How do I strip clear coat off a dresser ?
by Carrie
+6
Have a 5 drawer dresser that we got from my husband’s grandmother. Would like to strip and either get it to the natural wood or paint with chalk paint. There’s a shiny coat/sealant on the dresser and was wondering what would be the best way to remove this?
Suggested Project Book
Start with Citristrip. May take several applications. Once you are down to bare wood, then decide how you wish to proceed.
If you want to remove the clear coat to get to wood so that you can stain the dresser you would need to use a stripper and follow the directions. Lots of steel wool, rubber gloves, and citristrip. If you decide to use chalk paint you would only need to sand lightly to knock down the shine to dull it and then paint away with chalk paint. It might be fun to only strip the drawer fronts and top and stain them and paint the frame with chalk paint. Check out Hometalk and Pinterest for different ideas if you want to get creative!
Hello Carrie, If you paint it with chalk paint you just have to lightly sand off the shine and then paint with primer and then paint. If you want to go to the bare wood, you will have to buy a stripper like sunnyside 2 minute ultimate paint and varnish stripper. It doesn't have to be that brand, it is just what I have used before.
A chemical furniture refinisher or stripper to remove the existing clear coat. If it's a veneer wood I would go with a no rinse refinisher which is a little less aggressive and would be less likely to harm any adhesive holding the veneer. After removal, fine sand and use a tac cloth before refinishing.
Thank you very much! :)