Over time, wooden furniture loses its attractiveness. Not everyone is ready to immediately throw it into a landfill and therefore restore it by painting or sanding. It is impossible to restore a set, wardrobe, bed or chest of drawers without cleaning their surface from tarnished enamel. The procedure is considered mandatory. However, not everyone knows how to remove old paint from wood. We will tell you in detail in our article how this is done.
Why remove old paint?
The coating of cabinets, beds, and chests of drawers loses its attractiveness under the influence of the human factor, impacts, and environmental conditions. To update the product, you should apply a new layer to the old one, or first remove it. In what cases is it necessary to remove the coating:
- there are traces of sloppy initial processing;
- chips, cracks and swelling appeared;
- it is incompatible with the new one;
- detachments are fixed;
- irregularities are noticed.
If you do not carry out these manipulations, then subsequent work is meaningless. The new enamel should lie flat on the previously prepared surface.
Over time, the paint will crack and need updating.
How to get rid of unpleasant odors
If the shiny furniture is damp, just take it out into the fresh air. If the furniture has been affected by fungus and mold, remove them first and then fight the smell:
Cleaning products for upholstered furniture (photo source: Yandex.Pictures)
- Wet the sheet in an alcohol-water solution, knock out the dust, and vacuum.
- Fill the entire product with salt, and after 10 hours, vacuum up the residue.
- Dissolve 1 tbsp. l. soap, 1 tbsp. l. citric acid and the same amount of vinegar, beat until foamy, apply and leave to dry. Brush away any residue with stiff bristles.
- For velor and jacquard, use a paste of soda and milk.
If an odorous substance is spilled on furniture, you can remove the smell with drugs from stores for motorists or animals. Tea, fresh coffee, and ammonia also effectively neutralize amber. They are diluted in 1-2 tbsp. l. water and wipe the furniture.
What you need to remove old paint
This will require special tools, protective clothing and knowledge of processing technology. The work involves:
- Inspection of the product.
- Selecting a coating removal method.
- Selection of tools.
- Manipulation.
First you need to understand what the composition of the coating is, how well it adheres to the wood, and what actions will be carried out. One should proceed from the efficiency and speed of the process. Removing old paint from wood is a labor-intensive procedure. Therefore, special tools and protective clothing for work are selected. It is advisable to choose devices that will cause minimal damage to chipboard or wood. To carry out the work you will need:
- putty knife;
- sandpaper;
- scraper;
- industrial hair dryer;
- chemical paint remover;
- drill with attachment;
- grinder or grinder;
- rags;
- gloves, respirator, safety glasses;
- metal brushes.
Please note: Painting glass
The list of tools will allow you to prepare the coating using any of the existing methods. The work will require certain skills, which we will discuss below.
Putty knife
Sandpaper
Remover-gel for paint removal
Sander
Personal protective equipment
Paint removal methods
To eliminate old coating, three main methods that have proven their effectiveness are used. The paint can be affected by:
- Mechanically.
- Chemically.
- Thermally.
When choosing a method for dismantling the coating, you should take into account: what condition it is in, the adhesion strength, the thickness of the layers, and their type.
Attention! With all methods of removing enamel, safety precautions must be observed!
Chemical
The principle of this method is to expose the coating to a special reagent, which reacts to destroy it. Due to chemical exposure, the bonds between molecules are broken and the enamel peels off. The work is carried out as follows:
- The solution is applied to the surface. This can be acetone, white spirit, gasoline, solvent “646”.
- Then the remover for old paint from wood is left on the part for a certain time. Usually it takes about 40-30 minutes.
- Next, using a scraper and spatula, carefully remove the top layer. Care must be taken to ensure that the tool does not damage the surface.
- Remains of the original coating are removed with sandpaper or rags.
You can additionally wipe the surface with white spirit after manipulation. Then let the workpiece dry. Advantages of the method:
- high speed of enamel removal;
- simple procedure;
- no need to use physical effort.
The disadvantages of the procedure include: unpleasant odor, the need to ventilate the room, and the chemical toxicity of the solvent.
Note! All work is carried out in personal protective equipment!
Removing paint after using chemicals
Thermal
The mechanism involves exposing it to heated air using a hair dryer. At high temperatures, the top layer softens and is removed with a spatula. Stages of work:
- connect the equipment to the network;
- aim a stream of hot air at the surface to be treated;
- wait until the enamel begins to lag behind;
- clean with a spatula;
- move to the next section of the working area.
