Stain Stripping

[Farrell]

Just thought I would follow up on my stripping question. I applied a second 
thinner coat of Dyna-Strip 2 and let it set for about 8 hours. Then I 
scraped it off with a wide putty knife and scotchbright-scrubbed the veneer 
down with lacquer thinner. This process removed what appears to be most of 
the remaining stain and totally evened out the funky stain shadows that 
appeared after the first coat of stripper was removed. The final result is a 
completely and perfectly clean stripped flame-mahogany case. I can hardly 
wait to see what this thing looks like when it is refinished. I wish the 
owner wanted it stained more red than brown, but oh well.

I've used lots of different kinds of nasty solvent-based strippers over the 
years. Never again. This Dyna-Strip 2 stuff works fabulously. Totally 
effortlessly. Total finish removal. You don't even have to open a window. It 
has a funky soap/basic odor to it, but nothing nasty. It is gentle on your 
hands - no stinging. It's real thick, so it doesn't splatter when you apply 
it. Way cool stuff. I'm completely sold on it. "Works like magic!"

Terry Farrell

> My advice to Terry was to scrub out as much stain as possible with a
> Scotchbrite red pad or stiff bristle scrub brush dipped in denatured
> alcohol.  I also advised trying a thin coat of Dyna 2 stripper.
>
> Either or both of these methods should remove all or most of the stain, as
> the stripper did on most of the case.  If any stain is left after taking
> the above measures, light sanding should be sufficient to remove it.
>
> On figured mahogany veneers, it's sometimes difficult to tell when you've
> removed stain or you're trying to remove what turns out to be part of the
> figure.  If you rub, sand or use chemicals on an area that doesn't appear
> to change, then you've been working on the inherent color and figure of 
> the
> wood.
>
> A good trick is to load up a paper towel with alcohol and wet down the
> suspect area.  While the alcohol is still wet, you can see what the wood
> really looks like.
>
> Arthur Grudko

>>>   ----- Original Message ----- 
>>>   From: Farrell
>>>
>>>   I stripped the finish off the inside of the case
>>> (rim) of a piano I am working on. I used a
>>> methylene-chloride-free product called Dyna-Strip 2,
>>> sold by Pianolac. One application of stripper left
>>> on overnight removed the finish completely - it
>>> literally fell off - no scraping required at all.
>>> I'm very happy with that aspect of the results.
>>>
>>>   In some areas, hunks of the stripper slid down the
>>> face of the rim - it still removed the finish - but
>>> in those areas, less stain was removed. So now I
>>> have shadows of light and dark where there was an
>>> apparent difference in stain removal.
>>>
>>>   What is the best way to address these stain
>>> shadows?
>>>
>>>   Terry Farrell