Stripping Furniture

[carnation]

I'm trying to get a bureau stripped and repainted before the exchange students come and somehow I had the idea that I would apply the stripping agent and the paint would practically slide off without much effort. Wrong. We followed the instructions to the letter. Argh.

Does anybody have any tips?

[icelandelf]

I've only stripped furniture once and the only thing I can offer is patience and extra product. We were stripping a ladder back chairs (we picked up these chairs at a rummage sale) and it took several thick applications of the chemical stripper, some sawdust to absorb the sludge and a plastic putty knife to gently scrape. It also didn't help that it looked like there were several layers of paint that had just been painted over. Good luck!!!

[Benzgirl]

I've tried those strippers and they never have worked.

[PeppyGPhiB]

I usually just sand it, then re-paint.

[DaemonSeid]

Ok...I read the title and the first thing that came to mind was...why would anyone inquire about furniture used in a strip club.....?

[piphiangel314]

I also second the sanding it and then re-painting.

That may not be the "correct" way to do things. But I'm currently helping my aunt strip furniture for her nursery. I did that with a chest of drawers and it turned out fine.

But I felt that just skipping the chemical strippers was the better way to go. Good luck!

[UGAalum94]

This isn't going to be super-helpful because I can't remember the name of the product, but I had an experience using a gel based stripper that did pretty much what you described that you wanted: it turned the old finish into goop that I could just rub off with any kind of scratchy pad.

The old finish was a varnish and stain rather than paint, so maybe it's the paint that won't soften?

Before I committed to actually sanding the whole thing down, I might try a different product if you can. ETA: I do think that I had to sand before I re-finished, even with what I used, but it was just a light sanding to make sure you got the stripper stuff off, not the kind of sanding you'd have to do to actually consistently remove a finish all over.

[KSig RC]

I assume you're looking for this:

[alum]

The key with stripping agents is patience. Give the stuff plenty of time to permeate the wood so that the stains and paints will lift easily from the surface.

I always found it helpful to have a bowl of water somewhat nearby in case a fleck of stripper landed on my skin. I always wore long sleeves, pants, and rubber gloves.

[baci]

I am about to start the same project on two pieces of furniture, but I am really thinking of using a sanding machine.

Let me know how things turn out for you.