Strippers and how to pick one

The popularity of "trash to treasure" type shows on HGTV, TLC, and other cable channels has many of us eying pieces of furniture with renewed interest. (If you have lost all interest at this point it is because this is NOT an article about what you thought you sicko!) These shows often tout and champion refinishing to update old items, but don't provide much guidance as to the how.

If the item is in good enough shape, and all you intend to do is re paint it you can often get by with some primer and paint. If, on the other hand, it's finish is heavily damaged, gouged, burned, peeling, or has a tendency to spontaneously combust you will probably need to strip the old finish off first.

Choosing the right stripper is very important. As far as I'm concerned you have to categories to choose from: 1. mechanical or 2. chemical.

Mechanical stripping is most often accomplished with sand paper, a machine and lots of cursing. It is time consuming, labor intensive, frustrating, and can do more to restore the subsurface than chemical means. If you have the time and endurance, I recommend this method as the best chance to really do some good work. The other popular mechanical means is the use of a heat gun. These things are steroid enhanced blow dryers. With good timing, persistence, and practice you can literally watch your troubled finish melt away, but unless you spend a little time practicing you do run the risk of setting the piece on fire at worst or of at least scorching the subsurface which tends to be detrimental to re finishing, especially if you were looking to stain the item afterward.

Chemical means are faster, more efficient, but are definitely not a green option. There are a variety of chemical strippers out there to remove different finishes. You do need to spend some time reading labels to make sure you get a stripper that is right for your piece's finish or the results will be sub par to say the least. After determining which ones will do the job you still need to make sure that you get all the recommended safety equipment (respirator, goggles, gloves etc.) that is rated to handle the chemicals you will be dealing with. (No the cheap sanding dust mask won't save you from the miasma of chemicals you will be facing when using these products) Even products based off of seemingly innocuous ingredients like oranges must be handled with care. When you are done you need to very thoroughly rinse any residue from the piece before applying the new finish, and you need to make sure you dispose of the run off legally. Various cities, counties and states have differing regulations for how to dispose of the used chemicals and the rinse water. Best case scenario is evaporation, and worse case is disposing of it as hazardous materials.

Now that you have the basic knowledge of which method to pursue, I hope you and your stripper have a happy future in front of you!