Step By Step Instructions Of Removing Shellac From Old Doors
Shellac is a kind of finish for wood that looks exceptionally great at first, but it won't hold up. If you expose it to weather, it whitens, cracks as well as begins to flake off. Shellac has a limited lifetime, even if the door is partly protected. The majority of the doors need to be stripped and refinished after a few years. For an older door, it is highly possible that the shellac will come off easily with the help of chemical stripper. And you are not sure if it is shellac or not, the stripper works exceptionally fine on all types of coatings. As soon as you have removed the shellac, you can sand as well as use any type of finish that you want in order to bring the door back to its old glory. Go through the below-mentioned steps carefully if you are looking to remove shellac from old doors:
- Remove Door From The Doorjamb: First of all, pull out the door from the doorjamb by unscrewing the hinges with the help of a drill/driver. Lay it flat across two sawhorses before placing a drop cloth on the floor around the perimeter of the door. Make sure to use rubber gloves & eye protection in order to protect yourself from any kind of harm.
- Coat The Door With The Stripper: Now, soak a brush into an open can of chemical stripper. Brush it onto the door, generously & bountifully coating the door with the stripper. Wait at least 15 minutes for the stripper to gel as well as soften the shellac.
- Scrape The Gelled Stripper Off: Next, start scrapping the gelled stripper off beginning in the center of the door. With the help of a flat stick, scrape it in big globs to the edge and off the side of the door, which in turn allows it to fall onto the drop cloth.
- Scrape Until The Door Losses The Wet Look: Scrape in intersecting strokes in any direction as long as the door loses the wet look from the gelled stripper. If the door has panels, curves, or rounded profiled molding, then you can use a pointed stick when it comes to scrapping the gelled stripper from the corners, profiles or tight spaces. Shape the stick with the help of a knife in order to fit it into curves, dips, cracks or profiles on the door.
- Brush On More Stripper For Stubborn Areas: When it comes to stubborn areas where the shellac did not come off easily, brush on more stripper. Wait at least 15 minutes, before scrapping it off. Turn the door over and repeat, applying stripper as well as scraping as long as the door is free from shellac. Apply stripper to the sides as well as the underside if you find shellac on them, and scrape it off from there, too. Wait 4 hours for the door to dry fully.
- Sand The Door With 100-grit Sandpaper: Finally, sand the door by hand with 100-grit sandpaper. Sand with overlapping strokes parallel to the grain only as long as the door is smooth.