home » All about roses » How to remove varnish from a wooden surface: basic options. Mechanical and thermal cleaning. Chemical treatment. Applying varnish. Removing varnish from wood How best to clean balusters from old varnish

How to remove varnish from a wooden surface: basic options. Mechanical and thermal cleaning. Chemical treatment. Applying varnish. Removing varnish from wood How best to clean balusters from old varnish

Very often, before painting wood with varnish, it is necessary to remove the old varnish coating. And this in most cases becomes a problem, because a person without experience in this matter, as a rule, comes up with the wrong ideas regarding the choice of paint removal method. As a result, the surface being treated simply deteriorates.

In this article we will talk about what technologies are available and in what cases one or another method of removing old varnish from a wooden surface will be relevant.

In addition, we will consider step by step how to re-varnish wood.

Let's start the review.

Methods for stripping old varnish

It is worth noting that the most popular technologies for solving this issue are discussed below. And it is important to understand that there is no universal method of removing nail polish that can be successfully used in absolutely all cases ().

The choice of method depends on many factors:

From the type of base– the floors need to be treated or the furniture needs to be treated, you will agree that there will clearly be a difference in approach, and a significant one at that.

From the type of old varnish. After all, the compositions are different, and accordingly, for each individual varnish you need to select a specific removal method.
From layer thickness. After all, removing one thin layer from the surface of a tree is not at all the same as stripping off a dozen old layers.

So, as you can see, there are enough nuances.

Let's get back to the review.

Treatment with chemical compounds

This method of removing varnish involves a very simple scheme of work - some chemical composition is applied to the surface of the wood, due to which the layer of old paint begins to peel off and seem to lag behind the wood.

Please note that you should not try to remove the old varnished surface on furniture or chipboard panels. Because with a layer of varnish you will also remove the main decorative film, after which you can, in principle, forget about the beauty of the appearance. Varnish can only be effectively removed from the plane of natural wood!

You can remove varnish with gels, powders, special liquids, or simply universal solvents such as acetone, for example.

What to choose? Let's try to give more or less universal advice.

If your wood is coated with shellac, then the most effective and fastest way to clean the old layer is with the most common denatured alcohol.

Liquid formulations are good where you need to remove at most a few layers. This is because the liquid evaporates quite quickly, and therefore cannot be absorbed deeply.

Powders are important in cases where the volume of work is very large, as these materials can be stored for a long time.

Gels and pastes are convenient to use for cleaning large numbers of layers of old paint or varnish.

Now about the sequence of work - brief instructions on removing varnish using chemicals.

Take a brush, dip it in the liquid and apply the composition to the work surface. In this case, you need to try to apply the mass so that the brush “goes” in one direction and does not pass the same area twice.
The entire treated surface should be covered with film so that the applied remover does not erode and is absorbed as deeply as possible. You need to keep the film for about 1-4 hours. The rule here is simple - the more layers you need to remove, the longer you do not remove the film. But in principle, if it is clear that the paste has changed its color, darkened, and the varnish seems to have swelled, then you can proceed to the next stage.
We take a 10 cm wide one and begin to carefully remove the old varnish. At the same time, look at the thickness of the layer - if it is thin, then perhaps it will be enough to walk over the surface with sandpaper.

Advice: since, most likely, you will come across a standard spatula - with sharp edges, we recommend using a grinder to slightly round them. It’s just that if the edges are sharp, then there is a risk of damaging the wood itself when removing the varnish.

Now you need to neutralize the chemical effect of the remover on the surface. For this operation, either plain water or water with vinegar is suitable. Just take it and wash off all the chemicals. After this, we wipe the surface with a flannel rag and wait until the wood is completely dry.

This is the technology.

Tip: work with chemicals very carefully. Use protective gloves, respirators, and ventilate the room well. Otherwise, you can cause significant harm to your own health.

Consider the following option for removing varnish.

Mechanical cleaning

In essence, this method is surface scraping, that is, the most common stripping of a layer using a special tool. The tool is a sharpened steel plate, which is fixed at an angle to increase pressure on a wooden plane with varnish.

