Stripping stain & urethane...

[dbhost]

My kitchen cabinets are a frightful mess and I am refinishing them. I don't particularly want to sand them down for fear of messing up the profiles and details, so I am trying to strip the urethane and stain using Citrustrip but the process is going sloooooooooooow....

Just wondering if there are any pointers anyone can give me on this...

I already did one door, a test piece and basically was able to use a dampened steel wool pad to scrub off most of the softened stain / urethane gunk, but some remained, so on went another coat of stripper...

Hopefully I can get these doors done tomorrow so that I can get them restained, urethaned, and remounted...

FWIW, I will be just sanding down the face frames. No fancy profiles, sander should make quick work of the stuff...

[wardprobst]

One thing you can do is to apply stripper, cover the piece with it then wrap it in plastic wrap. Methylene chloride based strippers would be faster but they are more toxic by far.
Good Luck,
DP

[capncarl]

When I was using stripper on cars I discovered an additive that "supercharged" the stripper, available at the car paint pro shops. Granted this was different from what you are using but ther might be something you can add to give more kick. It's worth a few searches.
capncarl

[jabe]

I make my own with 50% lacquer thinner and 50% denatured alcohol mix only the amount you will use, not advisable to store this mixture. Brush it on and scrub with a #3 steel wool. Use a large drip pan under your work so you can catch the dripping, dip your steel wool in it to reuse it. Work in a well ventilated area with no sparks or flame near by, wear eye protection, solvent resistance gloves and respirator. Do a final wash with just lacquer thinner, let dry overnight. This mixture does not raise the wood grain also it doesn't affect the glued joints very much, so light sanding with 220 grit and you should be ready to reapply your new stain/finish of your choice. Leave all the waste/residue out to evaporate/dry then dispose properly. Only draw back is these solvents are harsh and very flammable but it works well.

[dbhost]

A little patience, and some scrubbing with some #2 steel wool and it's coming off... I am getting an effect that is somewhat like spalting though as the stripper does its work. Not necessarily a bad thing. This kitchen project is going to be, unique for sure!