Stripper for varnish

[gitchisum]

Hi All,

Has anyone used the "3M Safest Stripper" on any projects to remove Varnish or Poly? The PO had applied a thick coat of varnish/poly on all my coverboards and toe rails and I want to remove and redo with Sikkens. I plan on doing this indoors during off season storage and like the idea of minimum fumes, etc. In my experience, no fumes = no work. Anyone have any experience with no/low fume products that are positive?

[larryeddington]

I tried the best Home Depot had on my swim platform which had paint sand mixture on it. I have used before and have now purchased a gallon of "Aircraft Paint Stripper". Haven't tried it on the platform yet but my past history it has loosened any type of paint I tried it on. It is nasty stuff though, rubber gloves a must as it burns like the devil on skin. And vapors are not treat either need plenty of moving air. However the stuff works.

You usually find it at automotive paint stores. About $50 plus a gallon.

[297Elegante]

At Home Depot pick up Citristrip. I too did some indoor winter varnish stripping and it worked very well with no offensive odor.

[297Elegante]

Remember I had some photos.

Before:



Stripper: it sells in both aerosol and gel form.



In action:



Scrubbed with acetone after:



Lightly sanded:



I then epoxied it and went with 8-10 coats of varnish.

[larryeddington]

Looks like citrus worked well. Remember if all else fails the aircraft stripper is fast and works but a very nasty chemical.

[gitchisum]

Thanks for the feedback guys. I think I will try the citristrip first and see if that gets the job done. If not, I'll wait until spring when I can open the doors ( and it won't be 30 below zero! ) .

[297Elegante]

It may take a couple of coats to get it all, but it worked very well for me, and not offensive at all! Good luck.

[larryeddington]

If you scrub with acetone be careful, it is about as bad as the powerful strippers. It is used to clean off fiberglass resin so it is not very friendly. That said, I use it for cleanup on many things but am careful with it.

[297Elegante]

I used it in taking the last bits of varnish and residue off. I haven't seen any side effects from it to the wood or new finish. Is there something I should be looking to happen?

[larryeddington]

No not the wood, it is human skin and respiration that acetone can have effect on. Just use caution with acetone or Toluene if one should use it.