The mechanical method also includes sanding the surface manually or using a grinder. This, in other words, is an ordinary grinder on which a circle with sandpaper is attached. This method is good, but you need to take into account that it is only suitable for planes in which the layer thickness is small.

What is the main advantage of mechanical varnish removal is that no chemicals are used, that is, there are completely no pungent and toxic odors. In addition, the wood itself does not deteriorate from exposure to liquids and moisture.

As for the disadvantages of the technology, they are obvious - cleaning the surface using a sanding machine or the same emery will take a long and tedious time. So if you remove the varnish with your own hands using a mechanical method, then be patient. Yes, you will also need strength here.

By the way, there is another important point that must be taken into account. When working with grinders, a lot of dust gets into the air from the working surface. So in such a situation, if the work is carried out in the living room, be sure to cover all valuable items with film.

Advice: if you need to process a large area, such as floors or walls, then it may be cheaper and easier to hire a specialist who has expensive professional equipment for sanding wood. In most such cases, if you count how much time is spent on independent work, it almost always turns out that it would have been cheaper to hire a specialist.

And let's look at another way to remove old varnish.

Heat treatment

The meaning of this technology is that the surface of the wood heats up and, as a result, the varnish layer begins to lose its adhesion strength to the plane. That is, it cracks and at this time you need to pry it off with a spatula (or chisel) and gradually clean the entire area.

There are two important points here.

Firstly, you need to work in protective glasses, gloves and in a well-ventilated area. This is because when heated, the varnish begins to emit harmful fumes, and when scraping with a spatula, you can easily injure your hands or eyes - pieces of varnish can simply bounce off the surface. And, of course, you need to monitor the fire safety of the work.
Secondly If you see that when heated, the varnish does not begin to peel off, but simply simply chars, then this is a sure sign that the composition of this paint and varnish material is such that if it can be removed, it can only be with the help of chemical compounds.

Now regarding the tools.

You can use two devices:

A regular gas or gasoline burner. What makes this thing convenient is that its price is quite low. But you need to use the burner with extreme caution, because you are working with an open flame.

Construction hairdryer. In fact, the tool looks like a regular hair dryer, only the heating temperature of its construction counterpart is much higher - about 600 degrees.

What is certainly good about surface heat treatment technology is that the rate of varnish peeling is very high. There is no need to wait for anything - we heated the area, cleaned it and that’s it, move on to the next point.

In principle, we have considered the basic technologies for removing varnish, now let’s “to complete the picture” briefly understand how to properly paint wood with varnish or paint.

Procedure for applying new paintwork

An approximate scheme of work should be like this:

The entire wooden surface is sanded with sandpaper. Usually they first work with a coarse fraction, and then gradually move on to fine-grained paper.
Then the tree is protected from rotting, the proliferation of bugs, and the appearance of mold. This is done very simply - an antiseptic liquid is poured into a special jar and applied with a brush to the entire wooden plane. Moreover, here you need to try to saturate the wood as best as possible so that the antiseptic penetrates as deeply as possible into the wood structure.

After the antiseptic layer has completely dried, take stain, paint or varnish and carefully apply it to the surface of the wood in one or several layers. As a rule, this is done either with a brush or a roller.

The main thing is to wait until each previous layer has completely dried and then everything will be fine!

That's all - let's summarize.

Conclusion

We examined in more or less detail how to remove the old varnish layer from wood. In addition, we discussed step by step how to properly re-varnish wood. I would like all the information provided to be useful to you in practice ().

Well, if you want to learn more useful information and tips, then be sure to watch the video in this article.

Let's apply a special varnish remover to our surface.

Wooden surfaces (parquet, furniture, panels, etc.) are often varnished to preserve the natural grain of the wood.

There are different types of varnishes; the appropriate brand is selected for the wood.

Over time, the varnish coating begins to lose its shine, wears off the surface, and cracks.

The question arises: how to remove varnish from a wooden surface in order to prepare the area for a new coating.

What are the methods for removing varnish?

Mechanical method. Using sandpaper, a special attachment on a drill, or a sanding machine, remove the varnish layer from the wooden surface. In this case, the top layer of the tree may be damaged. This method is generally not suitable for restoration work.

