Pro tip: I was stripping a 1920s oak dresser and the old shellac was a sticky mess that wouldn't come off clean.

I tried a trick an old-timer in my shop told me about, which was to wipe the surface down with denatured alcohol and a 0000 steel wool pad, and it cut through the gunk without raising the grain like water would.

3 comments

3 Comments

juliawalker2mo ago

Honestly, that denatured alcohol trick sounds like a fire hazard waiting to happen. My uncle's garage workshop in Toledo still smells like smoke from a rag he left balled up after using that stuff. Shellac is basically just alcohol-soluble resin, so you're not really cleaning it, you're just smearing it around and making a bigger mess to sand later. A card scraper is just going to dig into the wood underneath if you hit a soft spot. The only safe way is to use a proper chemical stripper made for the job, let it sit, and scrape it off with a plastic putty knife.

sammurray2mo ago

Actually that chemical stripper stuff is way more toxic and messy though. The alcohol dries fast and you're not left with a bunch of goop to clean up.

nathan2892mo ago

That trick with the denatured alcohol is solid. I've also had luck using a card scraper on stubborn shellac before a final wipe down. It gives you more control on curved details than steel wool can.