DIY: Stripping Furniture

In due time I'll write a blog post about my Brownie Camera Collection and the hunt that continually ensues. Until then, I'll tell you that I've been looking for a curio cabinet for these beautiful cameras for nearly a decade. 

Most of my friends have heard about my infatuation with Facebook's garage sale groups. I've alluded to them before. I rarely purchase items but I'm always on the prowl for very specific items. 

I found this cabinet *yes, this is a screen shot from my phone* and knew right away that the scalloped portion on top would pair nicely with a pair of vintage end tables my mother gave me. The going price was $75, but I managed to talk the seller down to $60. There was a loose leg and the glass was popped out on one side, but I had faith in myself and my husband's tool box.

Pine can be stained to match other woods fairly easily as it has a neutral undertone and can be tinted to match woods with stronger hues. So off I went to strip this pine cabinet and ultimately tint it to match my cherry end tables. 

For those of you who have never stripped furniture I recommend pulling the item completely apart so that you can move quickly once you get the stripping process started. Be sure to make room for the wood to dry (standing up) and invest in some thick rubber gloves (I use elbow-high dishwashing gloves from the local grocery). I also like to do the stripping over a drop cloth or trash can to mitigate extra mess.

Citristrip (sold at Home Depot) is one of my favorite stripping agents. It costs less than $20 and will last through multiple pieces of furniture. It's orange based unlike many of the harsh chemical based strippers. The smell is far less overpowering, but don't be fooled - it still packs a tough strip. When using this product I pair it with:

1.  blue shop towels
2. a stripping tool
3. old plastic cup and sponge
4. elbow-length rubber gloves

To strip:

• Slip on your rubber gloves
• Pour some Citristrip into the old cup and add the sponge
• Glob the product onto the wood with the sponge and begin scrubbing/rubbing onto the wood

At this point the wood will begin to appear watery as the stain/top coat loosens. Keep working the sponge and breaking loose the old covering. If it becomes tacky you'll need to add more Citristrip and keep it moving. DON'T TRY SCRAPING IF IT'S TACKY. You will easily damage the grain of the wood. 

Don't cut corners like I did in these photos. These gloves were leaking Citristrip and caused my hands to peel for more than a week. Don't do this to yourself...

Once the watery top coat is covering the top of the wood, grab your scraper tool and begin to apply pressure and push the solution to the top of the tool before wiping in your shop towel. See the demonstration below...

This is going to be a longer process for pieces with multiple layers of sealant or paint. Be prepared to take your time on each piece to do a quality job before moving on to the next piece. If the wood appears "shiny" after the top coat has been removed there is still remaining topcoat. You may need to repeat steps 2-3 times to see results.

Here's my before and after progress!

And here is the stripped cabinet! This cabinet had one layer of a light stain and came off fairly easily. I had the cabinet and shelves stripped in just a couple of hours.

These tables weren't as compliant. Although incomplete, you can see the difference in the thick coated seal on the back table versus the semi-stripped front table. Each of these tables took me 3-4 hours of tedious stripping. The rounded detail on the core and legs were a challenge for my flat headed stripping tool.

Thanks for stopping by the Humble Hammock! Stay tuned for part two of this post where I cover the staining process!