Lightening the finish on bedside cabinets?

I don't know what strippers still work with their new eco formulation, but oxalic acid for lightening ...

They are second hand, so I don't know if they fall within the "new eco formulation" range. Thanks for the oxalic acid tip.

I meant the available DIY strippers are "eco"

OK thanks. I too rarely miss the opportunity to misunderstand.

Buy it or boil down some rhubarb leaves.

Best approach is to find an area that is normally out of sight and experiment. Paint stripper, acetone or hot air gun might do something. However, if it's a 2-pack lacquer you'll need an appropriate stripper, or to sand.

Just to add: a search for "what is the finish on g-plan furniture" will enlighten your darkness. Here's the start of the AI response: "G-Plan furniture, particularly their iconic mid-century pieces, often feature a durable two-pack polyurethane finish. This finish, known for its hardness and resistance to wear, is a hallmark of the brand's quality. "

Sanding good. The new strippers will strip acrylics OK

But hmm.

Depends what the finish is?? Acetone will remove some stuff

If its hard try using a scraper and then sand

Scraper that and sand it. No modern stripper will touch it

That might work well, especially if I go for a light creamy custard shade of finish.

Thanks for the details. I must start using AI more.

I think I'll need to go chemical. I've previously used carefully broken sheets of glass for cabinet scraping, but I don't think my wrists would hold out long enough these days.

Skarsten scrapers used to be good, until replacement blades became unavailable ... I notice some "compatible" blades are available again, meanwhile I've bought a couple of bahco scrapers.

Bahco range looks good. I'll give them a try.

If you've used sharp glass edges in the past, you'll know that some types of paint/varnish that have totally dried over years are brittle enough that they are easy to remove by scraping.

Not sure if that applies to two-pack finish, or whether it needs heat to soften?

Just use a search - Google usually being the "go to". You don't need to interact directly with the AI, although it's great fun to play with ChatGpt. Try going to chatgpt.com and typing: "create image of diyers trying to give advice" or "create limerick about bad diy" or "how to strip g-plan furniture" into it.

I have done this: chemical strip on the varnish. Then bleaching: oxalic acid solution was not particularly effective. Laundry bleach (sodium hypochlorite) diluted and brushed on worked well. (This was on stained beech, YMMV.)

I have also seen hydrogen peroxide and lye used -- mix and brush on; recipes on the internet. Or brush the lye on, let dry, then brush the h. peroxide on. Beware: the mix will release oxygen, burst sealed bottles, which would spray reactive fluid around.

It's important to do all the bits the same at the same time. I used the wooden knobs as test pieces to see how the wood reacts, and later replaced them with nicer ones on the final piece.

Let dry very well before further finishing... the wood gets pretty wet.

Thomas Prufer

Sounds addictive. I might not ever get any work done once I start that stuff.

Thanks for the details I'll try a few of those methods. On the knobs of course.