Thermal method. By burning a painted wooden surface with a blowtorch or a hair dryer, the varnish is peeled off, and then it is removed with mechanical devices (a spatula, chisel, sandpaper). A tree can change its structure. The method is fire hazardous and toxic.

Chemical method. How to remove varnish from a wooden surface is decided by experts, who determine several important factors when choosing a remover:

what varnish is used to paint the surface?
thickness of varnish layers;
what kind of wooden product is varnished;
degree of adhesion of varnish to wood;
type of subsequent processing (varnishing, painting, etc.).

The effectiveness of removing varnish and preserving the top layer of a wooden surface, especially on furniture and parquet, depend on these components.

Chemicals for removing varnish

Cleaners and detergents that can be used to remove a thin layer of varnish on a polished wooden surface. You just have to rub it well with a stiff brush to peel off the varnish.
Organic solvents (white spirit, solvent, etc.) are used for strong adhesion of the varnish to the surface. To clean wood, the solvent is sprayed or sponged onto the varnished surface, left to soak, and then mechanical devices are used, depending on the thickness of the varnish layers. The thinnest layers are removed with simple sandpaper, and several layers have to be removed with a spatula.
Special chemical removers, gel- or powder-like, in a ready-made solution, can be used for different types of varnish.

How do special washes work?

Removes the thickest layers of varnish.
Cleans the pores of untreated wood into which the varnish has been absorbed.
The highest degree of adhesion will be destroyed if a thick layer of gel-like mass or paste is applied to a wooden surface with a spatula or brush. The action time is indicated in the instructions, but it is better to leave the product for a full chemical reaction for 2-4 hours, observing changes on the surface. To enhance the effect, wooden products are covered with a film (the so-called “compress”).
The surface cleared of varnish is washed off with water and wiped dry with a rag. After complete drying, the wooden surface is ready for new painting.

Buy the product

You can buy a special chemical to quickly solve the problem by removing varnish from a wooden surface after consulting with a specialist on our company’s website. You will be offered a wide selection of high-quality chemicals that act directly on the varnish layer, remove any deposits, do not damage the surface, and save you from unnecessary physical effort.

Not every professional can cope with the task of restoring furniture. To solve this issue, you can use several methods at once. It becomes important to completely remove the old coating. But, before embarking on such a procedure, you need to understand how to properly remove varnish from furniture and what methods exist for this.

To remove nail polish you need the following tools:

polyethylene film;
hair dryer, which is used specifically in the construction industry;
blowtorch;
hard metal brush;
soft sponge;
brush;
respirator along with a mask for protection;
a special chemical composition that washes away everything;
glasses;
rubber gloves;
sandpaper;
sanding paper.

Existing removal methods

Regardless of the method chosen, it is important that the work is completed quickly but carefully.

Here are some of the most common options for those who want to understand how to remove varnish from furniture:

chemical;
mechanical;
thermal;
water.

Chemical

This is an effective solution for carrying out the procedure at home.

It is important not to forget about a cotton suit, which will protect the outer layers of the skin from the penetration of active substances. A mask, goggles, and rubber gloves are also mandatory requirements for those who plan to remove old material.

The furniture complex itself for chemically removing varnish is called a remover. It is usually produced in the form of a special powder or mixture that corrodes paint coatings of ten or more layers. Varnish remover is easily purchased in specialized stores.

The stages of removing varnish from furniture can be described as follows.

The first is preparation. He assumes that, according to the instructions, the powders are diluted with a certain amount of water. To obtain a thick and uniform consistency, all components included in the composition are diluted with each other. Gel compositions adhere easily to surfaces, even vertical ones. By removing it, you also don’t have to worry about the result.
Wash. A paste-like substance is applied to the furniture. A key step in the process. For application it is recommended to use a regular brush. The surface is treated in thick layers. The movements are carried out in one direction, then there is no need to re-process the surface.
Next comes the application of special films. This step is necessary to enhance the effect of the wash. To do this, take a polyethylene film and cover the treated surface with it. The film should be left in this place for no more than 1 hour. But it is better to leave the entire structure for 3-4 hours. The quality of the varnish itself and the thickness of the coating from it determine exactly how much time needs to be spent in a particular case. The film is removed when the stage is completed. We get a perfect polished surface. You need to remove the film after a dark brown tint appears. The paintwork itself swells at this moment.
Next we move on to removing the varnish. If the previous steps were done correctly, then this moment will not cause any trouble. Just take a spatula and get rid of the remaining particles of material. Next, take sandpaper and pass it over the wood base several times. This allows you to remove parts of the material that remain after previous processing. Removing polish from furniture is not that difficult.

