Does anyone the best way to take paint off of wood?

Question

It has a ton of layers...any help would be great thanks!

Answer 1

Do NOT just sand the wood.  If there are a lot of layers then more than likely your piec of furniture is old and it may contain lead paint.  There is a process to removing paint.  Put the furniture on a large piece of plastic or a drop cloth because this will get messy.  You have to be in a well ventilated area.  If you cannot move the piece of furniture outside (not in direct sunlight), or in a garage, the open all of the windows.  Make sure you have protective eyewear and chemical resistant gloves.  Clean the painted surface with soap and water first to make sure the surface is free of dust to get good contact with the paint.  Use a gel paint remover, (I like citristrip found at Lowe's), as it will not run and drip on the floor.   Pour the product into a METAL tray.  With a cheap paint brush, apply the stripper and let set per the instructions.  You can check to see how well the product is working by scraping a small area with a plastic scraper.  You may need to apply the stripper a couple times to remove the paint.  Once the paint is removed, use a stripper cleaner, also sold at the home improvement store, to remove the stripper residue from the wood.  You don't want to breathe that stuff in when sanding.  If you have a lot of details in the wood, like small lines, you can use a dremel tool to sand them out or get a small golf club brush to scrape the paint out of them.  (The golf club brush looks like a small tooth brush with wire teeth that golfers use to clean the grass from the crevaces on the face of their iron heads.)  Let the furniture dry overnight after applying the cleaner.  Now you will need to sand your furniture with an orbital sander.  Get two grades of sand paper.  Meium and fine.  The medium will remove any paint left on the furniture and the fine will finish and smooth the surface for staining. Lowes can custom mix a stain if you cannot find one pre-mixed color on the shelf you love.  They have other options to choose from in a wide variety of colors.  Once the surface is ready for staining or if you just want to seal it, you should apply a wood conditioner first to ensure the stain or varnish will apply evenly.   After you get the staining done.  Apply the varnish.  They come in 3 different variety's: Flat, satin, or gloss.  Choose which one you like the best and apply in thin layers so the coat will not contain air bubbles.  Take your time with this process and you will be much happier with the results than if you hurry.

Answer 2

If you go to a home improvement store they almost always have paint removers. I suggest the think pasty kind. All you have to do is smear it on let it set then use a plastic paint scrapper and it'll all come off. if it's a door or cabinet doors you should unhinge them and do this in the back yard or outside somewhere. It smells really bad!!

Answer 3

Surprised that no one has mentioned this yet... use one of those heat guns specifically designed for stripping paint. It looks kinda like a blow dryer or a hot glue gun. I stripped 7 layers (no kidding) of paint off of our circa 1930 front door with one of these babies in one sitting. I did scorch one small area, though, but it wasn't a big enough flaw to keep me from keeping the natural wood finish.  I borrowed this tool, so I have no idea how much one would cost. Paint removal was actually fun. Anyone know where I can rent a flamethrower? - kidding. kidding.

Answer 4

i dont no the best way but from my experience wat u can do is take duct tape, masking tape might work too but use duct tape for now. then apply it to the wood and make sure its on good. then just tear off the tape. it should take the paint rite off. Good Luck!!

Answer 5

i just refinished a bunch of furniture, go to the local home depot or lowes..  buy the jel paint remover.. cover the area of paint you are trying to remove for say 30 minutes and then it will just scrap right off with a paint scraper... let dry and finish sanding the residue off.. works great.

Answer 6

the best way to do it is by sanding it. if you want an easier way you can buy paint and varnish remover from a hardware store. if you use paint and varnish remover be really careful and do it outside.....nasty fumes. and you usually have to wait about 24 hours after if you want to re-stain or paint. hope this helps.