After all, why shouldn't I?

July 12, 2023 1:13 PM

The instructions for this paint stripper say not to use steel wool. I want to use steel wool.

I am wondering if it wants me not to use steel wool because it's afraid I will go through the veneer, but I think this is solid wood, it's a probably g-plan round astro. It says I should scrape and then scrub the remainder with a scrubbing brush before washing remainder off. Can I use steel wool so?

posted by Iteki to Home & Garden (9 answers total)

Steel wool will scratch the hell out of the wood, most likely. If you're not planning to sand the whole thing down, then I wouldn't. (If you are planning to sand the whole thing down, why would you bother chemically stripping the paint first?)
posted by restless_nomad at 1:28 PM on July 12, 2023

Best answer: The stripper contains formic acid. The steel wool will corrode rapidly and the rust will stain the wood.
posted by pipeski at 1:49 PM on July 12, 2023 [35 favorites]

Steel wool won't scratch the hell out of wood, incidentally. A lot of woodworkers use fine steel wool to apply finish.
posted by pipeski at 1:50 PM on July 12, 2023 [7 favorites]

Best answer: Agree with pipeski. The stripper will corrode the steel wool.
But you could use plastic pot scrubbers like this one.
posted by 15L06 at 2:34 PM on July 12, 2023 [3 favorites]

Scotch-Brite scrubbing pads are another option. They are available in various levels of abrasiveness.
posted by hydrophonic at 3:21 PM on July 12, 2023 [1 favorite]

Best answer: Paint stripper is really meant to be scraped off. Scrape off flat areas with a spatula, and deal with any crevices with a brush. Then clean it down with a damp rag or sponge to get all the old finish and nasty paint stripper off, and let it dry. At that point, something like steel wool can be useful to prepare the wood for a new finish. But I'd tend to use a couple of grades of abrasive paper. TL;DR: just follow the instructions.
posted by pipeski at 4:10 PM on July 12, 2023 [1 favorite]

Best answer: In the few seconds before popovers covered everything and kept me from seeing or doing anything else, I was able to see that the stripper doesn’t contain methylene chloride, so it needs other active ingredients to break down the layer of paint.

If one of those happens to be acetic acid (vinegar, when diluted) they probably don’t want you to use steel wool because the iron acetate which will form would blacken the wood, as in this video which recommends using steel wool and vinegar to "ebonize" wood.

If it contains formic acid as pipeski suggests, using steel wool would cause iron formate to be produced, which is also intensely colored (looks like it might make the wood dark purple, perhaps).
posted by jamjam at 9:21 PM on July 12, 2023 [1 favorite]

If you are planning to sand the whole thing down, why would you bother chemically stripping the paint first?

I don't like sanding off finish because it often clogs up the sandpaper, though that would vary a bit by finish type.

OP, I really think you're going to want to use a scraper, but if you have fiddly bits to get into perhaps a scotchbrite pad would work? I think they'd be inert to the chemicals in question, though I'd advise you test first.
posted by How much is that froggie in the window at 11:42 PM on July 12, 2023 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: That all makes perfect sense thank you! I can use my fine steel wool when I've got all the crud off with my scraper.
posted by Iteki at 12:47 AM on July 13, 2023 [1 favorite]