What is the best solution to remove nitocellulose lacquer?

Question

Remove from Birch wood?

Answer 1

hi mari b

more information is really needed to answer this question properly, but nitrocellulose lacquers can be removed pretty easily using lacquer thinner* and steel wool...or by chemical paint & varnish removers...or by refinishing liquids such as formby's refinisher.

lacquer thinner is usually a blend of alcohol(s) mixed with hot petroleum distillates such as toluene and/or acetone. since n.c. lacquer is considered a non-reactive coating, this blended solvent will dissolve the finish no matter how long it has been on the surface...the problem with using this solvent to remove lacquer is that it's not very practical on vertical surfaces since it's as thin as water and typically runs down the surface before it has a chance to re-wet the finish. for vertical surfaces (such as cabinets, doors etc) you may want to use a semi-paste type paint and varnish remover (which generally contains many of the same solvents as lacquer thinner)...

a more environmentally friendly way of removal is to sand the surface clean. n.c. lacquer typically sands very easy - just be careful not to score too deep into the wood. it is recommended to sand with a medium grit paper followed by a fine grit followed by a very fine grit paper. garnet paper or adalox works very well to remove lacquer.

once you remove the lacquer by whatever means, it is a good idea to clean the surface with a lacquer thinner "wash"...simply wipe the surface with lacquer thinner and a very fine (0000) steel wool - this removes any residual lacquer that may have penetrated the wood surface that may inhibit adhesion of a different type of coating applied later.

i hope this info is helpful...feel free to e-mail me if you wish for addition or more specific info...good luck on your projects.

ric