Please note: Detailed instructions for reviving old furniture with your own hands
If you don’t have a hairdryer, you can use an iron, placing foil between it and the furniture. The advantage of the method is its simplicity. The disadvantages are the need to use a hair dryer, because... it cannot always be used on difficult surface areas. If the temperature is chosen incorrectly, chipboard or wood can be damaged.
Please note : the use of open flame during heat treatment is prohibited!
Removing paint using the thermal method
Mechanical
One of the most popular methods. When answering the question of how to remove old paint from wood, most people will cite the indicated method. It is based on the use of power tools, special equipment, and physical impact. Usually a grinder or grinder (drill) is used. Stages of work:
- a nozzle is threaded onto the machine;
- if it is a grinder, then they put on special brushes;
- carefully treat the working area of the product;
- clean the part from debris and dust, wipe with a rag.
Advantages of the method: speed of events. Negative aspects: the likelihood of removing a large layer of chipboard, the formation of a cloud of dust in the room, the need to use protective equipment, it is not always possible to clean complex sections of the part.
Mechanical paint removal
DIY cleaner
Coarse and fine-grained sandpaper is used to remove paint. First, you should treat the entire area with coarse-textured sandpaper. Then you need to sand it with fine-grained paper, achieving a perfectly smooth surface. The likelihood of damage to products is minimal due to pressure control and gentle processing mode. Manipulations can be done by hand, using a block wrapped in paper. The method will require greater physical effort and take longer. Metal cord brushes are often used to remove enamel. They clean the product through muscular force and rods. Then you should sand the entire area with sandpaper. However, with strong pressure, this metal brush noticeably damages the wood. We recommend that you rarely resort to this method.
Cord brush for drill
Precautionary measures
Carry out work outdoors or in a well-ventilated area; read the instructions for use on the package before use. Protective equipment will prevent dust, which will inevitably appear when cleaning furniture, from getting into your eyes and respiratory tract, and your skin will be protected from chemical burns, so do not neglect safety.
Mechanical method
An affordable and universal method: does not require special compounds and equipment, but is labor-intensive.
You can remove paint from wooden furniture manually with a sharp spatula, chisel and sandpaper of varying degrees of hardness. This is convenient when processing surfaces with a small area or with complex terrain.
Power tools (grinder, plane or grinder with attachments) speed up the process and make the task easier, but only on flat and smooth surfaces.
A grinding machine polishes the product, removing the coating from it in thin layers, and with a plane you can immediately remove several layers of old paint.
A drill and grinder with attachments are suitable for rough cleaning. Wire brushes, sanding cloths with different grain sizes and flap wheels remove thick layers of paint.
Thermal method
As a result of heating, paints and varnishes soften and move away from the wooden surface. You can achieve the required temperature by using a hair dryer or iron.
A hair dryer heats the air to 650oC and regulates the temperature. It does not have an open flame, which helps prevent the wood from being scorched. You can use a hairdryer both outdoors and indoors. The main thing is that it is well ventilated. An effective method for smooth flat surfaces and for textured products, such as textured furniture.
Required tools:
- hair dryer
- putty knife
- rags and degreasing solution
- Remedies
Adviсe:
- The surface must be cleaned of coarse dirt and dust. Smoothly move the hair dryer around the entire perimeter at a distance of 15-20 cm
- When the paint begins to bubble and wrinkle, remove it with a putty knife or metal scraper. The spatula must be cleaned all the time.
- Remove remaining traces of paint with a wire brush.
- Once cleaning is complete, degrease the surface.
Important to remember:
- This method does not work when removing fire-resistant and heat-resistant varnishes and paints.
- Do not use the heating method near electrical wiring or surfaces that could melt.
Features of removing different types of paint
If you can use grinders, grinders and drills to remove any painted product, then this rule also applies to metal brushes. A construction hairdryer can handle any coating, even multi-layered. Chemical mixtures are classified by application. There are solutions of organic origin: alcohol, gasoline, acetone, white spirit. They are designed to remove pentaphthalic, nitrocellulose, and oil enamels. To the question - how to wash off acrylic paint or water-based emulsion, we answer that other solutions are suitable for this. They have specific chemical properties. You will need a sodium hydroxide paint remover that will do the job effectively and quickly. Do not overexpose the applied solution over time.
Pay attention to: How to remove paint from plastic yourself
