# Stripping Louvered Cabinet Doors



## Carlo Bartolini (Aug 30, 2011)

I have 22 louvered cabinet doors to strip and refinish, some smaller, some larger, I don't need both sides stripped, only the front.

Wood is Northern Amazon Mahogany - Swietenia macrophylla King.

Varnish is very thick - 12 coats of marine oil based varnish.

I have been using paint stripper to remove from walls etc. but for the louvered doors I am not happy with my technique.

Also afraid of paint stripper removing finish from the back - my current thinking is to mask tape the back. Not sure though.

Any Ideas on what would be the best and fastest way to do it?

Many thanks!

:smile:


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## cabinetman (Jul 5, 2007)

With that many doors, and that much finish, it may be better to have a pro stripper do the job. I would definitely use a chemical stripper (MC based). If I was doing it I would resign myself that the backs will get some of it. With that being the case, I would do the whole door, and start over.










 







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## MastersHand (Nov 28, 2010)

As just stated this is a huge undertaking. I would go to a furniture restoration place. The one by me has huge vats they dip remove finish and could have them back to you ready for finish before you even had your first one done. This is not a knock you just don't need this aggravation and mess


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## Carlo Bartolini (Aug 30, 2011)

Unfortunately (or fortunately) I am in Brazil, in a very remote area, so no professionals of the kind you have mentioned, sorry.

I have already stripped and refinished 38 of these doors, both sides, I am posting to see if I can improve my method.:yes:

MasterHand - perhaps the stripper vat idea might be a good one, perhaps I can build one for two doors..they are thin..do you think it could work?

Either way I really appreciate the answers.:thumbsup:


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## MastersHand (Nov 28, 2010)

Carlo Bartolini said:


> Unfortunately (or fortunately) I am in Brazil, in a very remote area, so no professionals of the kind you have mentioned, sorry.
> 
> I have already stripped and refinished 38 of these doors, both sides, I am posting to see if I can improve my method.:yes:
> 
> ...


Yeah Beautiful where You are. Defiantly nice to see your ambitious and enjoying this. There Vat is constructed of wood and is huge but you can build it to whatever size. I think it will be beneficial and help keep the mess down to a more manageable on taking


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## chemmy (Dec 13, 2011)

Carlo Bartolini said:


> I have 22 louvered cabinet doors to strip and refinish, some smaller, some larger, I don't need both sides stripped, only the front.
> 
> Wood is Northern Amazon Mahogany - Swietenia macrophylla King.
> 
> ...


Sand varnish off flat areas [120 grit] till most of it is removed down to bare wood, then switch to less aggressive grits [150,220,320, etc.] Use a fien or other detail sander to sand the louvers. This will insure no mess on backs, no contentions with wax or other chemical contaminates. More time than paste strippers?? Hmmm? is time of the essence? how will you dispose of the strippers, solvent after wash? with sanding there is no need of concern in this manner. 

Just a suggestion knowing your circumstances there ok?


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## Carlo Bartolini (Aug 30, 2011)

Many thanks Chemmy. your idea is great, but the problem is that this varnish is so tough and thick that even sanding with 60 grit or using scrapers, takes me quite a bit of time to remove it. And yes - the Fein with a finger is wonderful for sanding the hard to get parts after the bulk has been removed. Two tools I love the Fein Multimaster and the Festool Rotex 150 - lots of power and no dust, just amazing engineering. :thumbsup:

Unfortunately time is important for me.

I have tried all strippers available down here :devil2: I mean paint strippers....:yes:
The best one for this varnish is from a company called Montana, striptizi, it's composition is:
Cellulose esters, hydrocarbons, chlorinated solvents, alcohols.
It's a white gel (I'm assuming paraffin). I brush it in wait until it's almost dry, brush it in again (always very thick to minimize evaporation) sometimes a third time, but usually by the second most of the bulk is peeling off. Remove with scrapers.

Than a few more times so the stuff in the grain comes out. Always removing with sharp scrapers.

Than I clean twice with Paint Thinner, coarse sanding., clean once again with Paint Thinner, continue sanding, if any spots of white remains I'll clean again the specific part.

Goes fast for flat areas but it's time consuming for the louvres, the vat thing seems to be an idea.

