Stripping Fibreboard

[David Cefai]

I am restoring an elderly rocking chair. Essentially stripping off old crazed coloured lacquer and reglueing loose joints (most of the joints were loose!). The chair is probably about 35 years old.

The seat is made out of a piece of 1" thick fibreboard. At that time, in this country, that would not have been MDF but a heavier (and stronger) version. (High Density fibreboard?)

My question is, can I safely use paint stripper (methylene chloride based) on fibreboard? I shall be staining the wooden parts back to the original colour and the seat will be covered by a cushion anyway. The chair back (7 "sticks") and arms are dowelled into the fibreboard so I don't want to risk weakening it. The dowels are still a good fit into the fibreboard and I am planning to reglue with epoxy.

Advice will be greatly appriciated.

[David Cefai]

No takers! Very little solid info on the web (some "I thinks"). So I tested a patch.

Don't try it. You start to remove more fibreboard than lacquer!

[Rich Engelhardt]

Good to know.....thanks for posting it.

I sold paints and coatings & refinishing supplies from the mid 1960's through the late 1980's.
I also ran my own painting company along the way.

I saw/heard/ran into quite a few things in all those years - but - using paint stripper on fiberboard is one I never ran onto.