Get the commercial stuff not the stuff you find at the grocery store. Get the fine grade. You can get it at the local hardware store.
Woodworker? I’m not a pr0n star, sorry. :O)
Could you snap a few pix and put ‘em up on a website where we might get a look-see?
You better make sure it isn’t an Antique before you start stripping it.
It can be worth a lot of money even if the finish is coming off.
toothbrush
There are several safe strippers on the market that would make your job easier. The carved areas will still take time scraping though. Good Luck.
Patience’s and persistence
Pictures would help.
Chemical stripper. You can find a local place that does archtectural stripping of doors, etc, and they can probably dunk the whole thing and save you a lot of time. Or you can chemical strip yourself, but it might be tedious if it is heavily carved. I would avoid anything that scrapes or sands, except for the last bit when prepping for the new finish. You could easily ruin the whole thing by scraping. By the way, are you sure it is not an antique with some value?
You want to be careful from a few viewpoints. First, on a lot of old pieces the “grain” is actually printed on — yup, printed. If you aren’t careful you can remove the printed grain only to discover that what’s underneath isn’t nearly so beautiful.
The second reason to be careful is patina. Over the years wood develops a beautiful patina. That’s why antiques look so much better than modern pieces. Unfortunately patina can be destroyed by most chemical strippers, as well as by vigorous sanding.
OK, so with those caveats out of the way.
If what is coming off is flaky, I’d agree it is likely shellac. Shellac dissolves in alcohol — which is how you can test to see what it is. If the flakes dissolve in alcohol you are dealing with shellac: you can carefully test a hidden piece of the table to see if alcohol removes the finish WITHOUT damaging the patina. If it does, that would be what to use: a stiff brush (of the sort you’d use for oil painting) and pure alcohol, scrub it out thoroughly.
To re-finish, I’d go for shellac again. If you’re dealing with an older piece, best to keep the finish the same as the original. Less likely to encounter compatibility problems.
Those are my $0.02 worth.
Get thee to a hardware store.....this situation is exactly why God made wood finish stripping agents. Use an oil or water based product, your choice. Follow the directions, and Voila! Bob’s Your Uncle!
Krylon covers everything!
Stiff, flat top toothbrushes and dental picks are my favorites for cleaning up carved, recessed or other irregular surfaces prior to refinishing. There are several very good, very safe strippers on the market, as well. Those will help.
As far as the ‘antique’ value. In over 30 years of working with this stuff, I’ve found that the higher value of antiques accrues to those pieces still in excellent to pristine, ‘like new’ condition. If you have a piece that is already devalued by virtue of prior refinishing, the value is not likely to be further decreased by refinishing, again.
Have at it.
Just some thoughts:
In an inconspicuous area, try applying some denatured alcohol. If the finish dissolves, you’ve got shellac.
If the finish just gets gummmy or sticky, it’s probably lacquer or a combo lacquer/shellac.
If it’s lacquer or lacquer/shellac, lacquer thinner will dissolve the finish.
I have used a combo of both lacquer thinner/denatured alcohol on some pieces.
Use xxxx fine steel wool to GENTLY wipe small areas at a time. Go with the grain. Take care not to take away the old stain, you’ll never match it.
Use a clean soft cloth soaked in your remover to wipe away any bits of steel wool (concentrate in the carved area when it tends to collect before you apply the final sealer.
To avoid compatabilty issues with areas that may have some remaining lacquer/shellac on them., use the same finish that the original had.
I agree with dila813, first determine that it is not an antique. That is, a highly prized artifact that would decline in value if refinished.
If it is not, then a good thick paint remover will strip it fine. Apply it with an old natural bristle brush. Nylon will melt from the chemical. Put on just enough to be able to remove it in 10 minutes. It dries reasonably fast, so be ready to scrape it off when the bubbling is done. Use thick chemical resistant gloves; the junk is murder on the hands.
Use a scraper like a putty knife. Gently go with the grain and don’t bear down. You can gouge the underlying wood. Just gently take of the goo with the suspended shellac (probably varnish or lacquer) and wipe the knife off in an old disposable paint bucket.
Don’t worry about getting all of the corners and carvings. Just scrape off all of the finish you can reasonably get to. THEN...Irrespective of what the directions say, DON’T USE WATER!!!!!
Instead, use lacquer thinner on a clean natural bristle brush to wash the piece. Do this outside, or on a pile of old newspaper. You will remove the reamining paint stripper and some additional old stain and crud in the corners. Keep washing until it it clean. Beware of off-gassing of fumes and flames and all that. Wear eye protection. Don’t get it on your skin. If you hurt yourself, I’ll have to kill myself because it will be too late to kill you. Please don’t sue me, but if you do, my name is Bernie Madoff and I am in a federal jail.
Anyway, get it clean with lacquer thinner only. Then wipe it down with a clean rag. Let it dry. Check to see if you even need to sand it. Seriously, I have done hundreds of pieces without sanding because the lacquer thinner will not raise the grain.
If necessary, sand with 200 or higher grit wet-or-dry, but do it dry. Then, choose a nice stain. If it needs “filling”, I cannot recommend a filler and hate filled wood. But, some will do it. I like the gelled stains because they don’t have sealers and you can put on multiple coats to “tune” the color.
After the stain dries, shoot it with sealer if porous, or with lacquer if not. Minwax brush on poly finish is nice also, and more durable. You can teke it from there.
There are newer strippers on the market, its just a matter of which works better for you...Its best to use safety goggles as some of the strippers can do damage to eyes if splashed up....Good luck I use to love stripping an old piece of junk and finding a treasure underneath..
I’ve had really good luck with the “Ready Strip” stuff. Safe around the kids and dogs, and it does work - though you may need to use a couple of coats and elbow grease to get to bare wood.
I’ve also used their ‘Strip-Tox’ product. It changes the lead paint content to lead sulfate(I think). I used this on some old doors that had 4-6 layers of paint. Lead test showed positive before the stripper was applied, and any remaining paint showed negative once it had been used.
Forgot to mention USE HEAVY GLOVES WHEN USING STRIPPER.
That table looks like a good find...and the satisfaction you will get when done will make you smile everytime you see it....If this is your first time, be patient...after stripping a piece of furniture I only use Liquid Gold. I pour some in the middle of the flat surface and use 4 0 steel wool to work into wood...The wood will be very dry after stripping and it just soaks up the Liquid Gold and gives a beautiful finish...I don’t get into shellack or varnish or poly finishes. Its not too complicated a piece for a first try....use lots of newspaper underneath. Best place to work would be garage or cement floor in basement...Don’t try to do it in any part of the living quarters....read directions on can carefully...
Get the commercial stuff not the stuff you find at the grocery store. Get the fine grade. You can get it at the local hardware store.