# Blast removal of wood finishes



## akrause (May 18, 2010)

Anyone here ever stripped wood with a blast pot set up? There are You Tube vids of soda blasting on wood furniture that make it look viable, but someone warned me about problems with soda becoming impregnated in the wood grain and having to subsequently be scrubbed out. I've also heard walnut shells work well. They're *really* expensive but we bought some just to experiment with here in the shop. I've heard people say use "sugar sand" (playbox sand) or even dry ice (that's a whole different set up I believe).
We've got a 185cfm tow behind diesel compressor, dustless blasting pot, sand blasting pot and plenty of hose. The job is *3 FLOORS* of stairs with tread, risers, spindles, posts, some wainscot paneling - etc,...all needs to go to 100% bare virgin wood for refinishing. The good news is the home is a total gut/renovation so we could certainly blast in there with a reasonable level of containment via zip wall + extractor fan etc. 
(several photos attached)

Thanks


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## finishesbykevyn (Apr 14, 2010)

I don't have any experience with sandblasting, but I do know that you could replace all those handrails and spindles quite easily for probably cheaper than it would be to strip it and refinish it. Hardest part would be drilling the holes in the new rail..


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## Brushman4 (Oct 18, 2014)

finishesbykevyn said:


> I don't have any experience with sandblasting, but I do know that you could replace all those handrails and spindles quite easily for probably cheaper than it would be to strip it and refinish it. Hardest part would be drilling the holes in the new rail..
> 
> 
> Sent from my SM-T330NU using Tapatalk


Maybe there's some historical or nostalgic reason for redoing the old wood? Even if you replaced it with new you'd still have to finish it!

And what would be so hard for someone with experience to drill holes in the new rail?


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## finishesbykevyn (Apr 14, 2010)

Your totally right brushman. I was just throwing that out there as an option. The thought of stripping all that just seems daunting to me, and also doesn't look like anything super ornate..
He could also just paint it! Just saying. .

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