes I got involved with could have been anything. It's possible that in its life it received a refinish, and could be anything. If it's a lacquer finish, mineral spirits will have no stripping ability. Lacquer thinner or acetone will remove finishes material of varnish and lacquer, if you are testing. Stripping shouldn't be done this way. No need to subject yourself to the fumes. And as for the MC based strippers, if you use them, make sure you're using chemical resistant gloves that go to your armpits, you're outside, and upwind in 50 mph gale forces.

For stripping I use a product called Citristrip, available at the BORG. It's basically a waterbase stripper that can be used inside and is not aromatically toxic. It smells like oranges. Very easy to use and much safer than the MC based strippers I've tried. It doesn't leave a residue and cleans up with water. I haven't had a bad problem with grain raising due to the application of water to the wood, and on the occasions I did, took very little sanding once being dried out.



"I'M NEVER WRONG - BUT I'M NOT ALWAYS RIGHT"

[Pappy]

I hate stripping furniture but on the rare occasion when I have to, I use a product by Jasco from Lowe's. It is a stripper and stain remover and does a fairly good job. Fairly harsh stuff that isn't to be used in close quarters.

Better solution is to find a local refinisher and pay them to strip the pieces for you. Money well spent!

[Rob3100]

I have also used Citristrip and have been very pleased with it. I used it last year to strip 102 years of varnish, paint and other crap off our dining room floor and it worked great. Best of all, I didn't have to send the wife and daughter out of state for a week. Hmm....

[Jeffrey Schronce]

I hate stripping furniture but on the rare occasion when I have to, I use a product by Jasco from Lowe's. It is a stripper and stain remover and does a fairly good job. Fairly harsh stuff that isn't to be used in close quarters.

I do tons of refinishing. Jasco is great, but Pappy has understated how NASTY this stuff can be. Make sure you are using the correct rubber gloves. It will dry pretty quickly so work in small areas. It will do the job though. I would not worry about being too harsh for the project. Rarely is any furniture that delicate.
Jasco will strip anything including the stain, however if you want to remove the finish only you simply find the solvent by testing. Try denatured alcohol, if it removes the finish then shellac. Then go down the list until you find out which solvent works. Again, with Jasco this will not matter.

[Wood_workur]

Definatly use a resporator- if you don't have one, buy one. THen do the stipping outdoors.

I use Kutzit, and it is preety good, but will not remove stain. (I use bleach for that.)