Will Citristrip soften Famowood solvent-base wood filler too much?

[Carlos Arteta]

I have just refinished an interior door (previously stripped to raw wood). I did not use stain – I like the color of the wood – and want a “rustic” look – for instance, I used color-mismatched Famowood wood filler on purpose to fix holes and imperfection (some of the large). I applied sanding sealer and three coats of water-based poly. (I have used this method in previous doors and like the results, and don’t want to change it).

Problem: I applied the poly too thickly, and now the door feels extremely “plastic”, inconsistent with the “rustic” feeling. To correct, I am thinking about two alternatives:

a) Use Citristrip, strip the finish, and start again. But I am afraid that the stripper will soften the solvent-based Famowood wood filler.
b) Sand, sand, sand to bare wood.

Question: Should I worry that Citristrip will soften the wood filler too much, to the point of dissolving it? I don’t want to apply filler again from scratch – some of the imperfection already filled required “sculpture”-like work.

Thanks
- Carlos

[Steve Schoene]

I don't think you need to strip the finish, nor should it be necessary to sand it to bare wood to get rid of the plastic look. You didn't mention any rubbing out process, so I suspect that with a more thorough than usual sanding you will have reduced the thickness to a more attractive level. You may need to apply one more thin coat if the sanding reveals "witness" lines, which look like little topographical map hills as you sand through separate layers of the finish.

As far as the stripper's impact on famowood I can't say. It could have an impact, so you might want to do a test on some scrap. Report your results if you do it.