It is advisable to use a spatula that does not have sharp edges. If the instrument is new, it is recommended to sharpen it. Otherwise, the furniture itself will be damaged and require cleaning. Plastic tools are best suited for this job.

Finally, all that remains is to eliminate the wash. In this case, we will need at least 0.5 liters of ordinary water. Dissolve vinegar in it, in an amount of 100-150 milliliters. Dip the sponge into the resulting solution, and then rinse the entire surface. Wipe everything dry with a flannel rag. When the furniture is thoroughly cleaned, it is exposed to fresh air. We have already figured out how to remove residues.

Related article: What varnish should I use on a wooden table?

In the video: using a remover to remove varnish.

Mechanical

There are several options for so-called mechanical processing. It is up to the buyer to decide what is appropriate.

Option #1

It is suitable if detachment occurs in fragments. The main tools are fine sandpaper or a steel brush. They perform circular movements: this is how old varnish comes off from furniture without any problems at all.

Screwdrivers or spatulas help get into hard-to-reach places.

Option No. 2

How to remove polishing if previous methods did not help? In this case, you cannot do without an eccentric grinding tool and hard sandpaper.

Before you begin, it is important to use gloves and goggles for added protection. The following diagram will help you understand how to remove unnecessary parts.

We fill a special machine with sandpaper with grit from 80 to 120.
The surface is thoroughly processed as a whole.
The sandpaper is replaced with a grit of up to 180 grit.

The varnished wooden surface is processed using the same tool. The main thing is to make sure at the end that there are no particles of varnish left and that the removal is complete.

Thermal

A hair dryer or blowtorch is required when implementing this method.

The solution has two important advantages:

High quality cleaning.
Fast completion of all stages.

You just need to follow the rules so that the varnish comes off easily from a wooden surface.

During the first stage, one of the fragments of the wooden base is heated. For this, a blowtorch or hair dryer is used. Using a construction knife or spatula, you need to clean the base from the paint coating that has been melted.

If you don't work fast enough, the varnish will have time to dry again. After one fragment they move on to the next. Gradually the varnish is removed from the entire surface.

When using the thermal technique, you must be especially careful. When firing, be sure to maintain a certain distance. Temperature violations are also unacceptable. Otherwise, the color of the wood will not change as needed, and removal will not be successful.

Related article: Technology of painting wooden stairs and choice of materials

Water

Refers to the simple and safe options that are assumed in this case. The main tool is a sponge, which is properly soaked in water. Then the surface to be cleaned is thoroughly wiped. Gradually, under the influence of moisture, the coating is cleaned.

Purchased processing products

We need to figure out how severe the initial destruction of the material is and what tools will be easier to do the job.

Powder materials in this regard are considered the most professional solution, although paste is also pleasing with the result. They are the ones who can easily remove up to ten layers of varnish. It will be enough to dilute the composition with water until a paste-like substance is formed. It is simply applied with a brush to the surface where the old varnish was. The work of removing old varnish from old furniture should be done evenly, without repetition.

Ready-made liquids or gels do not require dilution with water. Such compositions are immediately ready for application using a brush. But these products only remove up to three layers.

The most convenient means for old varnish is a spray, but in terms of effectiveness it will lose to its analogues.

After applying any of the products, the surface is covered with a film. Then they leave it like that for a while. The coating material is removed when the color becomes dark and the varnish itself becomes viscous. The old coating is simply removed from the wood with a spatula. The main thing is to remember that varnished surfaces require special care in the future.

How best to remove old varnish (2 videos)

Nail polish removal methods (22 photos)

Each of us dreams of home comfort and coziness, of a beautiful interior. Sometimes you want to radically change everything, change the situation.

Today lacquered furniture is very popular.

