shellac stripping?

[Justin Cavender]

I have a guitar that I french polished and don't realy like the results What is the best way to strip shellac without sanding it all off?

[Todd Carpenter]

Justin,

Denatured alchohol and some 0000 steel wool ought to do the trick for you. Just rinse in the DNA often...

HTH
Todd

[Sam Yerardi]

I'll second Todd's suggestion

[Justin Cavender]

That was what I was thinking minus the steel wool I will try it out thanks.

[glenn bradley]

I have stripped with paper towels to start, changing often. Then I move to cloth scrubbing real well and again, changing often. I've never had to go to steel wool although depending on your material that would sure speed it up.

If your material is delicate, I'd try everything up to the point of using steel wool first. You can always go rougher but it's hard to back up ;-)

As Todd says, don't be afraid to get it wet. Dunk and scrub, dunk and scrub, dunk and scrub, toss . . . Dunk and scrub, dunk and scrub, dunk and scrub, toss. A worn out toothbrush is good for nooks and crannys. I have also used an acid brush for this after cutting the tips short to make them stiffer.

[Doug Hobkirk]

I've tried cloth and steel wool and DNA on old (30-60 years old) furniture. It took a LOT of work! The finish would turn cloudy white after each application dried. And the cloudy white never disappeared completely until I applied fresh shellac.

I would love to hear if this is normal or what I could have done differently (I couldn't sand the piece - it was a pie table with a decorative lip around the edge).

[Chris Friesen]

Denatured alcohol will dissolve shellac, but it will take a lot of it. Ammonia will actually react with it chemically, and apparently some chemical strippers will work. A google search should give details.

[Neal Clayton]

I've tried cloth and steel wool and DNA on old (30-60 years old) furniture. It took a LOT of work! The finish would turn cloudy white after each application dried. And the cloudy white never disappeared completely until I applied fresh shellac.

I would love to hear if this is normal or what I could have done differently (I couldn't sand the piece - it was a pie table with a decorative lip around the edge).

the white is the wax in the shellac. as chris said, you might have better luck with ammonia, since it'll evaporate alot slower.

[Loren Hedahl]

For most stripping I take the bulk of it off with a card scraper. If I'm careful and thorough, very little sanding is needed. The card scraper of the right shape and dimension can even clear out the corners effectively.

For narrow areas, I have a couple of chisels ground at 90 degrees that are very controllable and effective. I also have several sizes of tubing that serve as scrapers for mouldings.

For something large, such as an old piano, I use a heat gun on low, to pre-soften the built-up layers of varnish and whatever for quicker stripping.

Once complete, a slightly damp towel pressed against the wood with a clothes iron on high heat will lift slight impressions left on the surface of the veneer from the scraping process.

With anything like this it is best to practice on something of little value, at first.

[Jerry Olexa]

Easy....DA will take it right off easily..

[Jim Becker]

Whether you use denatured alcohol or ammonia or lacquer thinner or whatever....be sure you do this in a well ventilated area (preferably outside) and wear appropriate personal protection. You will be dealing with a large amount of volatile fumes with any of these stripping agents.