Shoutout to the guy who told me to just sand off old milk paint

Honestly, I had this 1920s oak dresser with what I thought was shellac over milk paint. Tried every stripper on the shelf, nothing budged. Took me three full days of scraping and chemical burns to realize it was actually a super thick layer of catalyzed varnish someone put on in the 80s. Ended up having to use a heat gun and a carbide scraper for another two days straight. Anyone else get completely fooled by a mystery finish?

3 comments

3 Comments

wilson.jesse3mo ago

I mean I used to think you could always tell by how it smelled when you sanded it. That dresser situation would have had me fooled too, no lie.

nancybennett3mo ago

Oh man, I was totally in that same boat! I always trusted the smell test, like that sharp, almost sweet smell from sanding pine was a dead giveaway. But then I worked on this old table that looked and felt like solid oak, super heavy. Sanded a patch and got that same pine scent, clear as day. It was just the best veneer job I've ever seen, completely changed how I look at things now.

foster.dylan1mo ago

Snag a small handheld detail sander for tight spots like that. It lets you sneak into corners without blowing through the veneer like a regular orbital would. That old pine scent under oak taught me the hard way too, now I always start with a tiny test patch in an inconspicuous spot before I go all in. You ever run into a piece where the glue line gives it away before you even sand?