How to Do Successful Furniture Stripping

Here are safe, effective techniques and tips for using wood strippers.

By Michael Dresdner

From The Family Handyman

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Reclaim a Jewel

About This Project

Safety First
Stripping chemicals range from hazardous to almost-safe. Some strippers require you to use less protection than others, but always err on the side of safety and follow these guidelines:

Protect your body with long pants, a long-sleeve shirt and a solvent-proof apron.
At a minimum, wear splash-proof goggles, not just safety glasses. Use a full face shield when you’re working with caustic strippers. The lye will burn your skin and eyes.
Wear long chemical-resistant gloves and turn back the ends into cuffs so that when you lift your arm, the stripper drips into the cuff, not onto your arm. (Take them off to scratch your nose!)
Work only in areas with good ventilation, preferably outdoors. If you (or someone with a “fresh” nose) smell fumes, you need more ventilation. Avoid working with chemical strippers in basements, since many fumes are heavier than air and sink to the floor, where they’re hard to eliminate.
Wear a respirator with new cartridges rated for use with organic solvents. Respirators are only secondary protection; you can’t depend on them. Ventilation is the key.

Let’s face it: Stripping wood is a drag. We approach the job knowing it’s difficult and messy, but hoping we can reclaim a jewel from the muck. Knowing what to use and how to use it is essential to success. Here’s a rundown of the three basic types of strippers and how to use them safely and effectively.

Methylene chloride, the main solvent in many “fast” strippers, can cause skin and lung irritation, exacerbate the symptoms of heart disease, and may cause cancer. If you have heart disease, are pregnant or are elderly, avoid using strippers that contain methylene chloride. Inhaling methylene chloride reduces the amount of oxygen in the blood and can trigger a medical emergency in people with heart disease. With methylene chloride strippers, you can’t detect when an organic vapor respirator becomes ineffective, so rely on maximum ventilation when using them.

To minimize your risk, take the following precautions:

Work outdoors or in a well-ventilated indoor area and keep your exposure time short.
Wear long gloves, an apron, shoe covers and a face mask to keep methylene chloride off your skin and clothes. Wash your hands and face with soap immediately after using the stripper.
Since methylene chloride readily penetrates neoprene (rubber) gloves, wear only chemical-resistant gloves.

Choose a Stripper
Except for “refinishers,” which are only for shellac and lacquer, most strippers will remove just about any finish. Choose a stripper based on its speed and safety. A good rule of thumb: The safer it is, the slower it works. You can choose fast and hazardous, moderately fast and moderately hazardous, or slow and relatively safe. Be aware that the safety requirements for each stripper may differ; read labels carefully.

Some modern finishes won’t budge for any stripper, but they’re rare. Occasionally, very old pieces may be covered by a thin, milk-based paint that also is resistant to normal strippers. However, it will come off with a caustic stripper.

Methylene chloride (also called dichloromethane or DCM) strippers soften all finishes, including paint, in as little as 10 minutes. These strippers are identifiable by labels that say “extra heavy duty,” “tuffjob,” “super-strip” or the like, indicating that they contain a high percentage of methylene chloride. They work from the bottom up, so the finish comes off in sheets. Because they work by making the finish let go of the wood, you often need to use less of this stripper than other types. Work outdoors or in a very well ventilated area. As an added precaution, use a respirator with organic vapor cartridges.

Caustic strippers are strong alkalines such as lye. Peel Away 1 is one example of this type of stripper. Although water-based and non-flammable, they can seriously burn your skin and eyes, so wear goggles and gloves and be careful not to splash. Because caustic strippers are water-based, they raise the wood grain and can loosen joints and veneer. They also may darken the wood, so they’re often used when the wood will be repainted. Unlike other strippers, they can’t be left on too long, or the wood itself may get damaged.