Thread: OT: Wood refinishing questions.

Wood windows and doors , aprox. 5 years old. Old varnish and or stain needs to be removed.

Of the following 4 choices , which works best in removing the old finish:
Kerosene, Thinner, Turpentine or Paint remover?

Once I have got down to bare wood, what do I apply first: Water repellent/sealer or varnish or stain?

I dont have an answer but lumberjocks.com has all the info you need...

I'm a member there and also overclock.net...

Their all the parts of my obsessions, including here.

Heatgun and scraper

Enjoy

Peter from Holland

What do you want them to look like when you're done?
Stain? Paint? Other??

Heat gun or acetone should work. Paint stripper will also work but it is nasty. Cabots brand at lowes sells a good quality exterior stain. Get to the tone you like and then varnish or poly. I would look for an exterior varnish though.

Jesus- I would find out whatever was done to them in the first place, and do the opposite of that. 5 years is way too short to have to do a full strip/refinish.

I used to work for a furniture refinisher. If the finish is actually varnish and not some new urethane, the ketones will cut it fine (acetone, MEK, etc.). Use an organic vapor respirator. If it is a marine type, poly, or isocyanate then a product called "Peel-Away" works great. It is rather expensive, but it is safe and easy to apply. You'd want Peel Away 7 which can handle newer harder finishes. It's about 120.00 per gallon. I stripped the woodwork of a bungalow which is used as a museum here in Birmingham for a poet named Samuel Ullman. Some of the woodwork had literally 25-30 coats of paint. Peel Away handled it fantastically.
Michael