Getting rid of a finish

[Anonymous]

Six years ago Mrs R got me to use some coloured wax on some pine shelves. It's now been decided that said shelves need to be white. Any ideas on how to get the wax off? The other sight problem is thatI 'No Nailed' the supports to the wall and so it has to be able to be applied in situ

My idea is sand paper and then emulsion, but I await to be corrected

 

[DaveL]

Hi Mr Rutty,

I have never done this but would I try Liberon wax and polish remover. In the booklet I have they recommend using a pad of 0000 steel wool to rub the remover on with, changing the pad frequently. Wiping off with a cotton rag and allowing to dry, repeat as required.

I think you would need to sand back quite a lot to get the wax off, the sand paper would tend to clog with it.

Let us know how you get on.

 

[polyvinylacetate]

Hi, i'm a new boy here so thought i would finally add a post . When i remove wax from pine i find that the most quick and economical way to do it is scrape it off with a wide scraper ( maybe a wallpaper stripper ) held at 90 degrees to the wood and drag it . To try and sand clogs the belts or pads instantly. When down to bare wood give it a sand to finish off .

 

[Anonymous]

OK I have three shelves so I'll try a scraper, finish with wire wool and hope it looks OK

I'll let you know how I get on

 

[Adam]

Hi, i'm a new boy here so thought i would finally add a post .

Welcome to the forums!

Adam

 

[Anonymous]

Use white spirit and 0000 wire wool. Rub up and down the grain - flood it on a bit - agitate the wax and keep mopping the surplus liquid up with copious amounts of new kitchen towel. Keep going until no more wax residue will come off on the towel. White spirit ,basically, is the solvent of most waxes. Hope this helps. Scraping will always leave wax in the grain unless you scrape to the bottom of the grain pores (shallow on pine admittedly)

 

[polyvinylacetate]

Like i said though scraping is definitely the most economical,cleaner way to get rid of the wax. Once down to the bare white pine the belt sander will easily remove any wax that is hiding in the grain and will not clog the belt. I've tried dissolving the wax but with coloured waxes the stain soaks onto the pine and far more sanding is needed afterwards.

 

[Anonymous]

Hi guys, sorry for the long delay but a wife and a full time job has kept me busy.

Scraped off the wax and then used wire wool to key the surface and splaped on some white emulsion. Looks great in the room, but not sure how long it will last. I'm sure I can hear you all grinding your teeth, but the wife is happy at that's what really counts :wink: