Stripping highly carved cabinet

Hi Folks

I have an old cabinet with lots carving and detail. It used to belong to my grandmother and as was the fashion in the UK in the 30s 40s and 50s has been painted with several layers of gloss paint. Currently its red :mad:

As red doesnt really go in my bedroom I would like to strip it back to bare wood and maybe oil it or something. I have tried several paint strippers on the market but none of them seem to work very well, particularly when it comes to getting into the details of the carving. My neighbour recommended caustic soda but I am not sure about that.

I have no idea what the wood is but it appears to be very dark and quite soft. I only realised it was soft when I tried to use a wire brush to get paint out of the carving :( .

I would be grateful for any suggestions.

Thanks

Lizzy

Have you tried 'citri-stirp' ? I used this a lot on heavily carved pieces with great success. You have to remember you will not remove all the layers in one application ESPECIALLY on carved work.

Caustic soda can be used, but definitly not advisable. If you have a timber that is high in tanic acid it will turn black on you when using anything with a high acid content.

persistance is the key and if your using something non toxic the more persistant you can be.

A lot of the old timers and its still done today! used to pick the paint etc out with a sharp instrument. very mundane but sometimes the only way. I have seen aeronautical paint stripper used and still leave behind remnants that had to be removed manually - it didn't leave the timber in a very nice state either though.......

Cheers!

G'day Lizzy - As a carver and restorer (of days gone by) I have stripped plenty of old carved pieces, the best method I found aws to use Haymes paint stripper, hot water, dish washing detergent or even better still velvet soap flakes. and a good strong bristled scrubbing brush.

Apply a good heavy coat of the stripper, if possible cover it with foil or cling wrap for 10 - 15 minutes then give the whole thing a bit of a scrub with the brush to dislodge some of the more heavy and stubborn paint. Then mix a good tablespoon or so of detergent or a half a handfull of velvet soap flakes into a bucket of very hot water (as hot as you can get it out of the tap, but not quite boiling) This is then scrubbed liberally onto the carvings. It will foam and hiss pretty dramatically but should remove pretty well all the old paint.

The soap and water set up a reaction with the stripper that almost throws the finish off the surface.

It is a good idea to have a couple of wooden butchers skewers that have points and knife edges etc sanded or shaped on the ends, these will help with scraping the carvings (if needed) without actually damaging them. See pic below....
https://www.ubeaut.biz/skew.gif

You may need to do this a couple or few times as it is almost impossible to remove more than a couple of layers at a time. Make sure the whole thing is dry before tackeling it the second and subsequent times.

After all the finish (or as much as possible) is removed, allow it to dry thoroughly and give the whole thing a really good bath with metho, a scrubbing brush and a clean soft rag to remove any left over rubbish. It will be just about impossible to remove all te paint etc especially if there is a lot of stippeling in the background and even worse if the paint has been able to key itself to the timber rather than the original polish.

Paint stripper will burn the skin so use rubber gloves, goggles or face shield and protective clothing.

Hope this is of some help.

Cheers - Neil :D

PS this method also works well on turned items.

Oh yes and it works best on french polished, early lacquered and painted surfaces. It is not too happy working with polyurethane or other acrylic and plastic type surfaces. It should work well with what you have.

Thanks for the replies guys - I will give it a go. I had already resigned myself to the fact that I would have to spend several hours or days manually picking the bits of paint out of the carving.

I will give your suggestion a go Neil. Hopefully will have time this afternoon after work.

I will let you all know how I get on.

Lizzy

Try also 'Peel Away' - a mixture that goes onto the old paint, then lifts with special paper. Quite effortless.