Remove Paint and Varnish in 3 Easy Ways
Remove Paint and Varnish in 3 Easy Ways
Before you start repainting, you need to know that surface preparation is a very important step you must not forget. In fact approximately 90% of any repainting is surface preparation. This is because the finish is as good as the surface to which it is bonded. Basically there are 3 ways you can approach this. You can strip off old paint through:
Sometimes it takes all three. It always involves lots of muscle power and plenty of patience.
Shellac and Lacquer
Shellac and lacquer finishes are usually easy to remove. To remove shellac,use steel wool and dip it in denatured alcohol. Shellacis thinned with alcohol. In small areas, go over the surface of the wood,moving the steel wool pad in a circular motion. Give thealcohol plenty of time to soften the shellac. To remove lacquer, follow the sameprocedures as for shellac except use lacquer thinner instead of alcohol.
Thinners for shellac and lacquer removal are very pungent andcan be harmful to your hands. Always have plenty of ventilation or work outdoors when using thinners. Also wear rubber gloves. Take care as the thinners are also flammable.
If the thinners do not work adequately, then trypaint and varnish remover, applying it with a steel wool pad in a circularmotion. Remember to wear gloves.
Paint & Varnish – Paint Stripper
The first thing you need to do is to spread remover over the surface with a throw-away paint brush. "Lay" the remover on the surface instead of brushing it out evenly like paint. Use a tin to catch paint stripper drippings when working on vertical such as chair and table legs. Make sure you have adequate ventilation when using paint stripper.
Roll out steel wool to make a "rope" for removing finish from turnings and grooves. Use the rope shoe shine fashion for best removal results.
Abrasive Removal
Any type of finish can be removed with abrasive for example with sandpaper, steel wool or pumice but you will need to use quite a bit of muscle power for this purpose. Power sanding is the way to go, but whether by power or hand, you must be careful with abrasives, they can cut finish fast and ruin the wood below. Some rules of thumb:
Removing Paint with Heat
One common device used to remove paint and varnish is a heat gun. You must be extremely careful as the heat can be really hot and scorches easily. Fire or extreme heat can scorch the wood and removing the scorched spot with abrasive or scrapers can be a big problem. Take note that heat tends to work best on painted surfaces, rather than varnish, enamel, shellac, lacquer and so forth.
You can of course use heat for these finishes but the result may not be too effective. When working with heat, always have a bucket of water handy for small fires. You can douse any flame with the flat blade of a scraper or water if the fire gets going. Do not remove paint from exterior timber siding with a propane or blow torch. The flame can ignite wood and construction paper behind the siding where you don't immediately see it and can burn down the house.
Heat is a good finish remover, even if slow. Team a scraper with the heat and run the scraper just as soon as the finish has softened under the heat.
Before you start repainting, you need to know that surface preparation is a very important step you must not forget. In fact approximately 90% of any repainting is surface preparation. This is because the finish is as good as the surface to which it is bonded. Basically there are 3 ways you can approach this. You can strip off old paint through:
- Chemical removal
- Abrasives
- Heat
Sometimes it takes all three. It always involves lots of muscle power and plenty of patience.
Shellac and Lacquer
Shellac and lacquer finishes are usually easy to remove. To remove shellac,use steel wool and dip it in denatured alcohol. Shellacis thinned with alcohol. In small areas, go over the surface of the wood,moving the steel wool pad in a circular motion. Give thealcohol plenty of time to soften the shellac. To remove lacquer, follow the sameprocedures as for shellac except use lacquer thinner instead of alcohol.
Thinners for shellac and lacquer removal are very pungent andcan be harmful to your hands. Always have plenty of ventilation or work outdoors when using thinners. Also wear rubber gloves. Take care as the thinners are also flammable.
If the thinners do not work adequately, then trypaint and varnish remover, applying it with a steel wool pad in a circularmotion. Remember to wear gloves.
Paint & Varnish – Paint Stripper
The first thing you need to do is to spread remover over the surface with a throw-away paint brush. "Lay" the remover on the surface instead of brushing it out evenly like paint. Use a tin to catch paint stripper drippings when working on vertical such as chair and table legs. Make sure you have adequate ventilation when using paint stripper.
Roll out steel wool to make a "rope" for removing finish from turnings and grooves. Use the rope shoe shine fashion for best removal results.
Abrasive Removal
Any type of finish can be removed with abrasive for example with sandpaper, steel wool or pumice but you will need to use quite a bit of muscle power for this purpose. Power sanding is the way to go, but whether by power or hand, you must be careful with abrasives, they can cut finish fast and ruin the wood below. Some rules of thumb:
- If the finish is clear, i.e., varnish or shellac or lacquer, use paint remover, alcohol or lacquer thinner.
- If the finish is paint or enamel, you can use abrasives. If by hand, use the abrasive over a flat sanding block to avoid digging into the wood below the surface. If by power, use only an orbital type or random orbital sander. Do not use disc or belt sanders; both remove finish too fast. You can quickly go through the finish into the wood below and ruin the wood.
- For the first abrasive cut on thick finishes, use open-coat sandpaper. Once the finish is "thin", switch to a finer, closed-coat paper.
- Steel wool has a thin grease coating necessary in its manufacture. Be sure to wipe readied surfaces with solvent before finishing if you use steel wool.
- Almost any surface must be sanded lightly after old finish has been removed. Use a fine-grit, closed-coat abrasive on a sanding block.
- Emery paper is used in metal finishing. It is not a wood abrasive.
- Remove all sanding residue before finishing. Use a vacuum, or solvent such as turpentine or alcohol.
Removing Paint with Heat
One common device used to remove paint and varnish is a heat gun. You must be extremely careful as the heat can be really hot and scorches easily. Fire or extreme heat can scorch the wood and removing the scorched spot with abrasive or scrapers can be a big problem. Take note that heat tends to work best on painted surfaces, rather than varnish, enamel, shellac, lacquer and so forth.
You can of course use heat for these finishes but the result may not be too effective. When working with heat, always have a bucket of water handy for small fires. You can douse any flame with the flat blade of a scraper or water if the fire gets going. Do not remove paint from exterior timber siding with a propane or blow torch. The flame can ignite wood and construction paper behind the siding where you don't immediately see it and can burn down the house.
Heat is a good finish remover, even if slow. Team a scraper with the heat and run the scraper just as soon as the finish has softened under the heat.
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