There are 3 simple steps to stripping wood furniture yourself. This essential recovery technique will allow you to give an old piece of furniture a facelift or give it back its rawest appearance, without breaking the bank.
The technique is always the same, a little patience and elbow grease are required. I was able to experiment with it recently by trying out an old style console and it worked well. Let me tell you:
- 1brush medium in size, i.e. between 30 and 80 mm in diameter, synthetic fiber bristles will do the trick and will not be damaged too much on contact with the stripper.
- 1 can of stripper for wood (from €11.50 for 500 ml on Amazon).
- steel wool (medium to fine) that will be used to remove the stripper. Available at a hardware store, any DIY store or for free from a plumber or cabinetmaker friend who uses them regularly.
1. Stripper application
With a brush , I applied the stripper regularly on the surface to be stripped. Its role is to soften the varnish, so it had to let it penetrate and soak the varnish until saturated.
A tip :never stop stirring the stripper in its pot with the brush between two breaks.
2. I let the stripper act
Once the entire surface to be stripped was covered with the product, I let it act until it has fully impregnated the varnish. 10 minutes in my case, in other cases it can take between 5 to 20 minutes depending on the thickness of the varnish.
We see that the varnish is impregnated when it become dull in places.
3. I rub by hand
This is where comes into play elbow grease. In the direction of the grain of the wood, I rubbed with steel wool until remove at the same time all of the varnish and stripper, which represented about fifteen minutes of work on my wooden console.
To verify that a piece of furniture is well stripped , sand with fine sandpaper and observe if stains of varnish appear on the latter. If this is the case, your stripping is not sufficiently successful and it is good to start the operation again a second time.
Or rather than using stripper again, it is possible to finish with 95 degree alcohol and fine steel wool, this is enough for finishing and will save you the time of impregnating the stripper.
It is then up to everyone to decide on the treatment to apply to their bare furniture:
• A brand new varnish and brighter than the old one will give it a second life without distorting its initial appearance;
• Single coat of clear paint laid quickly will give it a more vintage look, will let the wood and its grooves show through, allowing you to keep a raw side to your furniture;
• Two coats of paint of bright color plus one of varnish The will totally makeover!
You now know how to strip wooden furniture like me, if you have any other tips or other tips for restoring old furniture, let me know in a comment.