It’s a pity to throw away some items; they are still quite strong, but look unsightly due to the shabby varnish. Nowadays, to carry out restoration of furniture, remove varnish possible at home. And it will serve you for many years to come.

Such products look beautiful and add solidity to the interior.

If you think that there is a super remedy for removing varnish , then such an opinion is wrong. In its production there is never one base, it is always different. Consequently, many solvents are made.

You need to choose the product carefully to remove the varnish and not damage the furniture.

Before embarking on such a responsible task, you should carefully prepare. Select a coating removal method, prepare necessary materials and tools.

First of all, you will need protective equipment - special glasses, gloves, a respirator.

And for removing varnish – remover, brush to apply the product, spatula, sanding tape, sanding machine, hair dryer, and plastic film.

The process is not easy. The varnish cannot be removed in one go.

In this matter, different methods are used. When selecting them, the following points are taken into account.

For example, delicate. If you need to clean surface very old furniture or surface varnished, the most acceptable option would be to coat it with a remover.

The most relevant method is to treat the coating with a chemical composition, the so-called stripper.

These can be liquids, acetone as a widely used product, gels, or any powders. Denatured alcohol is best processed shellac surfaces.

It is more convenient to use a remover in powder form.

It is diluted with water and the resulting paste is applied to the coating. The product should work within the time specified in the instructions. It is preferable to hold objects vertically; cleansing will be better, and special gels can remove even deep layers. Ready-made liquids will remove only a few layers.

The old varnish is removed with a non-sharp spatula, preferably a plastic one, in the direction of the grain.

Coating removal process: step-by-step instructions

You can consider the process of cleansing with a remover step by step. Before starting work, we remove the drawers from the furniture, remove the doors, and lay a lot of newspapers on the floor.

The main thing is not to damage the wooden covering itself, otherwise you will ruin the entire restoration process.

We wear protective equipment, otherwise you will receive serious burns. You will need a regular brush. First of all, we cover surface wash in one layer, brushing in one direction only.

We proceed from the rule that the brush should be passed over one place only once, without repetition.

To get the best result, cover the top with polyethylene. We keep it on for several hours - it all depends on the number of layers. With highly effective cleaning, the remover will turn dark brown and the varnish will swell.

The average waiting time for the effect of a compress is from 1 to 4 hours, depending on how many layers are to be removed.

If the work is done correctly, it will come off easily surfaces. After removing the film, softened varnish remove with a spatula. If it doesn't go away the first time, you need to repeat it again.

It happens that sandpaper can easily remove what is left.

Then you need to remove the remaining product. Take water (about half a liter) with vinegar dissolved in it (100 ml) and rinse thoroughly with a sponge surface and wipe with a rag. We leave the treated furniture to dry.

You need to make sure that the sun's rays do not fall on it.

The next method is mechanical. It is called looping and has a significant negative side. This takes a long time, and requires maximum effort.

In other words, this is stripping off the varnish layer using a construction tool.

It is carried out with a special-purpose tool - a cycle.

You can purchase a cycle or make it yourself.

If the layer is not thick enough, you can limit yourself to an 80-100 grit sanding belt attached to a sanding machine. After processing, take a tape with a grain size of 150 and higher and go through it again.

This method is suitable if you will be applying some other products in the future.

The additional method is thermal. To do this you will need a hair dryer. It is capable of heating the plane to a very high temperature - 600 degrees. He has the advantage of being quite fast. Heating surface and immediately scrape it off with a spatula. But here it is necessary to observe all safety measures to avoid fire.

When working, you need to open all windows and wear hand and face protection.

To remove nail polish , they also use a water cleaning method, the most primitive and harmless. Moisten the surface with a generously moistened sponge.

In most cases, you can clean the varnish yourself.

After a while varnish begins to dissolve. Wet surface process several times with coarse sandpaper until the coating turns into mush. The furniture is washed and dried well.

The methods are different, the work should be carried out scrupulously and carefully. The most important thing is not to spoil the tree.

Furniture prepared for restoration can be covered again varnish . It will not only renew, but also help preserve it from external negative influences.

By following all these rules, you will receive a high-quality lacquered furniture surface that will again acquire its original aesthetic appearance.

