Removing Paint, Varnish & Wax

There are two or more grades of patented removers on the market.They are made in thin liquid form for flat surfaces and in thin paste form for vertical surfaces. The cheaper grades of removers depend upon wood alcohol and benzole largely as the solvents for action, while the more expensive and better removers use acetone as the principal solvent. Most of the removers sold now are made under the same license patents which cover the use of wax in the removers to prevent the very volatile solvents from evaporating too rapidly and before they have dissolved the old varnish or paint.

It pays to buy the best quality of patented removers as a rule. When they work too fast on large surfaces to permit scraping off the old varnish before it gets hard again, add more wax to the remover. Place the can of remover in a pail of boiling hot water and when the liquid is hot shave into it a few ounces of paraffine wax. Then it will remain wet longer and permit you to do a cleaner job. Also it is well to coat not so large a surface at a time when the remover permits the varnish to get hard again.

Removing Shellac.
To remove shellac from floors and other wood brush on denatured or wood alcohol and scrape up the soft gum as rapidly as possible. Then wash over the whole surface with the alcohol as a final clean up. The denatured alcohol is cheaper than wood alcohol as a rule. Benzine will not do for the final wash-up. Turpentine does not dissolve shellac. Repeated applications of the alcohol may be necessary to remove all of the shellac. When the patented varnish removers are used to remove shellac be sure to wash up well with benzine or benzole later to remove any wax left on the surface from the remover.

Removing Wax from Varnish.
Before a waxed surface can be successfully revarnished or painted the wax must be removed. The new coats do not dry when spread on over wax. The wax must all be removed including what has lodged in the seams, cracks and pores of the wood.

The waxes usually used on floors and trim are soluble in benzine, benzole, turpentine and denatured alcohol. If you want to remove wax without injury to the varnish or shellac under it do not use alcohol; the benzine used freely will probably take off all of the wax if you scrub hard enough with it and sandpaper the surface well.