TIL a trick for stripping old varnish from a 1920s dresser I bought last week

I used a heat gun on low with a wide scraper, and it came off in sheets instead of gumming up. Anyone have a better method for stubborn shellac?

3 comments

3 Comments

anna_stone452mo agoMost Upvoted

Heat guns are basically cheating, lmao. I spent a weekend fighting shellac with a toothpick once. Your way sounds way less painful.

margaretm232mo ago

Honestly used to swear by chemical strippers, but that heat gun trick sounds like it actually works.

black.val2mo ago

Heat guns are the only way to go for that old shellac. Chemical strippers just make a sticky mess that soaks into the wood grain. A wide scraper on a low setting lets you peel it off clean in one pass. Why fight with it for hours when you can be done in twenty minutes?