Lacquer removal

[Brian Runau]

I stripped lacquer off a piece using a 50/50 solution of lacquer thinner and denatured alcohol. Worked great. I then wiped the piece down with the denatured alcohol.

I have a very fine light gray white haze on the piece. If I stain the piece will this disappear or is there a prestain treatment I can use to eliminate this haze?

Thanks to all.

Brian

[Steve Schoene]

Just wipe it down again with lacquer thinner. If you change the rags frequently, you will be removing the haze, not just smearing it around.

[Scott Holmes]

Removing the lacquer would have been faster if you used just the lacquer thinner and skipped mixing it with DNA.

[Brian Runau]

when I wipe them down again with laquer thinner how long should I wait before staining?

Thanks

Brian

[Scott Holmes]

Until it's dry. 5 minutes is all it will take.

[Brian Runau]

Thanks for your help. Much appreciated.

[Howard Acheson]

Of course, you must again sand the piece with 180 grit paper sanding in the direction of the grain.

Finally, test out your stain and final finish on an interior or otherwise inconspicuous surface before committing to the whole piece. It's the only way to learn what you need to know about staining and to see what it will look like.

[Jim Barry]

I agree with Scott as long as you knew that the finish was lacquer.
I remember a book written by an old timer named George Grotz called "From gunk to glow" that I had in the sixties where he used the mix you used when he wasn't sure what finish was on the piece. He did it to save time testing the finish for a determinination as to what finish was used.

[Tony Bilello]

Alcohol has virtually no effect on lacquer. You wasted the alcohol as well as the lacquer thinner you mixed it with.
After you have finished "stripping" with lacquer thinner you will have to do some sanding to ensure that all of it is gone. One quick test would be to get a wet rag and wipe the surface and see that the water soaks into the wood. If not, there is still some lacquer left on the wood.

"I remember a book ....."From gunk to glow" ....he used the mix when he wasn't sure what finish was on the piece. He did it to save time testing the finish for a determinination as to what finish was used."

This actually makes no sense. If the surface was shellac, the mixture would remove it no matter what. If the surface is lacquer, it would still remove it because of the lacquer thinner in the mixture, however, just not as efficiently as lacquer thinner alone. "Not as efficiently" doen't tell you much either since you dont have the pure lacquer thinner to compare it to. So, the mixture tells you nothing definitively because it removes both.
If you use alcohol only and it removes the finish, then you likely have shellac. If the alcohol doesn't do anything, then use the lacquer thinner alone. If that removes it, then you likely have a lacquer finish. When you get right down to it, how long does it take to re-wet the same rag with lacquer thinner if the alcohol doesn't do the trick?
If the finish crinkles up with the lacquer thinner you most likely have an old varnish finish.