Stripping old furniture

Unregistered39

Apologies if there's a 'Stripping old furniture' forum but couldn't find one.

I have what was probably once a beautiful dining room table but fifty-odd years in my rented flat (not all mine!) has left it pretty 'sticky' looking. There are also four once-nice wooden chairs that have layers and layers of brown matt paint on them (no idea what they were thinking). Is there a good, reliable way of bringing them back to their former glory to varnish or should I find another hobby? Don't mind putting in as much grease as my skinny elbows can muster...

slowburner

There are three methods for stripping paint: chemical, thermal and mechanical.
All methods are time consuming, and all of them incur a bit of expense.

Chemical stripping involves using something like 'Nitromors'. You apply the thick liquid, allow it to soften the paint, and then you scrape it all off.
This method is the most expensive. Nitromors is not cheap, and you might need a lot, if there are several layers of paint.
An alternative chemical solution would be to bring the furniture to a professional who could dip the furniture in a vat of solution. This was all the rage a while back, when people stripped old pine doors. It's a quick and very complete way of doing it but there is always a risk of the solution dissolving the glue in the joints and causing wobbly furniture.

Thermal stripping involves using heat to soften the paint so it can be scraped off. A heat gun is the tool for this job. This is my first choice technique. Of course you would need to buy or borrow a heat gun. DIY type guns can be picked up for around €30-50.

Mechanical stripping is the most labour intensive, dull and slowest method. It is simply the use of paint scrapers and sand paper. It could take forever - definitely not recommended.

Paint stripping is a dirty business, whichever method you use.
There are also hazards involved. With chemical stripping, you need plenty of ventilation and protection for your hands and eyes - it can cause severe skin irritation.
Thermal stripping obviously poses a risk of fire.
A very important consideration is the nature of the paint itself. Some older paint was lead oxide based and is very toxic.
If there is lead paint involved you would need to be very careful.

So there you have it. It won't be quick, it won't be easy and there will be cost involved; so you need to ask yourself if the furniture is worth the trouble - particularly seeing as it belongs to the flat.
Might the landlord pay to get the furniture dipped?
An obvious alternative would be to paint over the matt brown gunk.

Unregistered39

Thanks so much slowburner for taking the trouble to write all of that. Sounds like a bit of a challenge. Would definitely be going for the cheapest option since it's not my furniture and no chance unfortunately that landlord will pay to have it dipped!

recipio

Unregistered39 wrote: »

Thanks so much slowburner for taking the trouble to write all of that. Sounds like a bit of a challenge. Would definitely be going for the cheapest option since it's not my furniture and no chance unfortunately that landlord will pay to have it dipped!

I'd make sure the table and chairs are worth stripping first. You could well find pine or beech under all that paint and frankly its not a good look. Don't forget a lot of furniture was made to be painted, especially Irish kitchen furniture.

slowburner

I'll second that.

Unregistered39

On closer inspection I reckon the table is worth doing but not the chairs. Thanks guys!

jack of all

One or two tips for you if using stripper (I've stripped lots of wood, carvings etc with good results). If using nitromors it's important not to allow it to dry out while it's working. To this end after you brush it on thickly, cover the area with some cling film- this prevents the solvents from evaporating quickly. Steel wool, nylon pot scrubs and those small wire brushes you can buy in the "pound" shops are great for removing paint from detailed areas.

S.L.F

slowburner wrote: »

An alternative chemical solution would be to bring the furniture to a professional who could dip the furniture in a vat of solution. This was all the rage a while back, when people stripped old pine doors. It's a quick and very complete way of doing it but there is always a risk of the solution dissolving the glue in the joints and causing wobbly furniture.

Actually the reason the joints fall apart is because the wood gets wet expands and the wedges fall out.

Some of the companies I've come across literally shove furniture into a bath for a week to get them clear of paint...which destroys them completely.

Not all finishes come off in a bath either.

There was a company called Kwikstrip some years ago which used a bath of nitromorse type stuff and he had a team of guys who were removing the finish off pieces of furniture after they were out of the bath.

He needless to say is long since finished in business.

If you are going to get a piece of furniture dipped the best thing to do is remove as much of the finish as you can get off it first concentrate on the moulds and any lines that are on it or any large lumps.

Then get it almost complete and when you have the vast majority of paint off then get it dipped for a few minutes only and the dip guy will spray it and you get it back spotless (assuming you get it almost perfect first time).

This is the important bit!

Never get venerred work dipped in a bath!

jack of all wrote: »

One or two tips for you if using stripper (I've stripped lots of wood, carvings etc with good results). If using nitromors it's important not to allow it to dry out while it's working. To this end after you brush it on thickly, cover the area with some cling film- this prevents the solvents from evaporating quickly. Steel wool, nylon pot scrubs and those small wire brushes you can buy in the "pound" shops are great for removing paint from detailed areas.

Adding my bit here.

The cheapest place I've come across to buy nitromorse is Woodies which is about €40 for 5 litres as compared to some places which charged me €80.

The one my old boss always insisted on for stripping paint was the thick option however he was not the one who was doing the work I personally found the furniture grade nitromorse better for removing paint.

When I'm stripping thigs I use a heat gun first to get the majority of paint off first and then use nitromorse wire brush and all the rest.

If I have to cover something I used to use newspaper.

Put a layer of nitromorse on then put a second one on then put newspaper on then a half hour later rough the area up again and reapply and put the same newspaper back on again.