# Removing Old Varnish (?)



## RH (Sep 7, 2010)

Have a house built in the early forties where the original wood windows - natural finish - are in really rough shape. Current owners have lived there for over 50 years and never have had the windows refinished . The material is mahogany and consists of about eight lower panes and eight upper ones per window.

I have to assume a product such as varnish was originally used but who knows. The finish is really dried out. Some comes off pretty easily and in other areas it is holding on like cement (and looks about like it too).

Some experimental sanding has produced mixed results. Where I have gotten it down to bare wood and top top coated with Sikkens Door and Window (satin) it looks really good. In the areas where the old finish has stubbornly remained, it almost looks like white paint when the Sikkens is applied over it.

My concerns are such:
* Sanding seems to be very ineffective and time consuming in removing this old finsh.
* Too much sanding will affect the profile of the muntins.

So, thinking about chemically trying to remove the old finish. Hate to go that route because of all that implies (mess, odor, etc) but may be more effective way to go.

I told them this was strictly a time and materials job and they are okay with that. Especially since they checked into the cost of new wood windows. Still, I want to do this in the most efficient way as well as the one that will give me the best results. Also don't want this to drag on too long due to my schedule and the fact that I hate this type of work - possibly my least favorite.

Thoughts? (I may not respond to your replies right away, but they will still be much appreciated - duty calls).

Thanks,
Dan


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## ROOMINADAY (Mar 20, 2009)

http://www.PARKSLOPEPAINTSTRIPPERS.COM/

There are some good articles on hia site.


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## vermontpainter (Dec 24, 2007)

Dan

We use a couple of Citrus Strip type of products that work really well, and are no odor. A bit messy but not bad. If you go that route, make sure its a gel type of base, not liquid like Formsby or something,

I would probably sand though. We did a old maple floor recently and if you have an aggressive sander at 24 grit, its not bad.


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## RH (Sep 7, 2010)

vermontpainter said:


> Dan
> 
> We use a couple of Citrus Strip type of products that work really well, and are no odor. A bit messy but not bad. If you go that route, make sure its a gel type of base, not liquid like Formsby or something,
> 
> I would probably sand though. We did a old maple floor recently and if you have an aggressive sander at 24 grit, its not bad.


Thanks Scott,
Yeah, I'll likely give that a go (but I do hate the mess they can cause). Should allow me to get down to a lot less sanding. Can't use an aggressive sander or grit (or likely any type of power sander - unless I went really small) on the muntins since it would quickly damaged their profile which is fairly elaborate. A lot of detailed work involved with these.


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## vermontpainter (Dec 24, 2007)

researchhound said:


> Thanks Scott,
> Yeah, I'll likely give that a go (but I do hate the mess they can cause). Should allow me to get down to a lot less sanding. Can't use an aggressive sander or grit (or likely any type of power sander - unless I went really small) on the muntins since it would quickly damaged their profile which is fairly elaborate. A lot of detailed work involved with these.


Those can be fragile, to the point of not withstanding vibration very well. I'd do one of the citrus products, lay it on heavy, put plastic directly over it to really intensify it. You can remove about 27 layers with that stuff. Just keep a big trash can right with you!


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## daArch (Mar 15, 2008)

Dan,

as you are not sure what the finish is, have you ruled out shellac? 

ALSO, during the RRP class, we were told that old varnish had lead in it. (I had NEVER heard of that before)

the last muntins we stripped of varnish (back when the world was flat) we used 5F5 and steel wool. The wood does get a little "soggy" and is easily damaged.


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## fauxlynn (Apr 28, 2011)

Just my two cents--

I have used that Citrus stuff on an elaborately detailed sofa and if you don't get ALL of that orange stuff off with the mineral spirits, it will cause problems in the final finish. ( I got bubbling and peeling, had to do it all over again).

Have you thought about stripping it with one of those infra red guns? It causes the least damage to the wood as compared to chemical strippers.


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## Delta Painting (Apr 27, 2010)

I would test it with denatured alcohol, Shellac or varnish with be softened enough to then be quickly removed with steel wool..Good luck those job's can be very time consuming..


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## StripandCaulk (Dec 30, 2011)

will-bond might be a good bet..caustic but effective


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## briancreary (Oct 12, 2010)

I saw this awesome episode of This Old House, where a lady had a business that "Flash Steamed," the old windows turning the paint into mush. It didn't steam long enough to introduce enough moisture into the window to damage it and just needed to be dried a day or so. After this process there was no paint and the raw wood looked brand new. Maybe someone provides a service like this in your area. We have an old restoration company near our town with a dip tank (not a fan of those chemicals though). 

If I were to do it myself: 
1) I have an infrared paint remover for old paint and glazing works great but slow. 

2)There are some furniture strippers out there that work pretty well and some paint strippers, but they are pretty caustic and burn if you get it on your skin. There was one I really liked for removing varnish called "Dad's Easy spray paint remover." I used it to re-finish a whole kitchen last spring. 

good luck


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## RH (Sep 7, 2010)

daArch said:


> Dan,
> 
> as you are not sure what the finish is, have you ruled out shellac?
> 
> ...


Could be shellac - I'll do a denatured alcohol test to check. Either way I'd like to keep the sanding to a minimum.


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