Stain not gone after applying stripper
I'm in the process of refinishing my kitchen cabinets. Currently: golden oak look. I applied extra strength stripper from ACE. It removed the poly cover and got rid some of the stain. I used my sander to have a reference how the would should look like. I applied the stripper twice with not much difference. I also tried to apply some household Clorox. When wiping off I noticed some color in my rag. This procedure removed a little bit more of the stain. However not entirely. Am I using the wrong stripper? Or are there other methods I should consider? I don't do a lot of stripping so others may have better advice. Stain is the hardest coating to strip off of wood. It goes on thin and penetrates deeper into the wood. I don't know if another stripper would help any but expect that the rest will need removing with sandpaper. Scrubbing it with thinner may help to remove more of the stain. Strippers remove surface finish, not stain. As you say, it may lighten it somewhat. To remove stain and get back down to bare wood requires sanding. I saw in the local wood worker store that they have a wood-bleach product. Would that be an alternative to sanding? doubtfull - all the easy ways are taken There is an aerosol stain stripper, but depending on the stain it may not work. If it does, spray it and gently scrub with the grain using a brush (a nylon scrub brush works as its fairly gentle). The analine (sp) dyes and some other stains are virtually impossible to strip out. The bleach may take it down to a lighter color, but you do run the risk of having the old stain resurface when you finish it. I've used the wood bleach with some success, but clean and neutralize well. You may be able to use a sealer/varnish to seal the old stain after bleaching. Beware though, test in a small spot as sometimes you'll get splotchy removal of the color because of the stain--particularly on oak. Of course, all of these products will severely raise the grain of your wood, so you will be sanding alot regardless. What color are you wanting to use? If you are going to stain to a darker color you might test such on the back of one of the doors to see if the new darker stain makes the present stain marks disappear. Just a thought. I have very serious doubts that you are going to be able to completely remove the old stain. There are some companies that have large pressure cabinets that HIGH PRESSURE spray strippers on doors, etc, but whether such will work for your problem is an unknown. You might give them a call. The frames of your cabinets of course can't be put in a cabinet for spraying, TO BIG, so you would still have that to contend with. I wish you well. Dale Indy In the meantime I decided to go with a dark stain from General Finishes: Either the Java gel, or the Espresso water based. This covers the old leftovers fine and gives me a contemporary look I like. I am just a day late on this one.. So as a future reference try Oxalic Acid.. Just google it for more info ! MU Do you really need to get all the stain out? I used a refinisher, that took off all the varnish, poly and some stain. Left the wood with a consistent lighter finish. Originally Posted by jfrano Do you really need to get all the stain out? It depends on what you intend to do with the piece. Stain can only be obsorbed by unsealed wood. If some of the wood still has stain on it, it won't let any new stain obsorb in those areas. May not be a problem with all colors but has the potential for not allowing the finished piece to look good. A non issue if you intend to prime and paint. If you wipe the wood down with a wet thinner rag - while the wood is still wet with thinner it will give you an idea of what it would look like with varnish applied.
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