Removing shellac?? a lot of shellac...

[pconroy]

My neighbor came over to ask about a roll-top desk she just received from her mother's estate. While probably nothing especially expensive, it's nicely done, with all exposed pieces being QSWO.  It's probably from the '30s or '40s.

I asked her what she hoped to get in the end - and she said "a nice looking piece.".

Guessing the finish might be shellac, I poured some denatured alcohol on the top and - sure enough - it got sticky and gooey and eventually came off to reveal some nice wood.

So - seems to me the first sense is to strip this bugger.
Any suggestions for an easy (relatively easy) way to take a ton of decades old shellac off a large rolltop desk?
Gallon of alcohol (for the desk, not me) and a plastic putty knife???

[J-W-P]

I did a project recently involving stripping the top section of a rolltop desk.  It seemed to have a variety of finishes including shellac.  Alcohol did very little to it.
I used the Kleen-Strip stuff from Home Depot.  It has methylene chloride which removes just about everything.  It was messy (gloves, respirator, outside, etc..) and took a while but it got the job done.

[jppierson]

Is there a reason to strip the entire desk?  Clean it with Murphys oil soap or something similar, I've seen on a show or U-Tube naptha and wood shavings.  Joshua Klein says to test the finish in an inconspicuous place(you know its shellac), and use a solvent other than that to clean the dirt and old wax off.  You may be surprised just how well cleaning will work to lighten the overall color.  I recommend that you use shellac on the top to keep the finish consistent.  I also suggest that you clean the top, then reapply shellac.  The new shellac will re-dissolve the old finish and bond well.  Are there rings or other damage that goes to the wood?  You can remove white rings and such in a variety of ways by forcing the moisture out of the ring using an iron and cotton cloth.  The rings may also disappear when you apply a thin coat of shellac over the top since the shellac will bond with the old finish below.  If the rings or damage don't totally respond you may end up stripping it, but don't use a chemical stripper just alcohol.  As you work on stripping wipe the older finish over the whole top to even the color, then wipe on new de-WAXED SHELLAC cut the canned shellac in half with alcohol.  It will dry very quickly.  By this time you will only have about 1/2 hour work into the project.  Assess where you are at that point. If you don't like it, then by all means strip the top and then go through the whole process of dye/stain, seal, fill, and build your desired finish. I happen to be a fan of shellac.  A desk isn't going to get a whole lot of exposure to moisture and such like a dining table so in my opinion shellac works well, and is consistent with the historic manner in which the desk was made.  You can build a finish quickly using de-waxed shellac and if desired apply a more resilient final top coat.  You can color the shellac as you go if required using alcohol soluble dye/stain in order to closely match the color.

[pconroy]

Thanks gents! The top and the chair well are pretty dinged up. I'll need to sand them down for her. But, yeah, the plan would be to not strip the entire thing if I can help it.

[jteneyck]

Whatever portion you have to strip, KleanStrip Premium will do a great job and faster than any other way. 

John

[Restorer]

you don't sand all the dings and dents out of a piece from the '30's  or '40's.  It is not a new piece and trying to make it look new by grinding the dents and dings out just makes it look bad.  A refinish is another story and will make it look good if done correctly.  A piece of that age, unless already refinished, is unlikely to have shellac as a finish.  That and shellac makes a poor finish on a roll top desk.   People rarely believe this but lacquer of some type was the primary commercial finish of the period you say the desk is from and way before that.   Kleen strip premium is the way to go for stripper, the one in the copper colored can.   Outside of a very   light hand sanding with usually 400 grit to knock any fuzzies down after stripping,  I rarely sand on any piece I redo.  The last thing you want to do is to undertake sanding off the finish.  That completely destroys the patina the piece has earned over the last 80 or so yrs.  Using stripper gets rid of the finish but retains the underling patina and that along with the dings gives the piece character.

[pconroy]

Thanks for all of the suggestions. I suggested Kleen Strip to them and will check in on their progress.

I'm not sure it's a highly valuable piece. Although the DTs on the drawers look handcut, the drawer sides and secondary material doesn't look very special. The QSWO is nice but not especially flamed/figured.

And - I think this couple would prefer something that's more aligned with their tastes. The desk has sentimental value, at best.

After it's stripped, I'll check in with them and see if they want things smoothed out a bit or if they like the 'character'.

[Archengine]

I've refinished many period pieces with shellac and find it to be far and away the easiest finish to strip off. Put some alcohol in a spray bottle, grab a roll of paper towels, a stripping pad, and a thin plastic sheet. Lay a single layer of paper towels down on the piece, spray alcohol on them with the mister and cover with plastic for twenty minutes. If it starts drying out, most on some more alcohol. Once twenty minutes have passed, the layer of shellac, even if top coated with other finishes or paint, will be liquid. Using the paper towels on the piece, wipe up as much of the deteriorated finish as possible. Mist a little more on and wipe again. Repeat if necessary. For final clean up, use the stripping pad with a little more mist from the spray bottle. For vertical or curved surfaces, mist the part first, then wrap in a paper towel. Mist some more and wrap in plastic. Same result. The plastic is not completely necessary, but you will be misting so much alcohol you may feel a little drunk. ? This is a fast and fool proof technique. It also skips the scraper which may gouge the piece on occasion.

Rob