Unpeeling the layers of this old dresser.

October 2, 2022 10:40 AM

I am trying to strip an old dresser and have encountered four distinct layers of surface that seem to respond differently to my removal techniques. What are they and how should I remove?

The dresser is old, but I'm not sure how old. (The backing is narrow horizontal slats/lathe attached with brads. The casters are wooden. The paint and layers have buckled and sort of shrunk in patches over time, revealing the wood beneath here and there.) I've tried to strip one small section and here's what I'm dealing with:

1. Old seafoam green paint, probably lead, comes right off with a 30 minute application of KleenStrip.

2. Off-white layer, probably some kind of primer, comes off less easily with KleenStrip.

3. Dark kelly green layer, what I think is probably milk paint?

4. An off-white-to-beige layer that is very resistant to removal but comes off in patches after numerous applications of KleenStrip and a ton of scraping. It seems like more of a primitive veneer or maybe what some googling suggests to be "scumble."

There are numerous small patches where all layers have chipped off over time, and the underlying wood looks great!

Using KleenStrip, after the top layer of paint is off, the combination of subsequent layers come off as a kind of thick putty, and that bottom layer hardly comes off at all. My certainty about what these layers are goes down with each layer, so everything stated above is the google-informed guessing of a lay person.

What are the layers and what are the most effective and safest ways to remove them?

posted by kensington314 to Home & Garden (1 answer total)

I don’t know what the layers are but I do know that you can apply Saran Wrap on top of wet stripper to keep it moist and active for longer, maybe a couple hours or even overnight. This technique can sometimes help dissolve the gunk faster.
posted by nouvelle-personne at 11:13 AM on October 2, 2022 [8 favorites]