My First Job as a Stripper

I don't really know where to start, but since I am at my apartment right now and it just so happens I have the front top board with me...

Pictured left is the front top board (FTB), bottom, and lid lock board (LLB), which is resting on top. I disassembled the LLB to find two felt strips running the length of the underside, where it was attached to the FTB. It is easy to see the original finish, where the felt was resting, and the patina.

Since I have decided to go ahead and completely refinish the entire lid, might as well start stripping down the FTB. First, my apartment will need a litle protection. I covered the wood floor and kitchen table with their own plastic dropcloths. I found my feet were getting stuck to the dropcloth, so socks were, sadly, required with my outfit of crummy old clothes. When shopping for gloves, I found that they were only sold in large or extra large. But, solid rubber and latex gloves are too hot anyway. I found some gardening gloves in a smaller size, which were made of a durable cotton and dipped in a similar rubber/latex coating. And lastly to prevent excessive heart palpataions and fainting, I set up two box fans for good measure.

Now that I was somewhat protected, I needed some chemicals, tools, and cleaning supplies. Various websites recommended any semi-paste stripper containing methylene chloride, claiming it removes just about anything. I purchased the brand Strip-X, which seems to be a name brand, was also the least expensive, and had the highest methylene chloride content. Natural fiber paint brushes were easy to find and cheap. I looked for wooden scrapers, but no place seems to carry them, so I found some plastic scrapers which I could easily round the edges for added scratch protection. Lastly, I picked up some 00# steel wool and laquer thinner to remove any remnants of stripper or the topcoat.

I am now ready to begin my first stripping job! I applied stripper to the entire underside of the FTB and waited the 20-30 minutes Strip-X recommended. With my scraper in hand, I begin to do the dirty work, but instead of scraping off nicely, I found the finish and stripper had turned to gum and was impossible to get off. First lesson learned: Do not follow directions! A little confused, I decided to reapply a little stripper to a smaller area. Within seconds I scraped away the old stripper and topcoat. I continued down the FTB in this manner and was done in about half an hour.

After stripping the underside of the FTB, I washed down the area with laquer thinner to remove any remnants of finish and stripper. The actual wood is very nice looking, and the stain is still beautiful. Most of the major scratches came out with the finish, and I decided against sanding the bare wood, especially since this is veneer and not solid wood. For now, my work here is done! Pictured below is the original patina in rough shape (left) on one side of the FTB, and the stripped side (right).