On the vat would you use the same product as I am using now?

Many thanks again.:smile:


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## cabinetman (Jul 5, 2007)

Carlo Bartolini said:


> Unfortunately (or fortunately) I am in Brazil, in a very remote area, so no professionals of the kind you have mentioned, sorry.


I would think in Brazil there would be outlets catering to the auto industry there that would carry MC based strippers. *Here is a Brazilian based chemical company*.


You could also try Sherwin-Williams...Brazil
Address: 
Sherwin-Williams Do Brazil LTDA 
Division Lazzuril 
Rua Baffin 31/60 - 2 andar 
Sao Bernardo do Campo 
Sao Paulo Brazil C.E.P. 09760-620 
Phone Number: 
55-11-2168-4280 
Fax Number: 
55-11-2168-4281 
Web Site: www.lazzuril.com.br 
E-mail: [email protected]










 







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## chemmy (Dec 13, 2011)

Carlo Bartolini said:


> Many thanks Chemmy. your idea is great, but the problem is that this varnish is so tough and thick that even sanding with 60 grit or using scrapers, takes me quite a bit of time to remove it. And yes - the Fein with a finger is wonderful for sanding the hard to get parts after the bulk has been removed. Two tools I love the Fein Multimaster and the Festool Rotex 150 - lots of power and no dust, just amazing engineering. :thumbsup:
> 
> Unfortunately time is important for me.
> 
> ...


No, in a vat system the stripper is normally thinner than the heavy gels in cans. The wax content is less also. The chlorinated products [usually methylene chloride with the addition of the active alcohol solvent, methanol] produces the bulk of the strippers properties to permeate the coating and removing from the substrates. Other acids or alkali''s are used in extremely hard to remove coatings as well as the coal tar solvents and and ketones. Along with waxes or gelling additives to give body and slow down the evaporation of the overall formulas. 

The thing about vat stripping that concerns me Carlo is that in your case, though I'm not sure whether your stripping is being done on the boat or dockside, is the fumes, which are dangerous both to breath and to have contact with ok? Bending over a tank of stripper all day is not good practice even if wearing a mask and proper protective clothing. Your gloves will have to be changed often as they swell and the Mc and M will permeate them and you will feel your hands and arms getting tingly and hot even after only 20-30 minutes of work. 

If you build a shallow tank just maybe 2-3 times as deep as the pieces are thick, you will find because of the lower wax content it will evaporate much more quickly than your used to. Then that leads to the question of money spent on this as compared to what your now using and weighing if it's worth the extra cost to you or not?

Vat work is also more susceptible to accidentally splashing the stripper even when your careful this can still possibly happen. Ask me how i know this - lol. just giving you some of the pros and cons. 

Anyway another thought is using a heat gun, have you tried that yet? that and a scraper may just do it. what little is left then could be paste stripped and then any remaining residue when dry, sanded.

I agree with your two sanders of choice both are top of the line!!:thumbsup:


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## Carlo Bartolini (Aug 30, 2011)

Thanks Cabinetman, I'll look for it, the one I'm using is used by auto-shops also - you can see it working in auto-paint in this video.
Do you think the MC based will be much faster?
Doesn't the chlorinated solvents in it make it a Methylene Chloride stripper or is it another monster?






Thanks Chemmy. The work will be done at my friend's shop, he has a place outside that it can be done with fresh air.

The evaporation is an issue, what about about a tall but thin tank, that I can slip in two doors upright, with wires, I can built it really fast. 
Perhaps I can mix 1/2 of their gel product and 1/2 of their liquid.

The Heat Gun I have not used yet because I would need to keep the generator on at all times, but at my friend's shop we can use it, I will test it here and see how fast it goes. I need speed or else it will take me 2 months to re-do these doors.

As far as gloves I've been having good luck with the noprene coated ones, they last much longer than the one the guy is using on the video.

Many thanks once again, very nice of you guys to help out.

Wish I could invite you all for a barbecue at the beach....is there an iTeletransporter I can buy cheaply on the internet?


