How to Remove Varnish From Wood? The Tutorial Guide

Varnish shields wood from dents, scratches, and pest damage. However, the finish eventually ages and needs to be removed. So, how to remove varnish from wood?

Prepare the area you’re working in, apply the varnish remover, wait and allow the remover to do its magic, gently scrape away the old varnish, and if necessary, repeat steps 1 – 4 for any varnish that remains.

Here are other products you can use: vinegar, acetone, turpentine, mineral spirits, bleach, and white spirits.

Continue reading for more information.

Steps to Remove Varnish With a Varnish Remover

Here are easy steps to remove varnish with a varnish remover:

Prepare the Area You’re Working In

Because solvent varnish removal can be messy, it’s crucial to protect any surfaces that might get harmed. Covering any surfaces, such as floors, countertops, and furniture, that you don’t want to get varnish on is part of this. To cover objects, use painter’s tape or a tarp. Additionally, make sure the space is properly ventilated. To help the air circulate, open any windows and doors in the space. You can also use a fan.

Apply the Varnish Remover

Use a brush or roller to spread ZAR® Paint and Varnish Remover over the entire surface to be stripped. It’ll start removing the paint and finish. Cleaning on curved or uneven surfaces is facilitated by the use of an old toothbrush.

Wait and Allow the Remover to Do Its Magic

ZAR® Paint and Varnish Remover ought to be left on the surface for 15 minutes when removing latex or oil-based paints. For various types of polyurethane coatings, allow a minimum of 15 minutes and a maximum of two hours.

Gently Scrape Away the Old Varnish

To expose the bare surface, gently scrape the finish until it softens. Use a scraper or non-abrasive pad to remove the paint once the remover has peeled away the top layer of paint.

If Necessary, Repeat Steps 1 – 4 for Any Varnish That Remains

If you’re repainting the surface, remove any remaining solvent with a wet cloth before coating it again. Remember that two-component epoxy coatings may require multiple applications to completely remove them.

Other Products You Can Use:

Here are other products you can use:

Vinegar

Because vinegar has an acidic composition, it can remove varnish. Being a mild acid, vinegar can liquefy and dissolve the finish, making it easier to wipe off.

But it will take a lot of vinegar, time, and effort to completely remove the sealant. It is therefore best to select a different approach.

Acetone

Fresh varnish coatings are easy to remove with acetone, but cured coatings are more difficult.

Acetone will be effective in removing varnish that was applied inadvertently. This is so that the sealant can still be dissolved in an alcohol-based solvent like acetone while it is still in the drying stage.

However, if the sealant has cured (fully dried) or is a couple of days old, acetone can’t remove it.

Turpentine

Oil-based varnish, such as polyurethane, cannot be removed by turpentine because it is an oil. This is due to the fact that turpentine lacks the strength to dissolve sealants that are oil-based or have several layers.

However, you can use turpentine to soften the coating before using another removal method. After applying varnish, you can also soak your painting tools in turpentine to speed up and simplify cleaning.

Mineral Spirits

Due to the solvent’s inability to dissolve or strip the varnish, mineral spirits will not remove varnish. The finish will only be softened at most by a bottle of mineral spirits, allowing it to be removed with steel wool or a paint scraper.

Bleach

Never use bleach to take varnish off of surfaces. This is so that the bleach won’t etch, discolor, or harm the wood because it’s an acidic substance.

White Spirits

White spirits, a petroleum-based solvent that struggles to remove waterproof sealants like varnish, won’t be able to completely remove varnish. White spirits can be used to thin out, remove, and wipe away small stains from wood, though.

How Soon Can You Re-paint Wood?

You must wait 24 hours before re-painting wood after removing varnish from it. But the length of the wait depends on the removal technique you employed.

If the finish was removed by sanding, the surface would be immediately ready for fresh paint. This is due to the fact that sanding leaves wooden surfaces smooth and prepared for painting.

The sealant must be left on for 24 hours if it was removed using a solvent or paint thinner. The surface needs to dry before you can clean the paint thinner residue off of it.

In most cases, neutralizing the surface with mineral spirits before applying solvent or chemical products to the wood to remove varnish is required. After that, give it at least 24 hours to dry and settle before repainting. However, you can repaint the wood in about 30 minutes if you removed it by sanding or scraping.

How to Remove Stubborn Varnish Residue?

You’ll need a more abrasive stripping agent if you’re removing really thick varnish or old paint. This thick gel-like stripping agent needs to sit on the surface for a while, typically around 15 minutes. During that time the old finish will begin to bubble up and then you can use a plastic scraper to remove the old finish. If there were several layers of paint or varnish to remove, this procedure might need to be repeated. It might be necessary to sand off tough residue. In order to level the surface after removing the finish and before applying stain, I always advise using a prestain like Minwax.

Can You Remove Varnish With Oven Cleaner?

A method that’s trending on TikTok and Instagram with mixed reviews is using Heavy Duty Easy Off Oven Cleaner to strip furniture. Spray the solution on your piece, let it sit for about 30 minutes, and then scrub the surface with a scrub brush. Finally, water is sprayed on the furniture to remove the finish.

To see how it worked for myself, I made the decision to give it a try. According to my experience, this technique should only be used if the stain layer you want to remove is very thin. On painted or heavily varnished surfaces, it performs poorly.

I’ll delve deeper into hot topics that come up frequently when discussing manufactured wood, such as its applications, good and bad qualities, differences from solid wood, how it compares to engineered wood, and many others.

How to Remove Varnish by Sanding?

The alternative method for removing the old finish from furniture is sanding. To remove thick coats of paint and varnish, use a belt sander with a coarse grit and move the sander in the direction of the wood’s grain. You can use a finer grit for thinner finishes. A small detail sander is what you’ll need to get into the confined spaces of your piece. Again, you’ll want to use a prestain before applying a new stain finish to even out the wood.

Sanding requires a lot of time and work, especially for larger pieces. The project will go more quickly if a sander and a stripping agent are used.

FAQs

Does Vinegar Remove Varnish from Wood?

When you use vinegar on polyurethane finished wood, the acid in the vinegar breaks down the finish and starts to pit the finish. These pits trap sand and along with the acid will eventually strip the polyurethane.