Removing varnish

[Andrew_B]

Whats the best way to remove varnish from wood?
Do you have to sand and sand until its gone of is there a kind of paint stripper I should use.There are some nice grooves cut into the wood that I dont want to sand flat.

Thanks

Andrew

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[Forbsie]

You can use Nitromors Varnish remover, Heat Gun or blow torch, or sand forever.

Recently, I've started to use a piece cut off a very rough sandbelt. Gets varnish off a locker lid in about 10 mins. Then electric detail sander then 400 hand sand.

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[kingfisher]

Shards of glass

Ideal for round woods: take a shard of glass (wear gloves, duh) and scrape of the varnish, followed by sanding. Replace shard of glass frequently to make sure you have a sharp one.

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[DeeGee]

I remember a thread on the Wayfarer site some time ago, and Nitromors was the firm favourite. I had my doubts, never having used it, but apparently is it the best. I think there was something about removing all traces afterwards, but the Nitromors mfrs should be able to advise best about that.

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[tcm]

i found by accident that acetone removes varnish very effectively!

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[AndrewB]

For the best quality finish, I've found it best to use a combination method, specially if you are wanting to remove fairly tough polyurethane varnish.

I use Nitromors Craftsman, spirit-washable and far less messy than the water washable chemical strippers. Also it avoids getting the wood wet. It is applied not too liberally and after 15 minutes scraped off with a Scarsten type hook scraper, the corners of the blades being blunted to prevent gouging. Don't press too hard, and scrape along the grain, going in the direction that doesn't tend to snag the wood - you can feel that one direction is slightly easier than the other. Finally wipe off any remaining stripper with a rag dipped in white spirit. Repeat this on remaining patches until virtually all varnish is removed, but not cutting into the wood. Next the final traces are removed and the wood smoothed with 240 grade sandpaper or wet-and-dry, used dry. Any blackened wood (failed varnish) I prefer to sand out if possible rather than use colour restorer (oxalic acid). Sometimes filler needs to be added at this stage but its use is best kept to a minimum. Then, if a hardwood, finish with 400 - 600 grade wet-and-dry until the wood looks polished and feels absolutely smooth to the touch. You can check by brushing white spirit across the wood - while its still wet it will show how the wood will look when varnished.

I've tried a number of 'patent' methods, but the above works best for me.

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[DMGibson]

Don't use a blow torch unless you are VERY skilled with it, as you are likely to scorch the wood. You will then have a massive problem in getting rid of the black marks.

An electric heat gun however, won't burn the wood, and gets off the varnish quickly in my experience, even on detailing. You just need a good mains electricity supply where you are working.

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[snowleopard]

from my own experience, leave it out in the sun for a couple of days ;-)

i no longer allow any varnish above decks but back in the bad old days i often resorted to a skarsten scraper. a bit radical but it's especially good in the corners.

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