stripping question

[Lhadeh at wmconnect.com]

My favorite method is using a heat gun and a stiff 1-1/2 inch putty knife.  I 
grind the business end of the putty knife in a slight arc and round the 
corners a bit to keep it from 'digging in'.  Then I file or grind the edge at 90 
degrees to the flat of the knife and polish off all burrs.  The heat gun is a 
yellow Harbor Freight special set on Low heat.

When removing finish, keep the heat gun moving (to avoid burning the finish 
being removed and the wood underneath).  I concentrate heat on the blade of the 
knife as much as possible and let the knife bulldoze the finish off.

The best time to strip is outside under a shed on a windy day with your back 
to the wind.  If that can't be arranged, I use three 20-inch fans.  One nearby 
pulling smoke away and two in windows to exhaust the smoke with the garage 
door open.

I would suggest practice on a junk piano or piece of furniture first.  If you 
do it right you get very little smoke.  If you watch the finish ahead of the 
knife closely you will see it begin to crinkle slightly.  That is what you 
want.  If you heat it more, it will begin to bubble (boil).  That is OK also, but 
you don't want to heat much more or it may flash and smoke.  If that happens, 
quickly scrape off the smoking puddle to the ground and quench it with your 
foot.  You don't want to leave it burning on the surface or it may darken the 
wood.

With a little practice you get it just right and can fairly quickly strip 
about 95 percent of the finish off.  But if you work too long, you get tired, 
lose you concentration and create a lot of smoke.

That's the method I use, but it is still a pain.  Just seems to be less pain 
than other methods I've used, so far.


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