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Using a jointer or planer to remove finish

Using a jointer or planer to remove finish (post #169773)

Lyptus on Fri, 02/10/2012 - 04:22

General Discussion

Is there any reason one should not use a jointer or planer to remove cured polyurethane finish from a board? I have some drawer fronts that need refinishing and don't own a belt sander. The job is slow with a random orbit sander and the paper gums quickly so I'm thinking of just jusing my jointer- with a very light cut. I just don't want to gum up or dull the knives of my jointer in the process.

Thanks,

Lyptus

Gumming UP (post #169773, reply #1 of 11)

by Metod in reply to Lyptus [original] on Fri, 02/10/2012 - 05:13

Lyptus,

Gumming up will probably not happen, but I am not so sure about dulling the knives faster. Maybe polyurethane in itself, specially not cured, is not too bad. If it is not gloss, the flattening agent could be quite abrasive.

I suggest that you try a card scraper - you might like he results. You will notice how fast it dulls - not much to resharpen it.

Best wishes,

Metod

My choice (post #169773, reply #2 of 11)

by BruceS in reply to Lyptus [original] on Fri, 02/10/2012 - 07:29

My choice would be to start with a hand scraper or a RO sander with an open coat sterated paper. And be sure to have the RO sander hooked up to a shop vac, it helps keep the paper cooler and you get less "pilling". also clean the paper often with a gum rubber disc/belt eraser.

Work Safe, Count to 10 when your done for the day !!

Bruce S.

finish removal (post #169773, reply #3 of 11)

by RalphBarker in reply to Lyptus [original] on Fri, 02/10/2012 - 07:37

Have you considered using one of the newer eco-friendly chemical strippers, instead?

Any suggestions on (post #169773, reply #4 of 11)

by Lyptus in reply to Lyptus [original] on Fri, 02/10/2012 - 12:52

Any suggestions on eco-friendly chemical strippers?

recommendations (post #169773, reply #8 of 11)

by RalphBarker in reply to Lyptus [original] on Sat, 02/11/2012 - 10:05

Since I'm not a finishing (or, stripping) expert, I'd suggest asking the question in the Finishing section of the forum. The folks there will have much better answers than I.

citrus strip (post #169773, reply #10 of 11)

by blopar in reply to Lyptus [original] on Sun, 02/12/2012 - 18:15

I've had good success with Citrus strip, works well, no lingering odor.

Finish Removal (post #169773, reply #5 of 11)

by robscaffe in reply to Lyptus [original] on Fri, 02/10/2012 - 17:50

If you don't mind losing a bit of material, a planer will work just fine. If you just want to remove the finish, a simple cabinet scraper, properly prepared, will make short work of it, with no noise or dust. Eco frendly paint stripper????? Hey, I've got some polar bear habitat in east TN I would like to sell you...

Using planer to remove finish (post #169773, reply #6 of 11)

by cedarlog in reply to Lyptus [original] on Sat, 02/11/2012 - 07:16

I ran some finished bed rails through my DW735 to re-use the wood. It worked but it may also be the reason why wood began hanging instead of feeding smoothly through. I cleaned the rollers more than once but it has not quite "healed." If someone has a different explanation, please tell me. I like this planer (even though it makes an awful mess).

Using planer to remove finish (post #169773, reply #7 of 11)

by cedarlog in reply to Lyptus [original] on Sat, 02/11/2012 - 07:16

I've done it, but I don't recommend it.... (post #169773, reply #9 of 11)

by Quickstep in reply to Lyptus [original] on Sun, 02/12/2012 - 17:10

I've done it using a jointer, but mine was on a piece of wood that started out fairly thick and was used just to test finishes. When I jointed, I removed a substantial amount of material so that the jointer knives were mostly cutting wood instead of just plowing through finish. I think if you just tried to remove just the finish, it would just gum up. If it makes you feel any better about not having a belt sander; a belt sander would likely just gum up too. I fear there's just no simple solution for removing finish.

Thanks to all of your (post #169773, reply #11 of 11)

by Lyptus in reply to Quickstep [original] on Mon, 02/20/2012 - 04:48

Thanks to all of your replies. I ended up using a cabinet scraper to remove most of the finish and then using a very shallow pass on the jointer to get below the point where the dye (my first coat) soaked into the fibers. It worked great.