Refinish wood furniture
+10
This coffee table was painted red when I bought it. I've used Citristrip on it several times to remove the red paint, but seems like the paint has stained the wood itself. I tried sanding it (see the little piece of paper), but the red paint "clogs" up the sandpaper right away. It would take several sheets of sandpaper to sand away the paint. Any suggestions on what other paint remover I should try? Also, what's the best way to sand and remove paint from rounded surfaces like the coffee table legs? Thanks!!
9 answers
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I had a similar problem,sometimes the wood takes too much of a stain and you will be unable to completely remove the stain so you will need to paint it a darker stain which is what I did or paint it instead the citristrip should work on your legs easily,just use a soft cloth to work it of and a rope wrapped with a rag to get in the tight grooves
Funnygirl
on Apr 20, 2015
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I agree. The piece was not primed, so the paint has stained the wood. Citristrip is one of those products you have to use several - and I mean SEVERAL - times to remove all of the paint. Since it is clogging your sand paper so badly I think you need to go back and strip the table 2 or 3 more times. Let the stripper do the work. Not you!
Janis Hill
on Apr 20, 2015
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@JenniferKraschnewski In our experience, If the red paint was applied to bare wood, then the red pigment is in the grain and will be difficult to remove completely. Even if the red paint was applied over a finish, some red will still find its’ way into the grain. Using a more aggressive paint remover (methylene chloride/zip strip) will help. (Use nitrile gloves & do this outside). Apply the remover, let it work – remove as much as possible with a scraper or putty knife. Finish it up with maroon abrasive pads(not steel wool-especially if proceeding with a water-based finish) soaked in stripper to scrub the surface and change pads as they become loaded with red. In the end you may still have some red left in the grain. If you plan on staining the piece, a dark stain will do a better job of hiding any remaining red pigment. #woodcraft
Frank Byers
on Apr 20, 2015
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Just sand it smooth - don't worry about the color. Use "Adhesion Primer" I buy it at Lowes. One or two coats and it will cover everything!! Even works on plastics and PVC. You can then paint it any color you want and it will never bleed through.
Christina McMullen
on Apr 20, 2015
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Go with a very coarse sand paper then a dark stain...but that red is really deep into the wood. After that sand for smoothness and re-stain. You could just go the easy way and prime and paint.
GarynSharon Daniels
on Apr 20, 2015
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If you're getting "clogged" sand paper, then you have quite a bit of paint left on the piece. Strip it again. I'd use the smelly paint stripper that you can buy in any paint department. You must use it outside or be overcome by fumes. If that does not remove the paint then you will know that the piece was not primed before it was painted. We had a sweet little child's rocker that the paint would not come out of completely so we chose a reddish tinted stain. It turned out great.
Lindcurt
on Apr 20, 2015
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Thank you, everyone! This coffee has been sitting in my garage for months, your suggestions hopefully will speed things along.
Jennifer Kraschnewski
on Apr 20, 2015
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Use a hand sander girl. Works marvelous on all my sanding projects. And you won't sweat.
Cheryl
on Apr 20, 2015
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If I may suggest................this really is rather a lovely shade of red that would be difficult to reproduce. Instead of just a refinished table, hwy not go for a piece of art. Check out modern masters reactive metal paint...... with those wonderful legs.......this table could be stunning!
PainterNoni
on Apr 21, 2015
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