# Removing Gel stain from wood trim



## SuzyBlue (Jul 12, 2018)

Newbie here. I have had some experience with wood staining but not so much with gels.

I recently had a window replaced with a door in my 1910 farmhouse. I even had to have the wood custom cut to match the existing belly-band moldings. I created several tests of the stain I wanted to use to match the existing finish and thought I had it right. The wood is (mostly) fir and the stain is an oil-based gel by General Finishes. (I only chose gel because I also need to stain the fiberglass door that is in the opening). 

The problem is that despite carefully conditioning the wood with about 1-1.25 lb cut of shellac the stain is still darker than the wood finish I had hope to achieve. I would like to strip it back as much as possible and start over - I realize the stain will not be 100% gone - but cannot seem to find good info on what product to use to lift as much of the color as possible. Since it is a complex molding I don't want to sand unless I have no other choice. I know there will be some elbow grease involved using a scrubber or steel wool and probably some wood skewers for the deep spots. I was hoping to use something low odor since it is inside the house and there are pets (& humans) who may be affected by fumes. Would Citristrip or one of the Peelaway products be an option? Other suggestions? 

TIA


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## difalkner (Nov 27, 2011)

Welcome to the forum, Suzy! It's been ages since I stripped any finish or stain but there are plenty of guys here who can answer your question. One or two should be along shortly.

David


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## Steve Neul (Sep 2, 2011)

Citristrip is a pretty crummy paint stripper. It you don't mind about 10 times the labor it will take off the gel stain. You also risk damaging something else stripping over and over trying to get the stain off. 

What was the intended finish you planned to put over the gel stain. Using shellac for a wood conditioner you could very easily cause adhesion problems if you put polyurethane over the top. Because of the natural wax contained in shellac polyurethane doesn't adhere very well. Old fashion varnish would work but not poly. You could use sealcoat as a wood conditioner and use poly over the top. Sealcoat is shellac with the wax filtered out of it.


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## SuzyBlue (Jul 12, 2018)

Thanks, Steve. Sounds like a good plan. ( I had planned to topcoat with the shellac as well. I don't use harsh cleaners in my home and this door won't see a ton of traffic so I wasn't concerned about getting a hard finish but your suggestions make sense). What do you recommend for stripping back the dark stain?


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## SuzyBlue (Jul 12, 2018)

Bumping this in the hope of getting more answers. Am I stuck with using lacquer thinner. Had anyone tried the KleanStrip Green version?


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## hawkeye10 (Feb 18, 2015)

Stripping wood isn't a thing most people want to do because it's messy and hard work. Using the green stripper is just going to add more work to the job. It just doesn't have what it takes. That is my experience anyway. I use to take the project outside and strip it. That way you don't have to breathe the fumes. If the project was solid wood I would use a garden hose with a good spray nozzle and rinse it off. I then would take it inside and let it dry for several days or maybe a week.


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