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## chemmy (Dec 13, 2011)

Carlo Bartolini said:


> Thanks Cabinetman, I'll look for it, the one I'm using is used by auto-shops also - you can see it working in auto-paint in this video.
> Do you think the MC based will be much faster?
> 
> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9VWUAFLurmU
> ...


black rubber gloves are the best but give them a try and see ok? You can try a 50/50 mix of the two STRIPPERS it will cetainly help in that sense. The vetical method can work but you should have room to work on them in the tank keeping them wet until all the finish is coming off before taking them out, even then it's better to wash them off before removing, ok?

search around and see if there is a wood manufacturer or company that has a wide belt sander also that could run them through for a fee plus belt . just a thought. 

'Teletransporter are us" - 1-800000-123-2099, lol.


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## cabinetman (Jul 5, 2007)

You didn't say, and I didn't ask, but how bad are they that they need to be stripped to be refinished. Are they in a state that could just be scuff sanded and re-coated?

If stripping is the only option, another way would be to get an extra large and extra deep cat litter pan (plastic) and lacquer thinner. Some doors may be small enough to dip and brush, or others to stand up and be brushed.

Using a heat gun could have an effect on the joints, or cracking from expansion and contraction. If you try that, keep a close eye on any problems.












 







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## Carlo Bartolini (Aug 30, 2011)

Thanks Chemmy and Cabinetman......

The vat, with enough space to work on it sound good. I'll look out for black gloves.

I will try dipping a small piece on lacquer thinner to see if the finish comes off, that might be an option.

The stripping and removing is related to the ugly color that the marine alkid + probably soy oil varnish has acquired after 18 years, it protected the wood, but that's about it, every day it goes by it gets uglier, and more opaque, IMHO looks like wood was painted with an ugly yellow/orange. All the other woods have been re-finished and are looking great, once I've started, need to finish.

Many thanks to both of you.


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## Steve Neul (Sep 2, 2011)

I agree with Cabinetman. Take them to someone to have done, just don't let someone dip them. The dip method is a strong solution of sodium hydroxide solution which is lye that is very hard on the wood and the glue joints. I'm a furniture refinisher and that many louver doors would be very hard doing it by hand. Also the chemicals are unhealthy to be exposed to for that long. I use a flow over system to strip furniture and a commercial grade methylene chloride remover. The tank I use is 4'x8' with 12" tall sides and drains in one corner into a 5 gallon pail. Then I have a chemical pump that draws the stripper out of the bucket and comes through a hose to the center of a scrub brush. That way you are able to keep the louvers wet with stripper. Then when their ready I rinse with a power washer.


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## meimeilarry (Mar 30, 2012)

I just tried out as you suggested and it works great. Thank you so much.

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## Carlo Bartolini (Aug 30, 2011)

The vat worked great, all varnish removed from all doors in a few days, built out of cheap pine and epoxy glue, mixed 1/2 gel stripper, 1/2 liquid stripper, the vat was tall and thin, enough to fit three doors side by side, a plank used as a lid to minimize evaporation, some glue came off a few doors but very little, easy to repair, worth it.

Work done outside (under a plastic roof) so the fumes where not an issue (all protection used), doors stayed inside the vat for about an hour, lifted with a wire (previously attached) excess stripper removed with a brush back into the vat and then power washed.

Worked like a charm.

Many thanks to all.


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## cabinetman (Jul 5, 2007)

Carlo Bartolini said:


> The vat worked great, all varnish removed from all doors in a few days, built out of cheap pine and epoxy glue, mixed 1/2 gel stripper, 1/2 liquid stripper, the vat was tall and thin, enough to fit three doors side by side, a plank used as a lid to minimize evaporation, some glue came off a few doors but very little, easy to repair, worth it.
> 
> Work done outside (under a plastic roof) so the fumes where not an issue (all protection used), doors stayed inside the vat for about an hour, lifted with a wire (previously attached) excess stripper removed with a brush back into the vat and then power washed.
> 
> ...


Glad that worked out for you. That's one of those PITA jobs.:yes:



Carlo Bartolini said:


> Do you think the MC based will be much faster?
> Doesn't the chlorinated solvents in it make it a Methylene Chloride stripper or is it another monster?


Just to answer your earlier question...yes it's a methylene chloride stripper.









 







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