Nowadays, such pieces of furniture are becoming increasingly popular. Processed varnish , it looks the most advantageous, completely harmless.

This is important in interior design.

It is worth noting that it makes no sense to delete varnish from items made from chipboard, since the main film will come off along with the cleaning agent, which will negatively affect the appearance of the product.

Natural wood is perfectly cleaned.

In conclusion, I would like to give some useful tips.

If the surface coated with shellac, a good result is obtained with the help of denatured alcohol, and it does not take much time.
Where there are several layers, liquid products are suitable. Due to the fact that they evaporate quickly, penetrate deep into surface cannot.
If the scale of work is significant, it is better to use powders due to their long shelf life.
To remove multi-layer coating, pastes and gels are better suited.

Denatured alcohol for removing varnish from a wooden surface.

Of course, most of us buy new furniture, thereby wanting to show how we need to keep up with the times, that they have wonderful modern furnishings and a chic interior. Individual people demonstrate their material well-being in this way.

Modern furniture is not always of better quality than old furniture. And that one is many times superior in its performance to the new one.

Most simply cannot afford to purchase modern cabinets, walls, sofas, armchairs, tables, etc. Therefore, it is important to treat that furniture with care. And there are reasons for this. Without a doubt, the stores have a wide variety of products. But they only vaguely resemble wood. Natural wood is now difficult to find, and the price will be high.

Anyone who has old furniture in their home should try to restore it and preserve it for many years.

Updating furniture at home is not as difficult a process as it might seem. Your desire, a little patience, and the furniture will sparkle with new colors, giving you and your loved ones a lot of pleasure. Plus, how great it is to create with your own hands!

Modern technologies allow old furniture to be given a second life. Craftsmen manage to completely repaint it. But to do this, it is necessary to prepare pieces of furniture for this process by removing the previous coating. This is a time consuming process that needs to be done correctly. Otherwise, the material can be irrevocably damaged. How to remove old varnish from a wooden surface is the main question that we will try to answer in this article.

There are several ways to remove the old layer of varnish from wood: mechanical, thermal and chemical. They should be used depending on personal preferences and the condition of the material itself.

Mechanical method

The most common method of removing varnish from furniture or other objects is mechanical. It consists in performing scraping, that is, mechanical removal of the old coating using various tools. These include:

a slightly sharpened metal plate;

sandpaper with varying degrees of grain;

grinding machine;

grinder with a special attachment.

All of the above methods are used to treat surfaces on which a small layer of varnish or paint has been applied. When using electrical appliances, care must be taken not to overdo it and damage the structure of the wood.

The positive characteristics of mechanical processing include the complete absence of chemical compounds that adversely affect the human body. The structure of the material itself is also preserved. All you have to do is polish it thoroughly, and you get an almost brand new piece of furniture. The disadvantages are that this is a rather long and grueling process that requires considerable effort and patience. Especially if you don’t use technology, but do everything manually.

It is worth considering that when scraping or grinding a lot of fine dust is generated. Therefore, it is necessary to carry out work wearing a mask and safety glasses.

Execution technology

Let's take a closer look at how to remove varnish from wood mechanically. So, first, let's stock up on materials:

wooden block;
sandpaper of varying degrees of abrasiveness;
brush with metal bristles.

The process should begin with preparing the product. If this is a piece of furniture, then you should first disassemble it into separate elements for ease of work. Then we carry out the work according to the following instructions:

rough the old varnish on the surface with a wire brush;
then take coarse-grained sandpaper, having previously secured it to a wooden block, and gradually remove the old layer with longitudinal movements over the area of the product;
after the varnish is completely removed, change the sandpaper to another with fine abrasiveness, and carefully sand the surface to a perfectly smooth state;
Finally, we thoroughly clean the wooden object from fine dust and proceed to other types of work.

Please note that when processing surfaces with a large area, for example, parquet boards, it is better to use scraping machines.

