Furniture Strippers
DIY Furniture Repair
Methylene Chloride
Chemical removers contain solvents such as toluene, methanol, acetone, and methylene chloride. Other chemicals, such as di-basic esters and N-methyl pyrrolidone are also used and are considered safer because of their slow evaporation rate, among other things. Because methylene chloride is one of the strongest finish remover chemicals, the more of it in the formula, the more effective the stripper will be; furniture strippers with little or no methylene chloride usually work slower and are classified as solvent wood refinishers rather than finish removers. Methylene chloride is also nonflammable, which means the more of it contained in a furniture stripper, the less flammable the stripper. If a remover contains methylene chloride and is labeled nonflammable, you can be sure it contains enough of the chemical to be fast and effective in removing most finishes.
Paint and varnish removers are available in liquid, semi-paste, or paste form, so the consistency can be anything from a runny liquid to a jelly. The liquid remover works best for horizontal surfaces. Paste or semipaste works well for vertical surfaces due to its clinging ability.
Post-Stripping Wash-Down
Some furniture strippers contain waxes, which slow down their evaporation time, allowing them to work on the finish surface. These removers require the furniture to be washed down with a solvent such as mineral spirits or lacquer thinner after the finish is removed to clean off any wax residue left on the wood from the remover.
Other removers contain detergents, and require washing the surface with water after the finish is dissolved. Because water can raise wood grain and loosen joints and veneer, you may want to consider using a nonwater-wash remover.
There are also removers, called no-wash removers, that claim to require no after-wash. Although it's not necessary to use an after-wash with such removers, a good solvent wash with lacquer thinner will often remove any stripping residues or finish traces that still may be left on the wood. This will save you both time and trouble in the next step of preparing the finish.
Reduced Hazard Strippers
Besides conventional chemical finish removers, you can buy reduced hazard, or so-called safe furniture strippers. These formulations are nonflammable, nontoxic, and won't burn or harm your skin. They emit little or no odor; a few produce a slight, pleasant fragrance such as citrus. Some major name brands use large amounts of water in their formulations, so they are not particularly good for use on furniture. Check the label for specifics concerning the type of finish a particular product is designed to strip. Some, such as those containing N-methyl pyrrolidone, are better on furniture finishes like shellac and lacquer than others.
The trade-off for being safer is that the removers are usually slow-working and expensive. If you're concerned with any problems or hazards related to the use of harsh solvents or chemicals and you don't mind spending a little extra time and money, reduced hazard strippers may be the way to go.
Wood Refinisher
Wood refinishers are solvents meant to be used to dissolve a finish enough to partially remove it while leaving a thin film of the original finish on the wood. Doing this preserves the original color and patina of the wood and eliminates many of the steps involved in refinishing. They will work only on shellac and lacquer.
The difficulty in this method is being able to remove only part of the finish while leaving enough of it on the wood surface to provide a thin, even coat. Wood refinisher solvents will also work to remove the finish totally, leaving the surface clean and ready to coat if you use enough of the solvent and scrub the wood enough. These solvents are slower-acting than full-fledged finish removers, produce strong fumes, and are extremely flammable. Unless you plan to leave part of the original finish on the wood, a finish remover, rather than a refinisher, may be your best choice.
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Source: B.Hingley
