Help please! I’d stained my oak worktops with a laquer finish but it was sticky so im trying to remove it and start again…. I cant sand it yet as it will all just clump up, ive tried using screwfix paint remover which has got some off but there’s still sticky residue, Can anyone recommend a product for this situation? I was thinking turps but it will stink and soak into the worktop? thanks in advance
No no no for pity sake dont use Thinners, no,, get yourself a gallon of acetone, available from most paint suppliers, for the car trade, not places like B&Q, Ventilation is very important as it is very fumy, and make sure there are no pilot lights lit, and no smoking. Brush it on , leave for a few minutes, and scrape off. Wear rubber gloves of the chemical proof kind, and then just wipe down with a cloth wetted with the same acetone. Acetone in a purer state with added oil is what ladies and I guess some laddies use to remove nail varnish, it smells like pear drops,. It will dry your skin if you get it on your hands, but wash hands after handling with an oily soap or use a moisturiser afterwards, a lot of us used to use Nivea, but now there are all sorts to hand so to speak. Oh and I last bought a gallon last year around mid year and it was £8.50 ish, it's about the same as "cheaps" , the cheap gun wash thinners.
Thinners will work, applied with wire wool in the grain direction, another approach is the majority of the sticky residue could be removed using a scraper blade also used in the grain direction.
Stanley knife blade. Draw it across the surface and the lose sticky coating will pile up on the back of the knife blade. If you want something with a handle then the upgraded version of this is a paint scraper... basically the same thing.
Agree with Astramax. Scrape the majority off. Sand the rest. Get plenty of sandpaper. Less mess. Less cost. Get a decent carbide scraper and some spare blades. What exactly are you finishing with? If it’s based on a drying oil like Tung or Danish then you apply liberally. Allow to soak in, and then you wipe off the excess. If you don’t it dries as a horrible thick sticky layer much like you’re describing. If you’re trying to varnish them then my only advice is don’t. Looks horrible and worse over time. Get some Tung oil or Danish oil.
Large Snap off knife blades are longer than a Stanley blade, I was really referring to a wood scraping blade in tha area of 100 x 50mm.