How to Strip Old Furniture
Many people have antique furniture in their families, passed down through the generations, or perhaps they have a piece of old furniture that requires restoration. You easily can remove old laminate and paint to reveal clean wood underneath. Once you strip the old laminate and paint, the furniture is ready for you to restore and repaint it to give an old piece an updated look.
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Things You'll Need
- Old towels
- Varnish or paint remover
- Protective gloves
- Paint brush
- Wood scraper
- Furniture sander
- 220-grit sandpaper
- Dust mask
- Heat gun
- Bucket
Instructions
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1
Take the furniture outside. If the piece is too big to transport, place old towels all around the furniture, covering any carpet or bare floor sections. If inside, open the windows. Make sure the area is well ventilated. If stripping an old dresser, remove the drawers first.
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2
Shake the can of varnish or paint remover with the top still firmly on. Put on protective gloves, and dip a paint brush into the remover, being careful not to use too much. Apply a thin layer of remover onto the furniture in even strokes in small areas at a time. You must remove the paint before the chemical stripper dries.
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3
Wait a few minutes for the remover to oxidize, and work off the old paint and varnish with a furniture wood scraper, being careful not to chip or scrape the wood underneath. Repeat in other sections of the furniture until you have removed all the old paint and varnish.
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4
Sand the old furniture. Use an electric furniture sander or 220-grit sandpaper to strip the old furniture. Put on a dust mask to prevent the inhalation of sand dust, and sand the furniture evenly to remove old varnish and paint.
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Rough the surface just enough to reveal the natural wood underneath and to bring out the beauty of the natural grain, which works best on blond wood. If the old furniture is dark wood, do not rough the surface, but remove enough of the top layers of paint or veneer to reveal the rich, dark wood color underneath.
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Strip varnish or paint from old furniture with a heat gun. Hold the heat gun 6 to 8 inches above the surface of the furniture. Wait for the paint to bubble, remove the flame and quickly scrape off the bubbling paint with a paint scraper. Place the removed paint into a cold bucket of water.
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Tips & Warnings
Take care not to hold the heat gun in one spot for too long for this may cause the furniture to catch on fire.
Make sure to use the heat gun away from flammables, such as curtains.
Do not use a heat gun if there are towels on the floor.
A heat gun is best used when stripping old furniture outdoors on a concrete surface.
