We finally got tired of the sticky finish on our dining room table and decided to refinish it. We started by applying CitriStrip liberally to the leaves, covered them with plastic, and let them sit for 24 hours. We were pleased with the results so we did the same for the main surface of the table.
I don’t know if it was because the plastic was different, or that we had a different container of CitriStrip, but the results this time were horrible. Everywhere there was an air bubble, the CitriStrip turn to a white powder and that area is noticeably lighter than the other areas that were still wet. I’ve attached a picture showing the bottom section after scraping with a plastic scraper, and the un-scraped, section at the top.
We applied another coat of CitriStrip and let it set for a few hours before scraping again, but the light spots are still very visible. After scraping, we cleaned the surface with mineral spirits and steel wool.
Does anyone have any suggestions on how to salvage this situation?
Replies
Any reason you only let the second application sit "a few hours"? I'd assume that you'll need to let the second coat sit a full 24 hours like the first coat. After that, grab a random orbit sander and some 220 grit and be patient and careful
No expert - use with caution.
Looking at the data sheet, it seems that the CitriStrip product is alcohol based. Your residue would not likely be soluble in mineral turps.
Have you tried a little methylated spirits or DNA? That might remove the residue more effectively.
A damp cloth is always worth a try.
It would be a shame to sand it if you can avoid doing so, but that would give it an as-new finish.
I've not used Citristrip myself but in surfing around I found this written in a blog:
"The first application I left on for three hours, then easily removed it with a paint remover tool. I decided to apply a second coat to remove every trace of the stain and left it on overnight. Mistake. The Citristrip dried on the table and it was much harder to remove. I would definitely remove the paint stripper within three hours of application for an easier removal."
For reference, this is the blog URL:
http://justanotherhangup.blogspot.com/2016/05/furniture-refinishing-oak-kitchen-table.html
Over the years, the leaves of a table are often left aside and do not age as much as the rest of the table. I suspect the tabletop was treated with furniture care products that contained silicon or waxes that the stripper was unable to remove or caused an unexpected chemical reaction. You may want to scrape the surface with a wide steel scraper to remove the contaminants and retry the stripper until all of the old finish has been evenly removed.
Thanks for the suggestions gents! I'll start by trying methylated spirits or DNA. If I wind up deciding to try stripping it again, does anyone have any suggestions for what works well? I've read that methylene chloride works best, but I can't seem to find that anywhere.
I'm not sure if methylene chloride has been banned yet, but there were discussions about doing so. Big box stores took it off their shelves when that happened. It's very dangerous, and every year there were a few deaths from using it.
Worse comes to worst, Porter-Cable offers a restorer. It a good machine but may not be what you're looking for. Rockler has a decent price on them.
Mikaol
I just thought I'd come back and give an update. I had some DNA and used that to clean up the residue that was left behind. That seemed to do the trick so we proceeded with staining and sealing.
We tried a "new" method (new to us anyway) of applying poly. We cut it with mineral spirits (50/50) and applied it with disposable shop towels. 15 coats, 3-4 hours between coats and light sanding after every 3rd coat.
We couldn't be more happy with the results. Thanks for your help!
I love a story with a good ending. Glad it worked out for you.
Glad it worked out.
Putting a finish 50/50 with solvent is common. The most frequent term for it is "wiping varnish." There are also products that call themselves oils, that are 50/50 mixes of varnish or poly and solvent.
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