Door Project Day 2

So I was starting to run into some road blocks with my door/table. You'll notice that there is basically a frame that runs around the perimeter of the door - it might be a different kind of wood, or maybe it was refinished more recently, but the varnish was proving much more difficult to sand off.



I decided to deploy some chemical paint remover. I didn't really want to do this for my project from the beginning because a) it seemed like things were coming along fine without it and b) chemicals are sort of scary. So after several questioning calls to my dad, I trotted over to Lowe's.

My dad suggested that I NOT use a water-based stripper, but my chemical skittishness won out, and I picked up a bottle of Mötsenböcker's Lift-Off: Paint & Varnish Remover. It's a water-based remover that is "green cross certified, low-VOC, biodegradable" and apparently "safe for the environment and the user." I wasn't sure it would do the trick, but the big letters on the front of the bottle say "Removes wood stains!" Off we go.



After letting the product sit on one edge of my door frame for about 10 minutes, I saw zero results. The hot-headed part of my brain started firing off a million thoughts like, "I knew this wouldn't work" and "Now I've ruined everything!" I looked at the back of the bottle again for some nuggets of wisdom, and I decided to reapply and give it some more time.



In about another 10 minutes I came back to find that there was still nothing peeling away - the back of the bottle seemed to imply that the paint would basically slough off on its own and I'd just have to brush it away. I decided to pick up my trusty sandpaper and see if, at least, the remover made sanding any easier; luckily, it did.

It wasn't a cakewalk, but the remover did make it a little easier for me to sand. Tomorrow I'll try the other sides, but I'll be sure to leave it on for a long, long time first.