I was stripping a walnut dresser and saw the wood turn gray

For years I thought a quick sand after stripping was fine, just to smooth things out. I was working on this 1920s dresser from an estate sale in Tacoma, using a chemical stripper. When I wiped it down, the walnut had these pale, almost gray patches. I called my old boss, and he said, 'You're not neutralizing it, are you?' I had no idea you had to wash the wood with mineral spirits or a special wash after the stripper. The chemicals were staying in the grain and bleaching it. I had to sand way deeper than I wanted to fix it, nearly losing some beautiful figure. Who else has a go-to method for cleaning wood after a chemical strip?

2 comments

2 Comments

simonmoore1mo ago

Mineral spirits isn't a neutralizer, it's just a rinse.

the_lisa1mo ago

Been there. That gray haze is the worst. After the stripper, you gotta wash it down with lacquer thinner. Really scrub it into the grain with a coarse pad. Let it dry completely before you even think about sanding. It pulls all that gunk out so you don't have to sand away the good wood.