Tried to refinish my kitchen table and ended up with a striped mess

I went to strip the old varnish off my oak table last weekend, used some Citristrip I had sitting around. Left it on for 20 minutes like the bottle said, but the stuff dried out in like 10 cause it was hot out. Now half the table has this weird stripe where the stripper stopped working. Looks like a zebra threw up on it. Anyone else had stripper dry up on them and found a fix that doesn't mean sanding the whole thing down to dust?

2 comments

2 Comments

the_charlie8d ago

20 minutes on a hot day? Dude that's way too long for Citristrip. That stuff dries into a crusty mess if the temp is over 75. I learned that one the hard way on a dining chair last summer. Your best bet is to hit the stripe with a fresh coat of stripper and cover it with plastic wrap this time. Keeps it wet for a full hour. Then scrape it off before it dries again.

the_sandra8d ago

Heard a woodworker on YouTube say the same thing about Citristrip and heat. He tested it on a rocking chair in direct sun and ended up with a gummy, half dried layer that took forever to clean off. @the_charlie is right about the plastic wrap trick. I tried it on a dresser drawer once after a similar disaster and it worked way better than I expected. Just make sure you get the plastic tight against the stripper so it doesn't puddle. Also, if you can move the piece into the shade that helps a ton before you even start.