Replies

1. 
   sschefer | May 16, 2002 10:35pm | #1

   Wow, would you happen to know if paint was the original finish ? It almost sounds like wax to me. You could try using a solvent to clean it off. Mineral Spirits might work.

   Steve - in Northern California

1. 
   DaveinPa | May 16, 2002 10:47pm | #2

   No it is not the orginall finish. I have no idea what the finish was before I started. I'll try mineral spirits now. I tried it and it failed. Mineral spirits did nothing to it. I have been wondering if there was a coat of varnish or shellac on it.

   Dave in Pa.

1. 
   sschefer | May 16, 2002 11:07pm | #3

   Dave, you got me stumped. Do you have any laquer thinner laying around. Pour a little on it and see if it wrinkles or softens the goo.Steve - in Northern California

2. 
   forestgirl | May 17, 2002 07:21am | #4

   Dave, if your stripper has methylene chloride in it, it should take off any finish that involved shellac, varnish, lacquer or modern paint.  It would not remove tung oil or linseed oil.  I can't remember what takes off old-fashioned milk paint. 

   forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl   ;-)

3. 
   gerry001 | May 17, 2002 02:57pm | #5

   Dave,

   What kind of stripper did you use? This sounds like a painting sealer was used, which was only partially attacked by the stripper. You can get a similar effect by using, say laquer thinner on some poly or varnish finishes, getting a soft goo that has to be scraped off, and leaves a residue. Even if a particular stripper does not fully strip something, it will often have some destructive effect.

   You can either find a solvent that removes it, or use a scraper to clean the surface. You didn't say where you're headed with the new finish, so I don't know if you'll then need to plane the surface. IOW, if you're painting again, you could scrape the surface, then try a barrier coat of shellac, then paint.

   My tendency would be to first scrape off what you can get. Save the scrapings, and try some other solvents on them (instead of directly on the table). Start first with the simplest solvents, e.g. 1-water&soap, 2-alcohol, 3-thinner, 4-acetone, 5-laquer thinner, 6-other strippers

   Gerry

1. 
   DaveinPa | May 17, 2002 05:11pm | #6

   Its 10 am on the east coast and the drop leafs are dry I just got done (started at 8 am) scraping one of them. The scrapings look like blonde shellac flakes and it took a lot of effort to get it done. Now I am worried if its toxic or not. My brother in law saw it last night and put that into my mind.

   Gerry, the stripper is "Klean-strip" by Wm. Barr Co. and its a thick gel. Works real fast, in fact, while I was spreading it around the paint was bubbling up. Burns like he$$ when you get on your skin.

   Dave in Pa.

1. 
   gerry001 | May 17, 2002 09:24pm | #7

   Yes, it may be toxic. I'm not familiar with that stripper; perhaps it lists the ingredients or somebody else know about it. Most strippers are toxic, and I assume you followed their cleanup instructions.

   But, what are you looking to do with the table? Are you painting or do you need bare wood? How bad is the surface after scraping? Can it be sealed and used?

   Gerry

1. 
   DaveinPa | May 17, 2002 10:34pm | #8

   As it stands right now the leafs are scraped but what I am going to do next is in question.

1. 
   gerry001 | May 17, 2002 10:50pm | #9

   You can check the different solvents I listed for one that works. Also check if your current stripper will handle cured varnish. Also, now that most of it has been removed, the same strippper may attack the remaing gunk. In doing so, it may take much longer than with paint, but might still work effectively. You may have to cover it and let it sit a bit, and then scrub with a brush. See instructions for stripper relating to varnish.

   Gerry

2. 
   forestgirl | May 18, 2002 07:35am | #10

   If you want to try leaving it on for awhile, you can lay a sheet of aluminum foil over it to keep it from evaporating too fast.  Try a small area first, leave it on for 1/2hr - 45 min.  forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl   ;-)

3. 
   gerry001 | May 20, 2002 06:27am | #11

   Be careful here! I don't know what's in that stripper, and aluminum will react with some chemicals. Check the warnings first.

   Gerry

4. 
   forestgirl | May 20, 2002 08:40am | #12

   "I read it in a book, so it must be ok."  OK, so maybe not, but I've tried it with standard hardware-store strippers and not had any problems so far.  I'll agree, though, that it pays to be careful.  I'm an uncurable label-reader, so maybe that helps.forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl   ;-)

5. 
   DaveinPa | May 20, 2002 11:55pm | #13

   Will you marry me? LOL I don't read labels unless I absolutely have to. Instruction manuals are something different. I study and memorize them. As it stands now there is 2 coats of primer on both leafs and the tabletop has a finish coat of white paint saturday night. When I checked on it Sunday night about 7 there were soft bubbles in a few spots???? I think it was the humidity doing it but I haven't checked it today.

   Dave in Pa.

6. 
   forestgirl | May 21, 2002 12:17am | #14

   Depends!  What's the weather like in Pennsylvania?  ROFL!!  Good luck, hope the painting goes well.forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl   ;-)

7. 
   DaveinPa | May 21, 2002 06:29pm | #15

   The weather out here has been real goffy. Iy is 15 to 20 degress below normal. Its 11:30 in the morning and its only 51 dgress out. Normally it should be in the 70's. Beside, if you live in the gret forrest area on the west coast you will hate it here. No forests and alot of buildings and concrete.

   Dave in Pa.

8. 
   forestgirl | May 21, 2002 07:06pm | #16

   Hmmmm, 11:30 and only 51 degrees?  We've been below normal too, so are lucky if our high is 51 degrees!  Oh, well, must admit, concrete, buildings, and more concrete don't entice me!  Hope your weather gets better!forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl   ;-)

9. 
   Gretchen | May 21, 2002 09:24pm | #17

   If you want to try leaving it on for awhile, you can lay a sheet of aluminum foil over it to keep it from evaporating too fast. 

   Never heard of using aluminum foil but I do use Saran wrap to help keep the stripper "wet". 

   I think putting on another layer of methylene chloride stripper and then wiping it off with the grain using 00steel wool may help get the remaining paint off.Gretchen