Hi!

I am going to refinish a child's rocking chair for my granddaughter, but I'm not real experienced with this stuff, so I'm needing to ask a couple questions. What type of top coating finish is usually used on children's furniture? Here are a couple pics of the rocker i have. Can anyone tell what the finish might be, so I know what kind of stripping agent to use. Could it be laquer or varnish?

Thanks for any help y'all can give me!

Teri

Edited January 28, 20179 yr by Teri Chapman

Only a guess, but if it's factory made, the finish is likely laquer. Lacquer is fast drying  and a factory can  spray on multiple coats over the course of a day.

I'm definitely no expert with finishes. I would refinish a childs chair by staining as desired and then apply multiple coats of water based urethane. The water based urethanes are durable , essentially odorless, and easy to apply.

I agree with Al. 

 

I, too, use water based finishes for children's items.

The aggressive strippers (ones with methylene chloride) will soften almost any finish they come in contact. What I would wonder if that is some type of conversion varnish or other tough finish (not likely, but possible). With all the detail on that chair complete stripping will be a tedious job, have you considered smoothing the surface out and then just painting it?

A professional stripping company would be a good choice due to the intricate details on the chair. Saves time and aggravation. 

Then, it can be sanded and finished as you would for a newly built piece. 

 

The other furniture in her bedroom has a darker stain called Kona on it. I am wanting to stain it to match that. 

I agree with most of the above.   I am not sure I'd go to a professional stripper if they are going to dump it in a strip tank.   It may loosen up the joints.  It will be tedious to strip, but a soft brush would help.

 

Any finish would be child safe, once completely cured.  Your choice would be based on other factors (see

 

"Kona" does not really mean anything, as it can be whatever the manufacturer thinks it should be.

This is the stain I will be using

 

 

Edited January 30, 20179 yr by Teri Chapman

I would suggest looking at the MSDS (now generally known as SDS - Safety Data Sheet) at this link:

 

http://www.rustoleumibg.com/images/tds/WC_VA_Interior Wood Stain_5059790.pdf

 

I see Kona listed on that sheet and it has prep and application information.   I couldn't tell for sure if you wanted to try to remove all the old finish (which may be difficult and/or expensive) and simply try the new over the old after you have thoroughly cleaned it (which should be fairly easy). 

 

Per their instructions: "Allow Varathane® Premium Wood Stains to dry for 8 hours when

applying an oil-based finish or 24 hours before applying a water-based finish.

Yes, I am going to remove the old finish and then I will clean & prep the wood and then stain it. I was just needing some suggestions on which stripping agent to use.

3 hours ago, Teri Chapman said:

Yes, I am going to remove the old finish and then I will clean & prep the wood and then stain it. I was just needing some suggestions on which stripping agent to use.

I have used Citri Strip before with great results Teri, it's a middle of the road type of stripper, meaning it's not as nasty as the hard core melt your face off stripper that works within minutes. Since you don't have a ton of finish or caked on paint, Citri Strip will work well. Plus it smells better and it doesn't melt your nostril linings, but then again you should be wearing some type of respirator anyway. Like the others have said it appears to be a varnish, most likely oil based judging on the age of the rocker.

Citri Strip handles oil based finishes well.

It's nice seeing you here Teri, thanks for thinking of us and dropping in!

Thank John!

It was really nice to chat with you again and to  get some different opinions from the guys here! I have missed ya!

I'll post a pic of the rocker when I'm finished.

Y'all take care and hopefully we will talk again soon!

Teri 

 That is lacquer. Stuff I use to do..  Kleen Kutter  is a good brand. HomeDept  or Lowes  in a yellow and black  color gallon can.  Do it out side cause it is strong smelling.

   This is not hard to strip. Use a soft bristle brush and keep it all wet by continuously rubbing more remover on all the area. Just keep it wet  with the remover  and soon the finish will come loose and flow to the floor. Keep brushing more remover. You will be able to tell when the finish is gone to the floor. All you are doing is after the old finish is soft you are flowing in down hill. Once  the finish is off. Dry all the wood areas with lacquer thinner then lastly use 0000 steel wool soaked in lacquer thinner. Don't forget to get around in the cracks with the steel wool.You can tell if there is any old finish around in the crack for it will shine. All the parts of the chair will be dull locking when the old finish is gone. The lacquer thinner will will dry in a few minutes so you can start sanding it down and or check for loose rungs . If a few are loose now is a good time to knock all loose remove the old glue with a rubber hammer and reglue and don't let any excess glue get where there will be a new finish  cause it will show big time. Even if you wipe up the glue with a wet rag, it will still show.

  

Reglue with any yellow glue all at once then hammer back together with a rubber hammer and let set up till next day. apply stain or what ever and I would use rattle cans of lacquer after stain has dried two or three days. 

   Don't do any scraping when finish is off , that will ruin you redo. Only medium sand paper all over if it  needs it.

   This paint remover is watery thin , which is way better than the very thick kind for the thick kind more or less has to be scraped off which makes more work later......

 The thin remover will flow to the floor, thats good...

Edited January 30, 20179 yr by Smallpatch

go here for the citristrip sds:

 

http://www.citristrip.com/uploads/documents/QCG73801T_SDS-CS61040.26.pdf

 

I would save that and note all precautions.

^{Commonly called an NMP stripper.}

 

http://zhurnalko.net/=woodworking/popular-woodworking/2000-06-No-115--num60

This is what the can use to look like. 

Here it is today. Good stuff.

 

Edited February 1, 20179 yr by Gene Howe

Teri, good to see you.  Regardless what you strip it with, if you use water be sure to check the joints before you stain and finish it.  If you have an open area with good ventilation, I'd suggest a lacquer spray made by Deft.  Some hardware stores have it and some don't so I buy mine at Amazon.  The fumes can be a bit overpowering but I've never had a bad finish with it.  Good luck.

May I suggest after stripping you consider finishing with Shellac, Lacquer 

Recipe for Fornby's or Hope's furniture stripper
Equal parts of acetone, methanol (wood alcohol), methylene chloride and tolulene