Stripping: Make Repairs & Glue Before or After Methylene Chloride Stripper?

[Ned Mcbee]

We have some poplar cabinet doors mostly stripped and the next phase is a methylene chloride stripper.

The doors aren't high end items and they're in rough shape. Several will need some sort of glue reinforcement of the joints (likely CA glue wicked in) and also some wood repairs (plugs, inserts) for damaged areas and some Bondo filler also. The finish will be paint.


The plan was to use the stripper first, the reasoning being that the stripper might attack the glue of any repairs.
A finishing article however suggested using methylene chloride stripper after doing glue repairs as the stripper contains wax which can interfere with the glue.

Anyone have any experience with this?
Thanks for any input.

[John TenEyck]

Where are you buying methylene chloride stripper these days? It was banned a year or more ago. In any case, I've never had problems with wax contamination from stripper. You have to neutralize the stripper after it's done its job using "Afterwash" or mineral spirits or Naptha, and they will remove any wax in the stripper. That said, I prefer to do repairs before stripping, if possible, because the stripper will stain the repairs in the same way as the rest of the piece. But with a paint grade project that's not an issue, so I'd decide bases on whatever is more convenient.

John

[Ned Mcbee]

Thanks for the reply John.
I had no idea MC was no longer being sold. I have a gallon that's two years ago. (FYI I have the necessary protective gear including the correct MC resistant gloves and supplied air).
The plan to strip first and then make repairs is based on my own experience in doing damage during the stripping ... occasional gouging, etc. esp. when wood is soft and scraping off the stripper or working into molding details or needing to get more aggressive with general scraping. It just seems to be the case here ... and this paint grade stuff not very high end furniture or an antique. Unfortunately, and as you likeley know, it's not very pleasant work and it can get brutal and time consuming with a century of dozens of layers of paint. So the preference is to get it all stripped and once all that invasive work is done, see what needs to be repaired and patched (where more care and surgical precision will be employed) enough for it to be structurally sound and look good after it's all hidden under the satin topcoat.

Where are you buying methylene chloride stripper these days? It was banned a year or more ago. In any case, I've never had problems with wax contamination from stripper. You have to neutralize the stripper after it's done its job using "Afterwash" or mineral spirits or Naptha, and they will remove any wax in the stripper. That said, I prefer to do repairs before stripping, if possible, because the stripper will stain the repairs in the same way as the rest of the piece. But with a paint grade project that's not an issue, so I'd decide bases on whatever is more convenient.

John

[roger wiegand]

I've always stripped first and repaired later. I scrub things down pretty aggressively after using the gel stripper to get most of the stuff off. When I was younger and stupider I used a 2:2:1 mix of methylene chloride, methanol, and lacquer thinner, a recipe I got from an old pro (in retrospect he was probably 40 and only looked 80, I should have taken the hint) It was very fast, very aggressive, and really nasty to work with. Worked like a champ.

The last piece I did I used denatured alcohol (working outside with a big fan and appropriate solvent respirator) as a wash, it requires a lot more scrubbing with a brush and scotchbrite pad to get the last bits out but did eventually work. I have never had an issue with residual wax.

If you're patient the Citru-strip type products do work if you have a way to keep them on the surface and wet for 12+ hours. I tend not to be that patient and worry about all that water exposure. I'm hoarding the last of of my CH2Cl2 stripper.

[Jim Becker]

Like Roger, I'd strip first and repair second after a thorough cleaning. That way, it's easier to see what the repair entails.

[Mike Wilkins]

I have always been advised to make repairs first then strip. Reason being that the stripper will interfere with the glue being used in the repairs. I know the stripper will have to be neutralized in the removal process, but the glue will hold any repairs made. Especially if repairing and restoring a veneered item.

[Ned Mcbee]

Thanks guys.
The recommendation struck me as odd (IIRC by an article authored by Jewitt so not casually dismissed) and an inversion of how I approach stripping. But I'm not dealing with irreplaceable items. I'll chalk it up to another theory and more than one way to skin a cat.

Roger my experience is that it's all nasty no matter how you slice it and what you use to slice it. Stripping just sucks.