Heat treatment

You can also remove varnish from a wooden surface using a thermal method. The process is performed by heating the varnish layer. As a result of an increase in temperature, the paint and varnish material melts, and its adhesion to the wooden surface decreases. This method has several important nuances:

The work must be done carefully. It is necessary to use special gloves that will protect the skin of your hands. The room must be ventilated to prevent the accumulation of toxic and carbon monoxide gases during processing. You should also consider wearing eye protection, as removing polish with a spatula can create shards that can accidentally damage your vision.

Sometimes during heat treatment the coating does not melt, but begins to char. In this case, it is better to choose another method for removing varnish from wood. This varnish coating is best removed using a chemical remover.

Important! Be sure to adhere to all necessary fire safety regulations.

On video: removing factory varnish.

Related article: Impregnation of plywood for moisture resistance: 4 proven methods

Heat treatment instructions

Before removing varnish from a wooden door, for example, by heat treatment, you should decide on the tools that are used in this process. Experts advise paying attention to two of them:

1. At home, a gas or gasoline burner is very often used. This is the best option, it is affordable, its price is not high and refueling costs also do not cause difficulties. The disadvantage of this method is the increased degree of fire and burns. That is, work with a burner if you have at least a little experience.

2. A more modern way is to use a hair dryer. Working with it is quite simple. The temperature that a hair dryer can generate reaches 600 C.

The heat treatment process is very simple. To begin with, a certain part of the surface is heated until bubbles appear, and then carefully lifted and removed using a metal spatula. The advantage of this method is its high processing speed, but it requires some skill.

After the removal of the coating by heat treatment is completed, the surface must be sanded using sandpaper. We pay special attention to the end parts of objects.

Chemical method

Let's talk about how to remove old varnish from wooden surfaces using chemical treatment. This method is often used when removing varnish from wooden objects that have an uneven texture. To implement this process, different chemical compositions are used: powder, gel, liquid and solvent.

It is advisable to use a product for removing old coating in the form of a liquid if up to three layers of paint and varnish have been applied to wooden objects. This is justified by the fact that wood varnish remover has a high degree of volatility, and it is not able to quickly and deeply absorb into layers of paint.

Related article: How to protect wood with natural drying oil

The best wash option for items that have a multi-layer old coating are gels and varnishes. But it is better to use powders when performing work with a large area of processed surfaces.

Advice! Powdered remover will work more effectively if you add a small amount of water to it and make it into a paste. Gel and powder removers can remove up to ten layers of paint in one use.

Washing technology

Now we will tell you in detail how to remove varnish using chemicals. We note that it consists of four stages. And with any of them, you should adhere to a high degree of protection for the skin, eyes and respiratory organs. Here's an example of how you can remove varnish from a wooden door:

Using regular paint brushes, apply the wash evenly to the surface of the door. Application should be done so that the product is applied to the surface in only one layer.
Work is carried out to enhance the effect of varnish dissolution and prevent evaporation of the composition. To do this, experts recommend “wrapping” the door with plastic film. The time for which the door must be left in this state is about 3 hours. If the number of layers is large, then exposure to the solvent can be extended up to 4 hours.
It is necessary to remove the dissolved layers of varnish using a metal spatula. In order not to damage the structure of the wood and not leave a large number of dents, a spatula should be prepared for such work. Its edges need to be sharpened a little to round them. You don't need to press the spatula too hard.
It is necessary to wash off any remaining chemical solvents from the surface of the door. Use ordinary water for this. For the best effect, rinse off the compositions using a vinegar solution in the ratio: 5 parts water to 1 part vinegar. The work should be carried out carefully, but in a short time, after which the product is covered with a new varnish.

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Most often, it is not possible to achieve the desired result in one go. In this case, the process must be repeated. If after the first treatment there are small areas of varnish left, they can be removed with sandpaper.

This method of removing varnish from a wooden surface can be used for both large and small elements. For example, you can wash off acrylic varnish from decorative interior items or remove varnish from lining in a bathhouse. It is not recommended to wash off chipboard varnish with chemical compounds, as chemical elements can ruin its structure. Only products made from natural wood are suitable for this process.

In all of the above technologies for removing old varnish from wood, there are no particular difficulties, which allows you to do the process yourself. But the work must be carried out with all necessary precautions. If you don’t have confidence in your own abilities, then it’s better to entrust this matter to professionals.