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Best varnish stripper?

T

TrimTheKing

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Friend of mine wants to resto an old architects plan chest and wants to strip the old finish off. He's asked me what the best remover is, but NOT Nitromors (not sure why he doesn't want Nitromors and can't be bothered asking).

He was asking about commercial products as well as DIY.

Any suggestions? Ta.
 
The nitromors comment could be significant.

A few years back, the active ingredient that made nitromors effective was removed/replaced/neutered and the stuff in the green cans in retail outlets is a shadow of its former self.
Other retail products I've tried are cr4p too.

You can get "full lead" paint stripper though ebay and similar outlets. Products based on Methylene Chloride are the ones to go for but must be used in a safe manner as it will burn skin, eyes etc

Bob
 
If it were me.....

Old architects chests were generally finished with a hard varnish that goes flaky. Rather than applying chemicals I would break out the ROS and that will get rid of most of it in double quick time. Scrape the rest. Quicker and cleaner. And bonus - the wood is ready for refinish straight away.
 
That was my thought as well, Adrian. Just need to make sure you have lots and lots of spare abrasive discs as varnish will clog them up very quickly.
 
Paramose is similar to the old Nitromors, burns like hell if you leave it lingering on your skin and strips most things very effectively, maybe too effectively in some circumstances. You technically need to be an "industrial user" to buy it, but it's literally a tick-box saying "Are you an industrial user?" and there's no follow-up.

Rustin's Strypit is a less harsh and more eco-friendly stripper if that's more what he's getting at with the "not Nitromors" comment, but it does largely depend on the finish at the end of the day, some things strip well and others just end up as a congealed slimy mess that's even more difficult to remove than if you just scraped off the finish as Adrian says.
 
I'd also start with mechanical removal rather than chemicals. Only thing I'd do differently to Adrian I always prefer to start with the card scraper. If it's gone flaky it can come off really easily sometimes and then sand the stubborn bits. Saves a few ROS pads.
 
Cheers chaps, I've relayed these answers and he's going the card scraper route.

Regarding the 'no nitromors' comment, purely "because it's crap" which bears out your comments on the change of recipe.
 
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