polyurethane - is it removed by acetone?

[Daniel]

Hi,

Is polyurethane removed by acetone? I've DAGS, and some sites say acetone will soften poly, others say poly will shed acetone like water.

I managed to remove a hard clear finish by rubbing it with a paper towel moistened with acetone. Before the removal, spraying some nc lacquer over the unknown finish caused that finish to lift and wrinkle for the portions over wood, and did not soften or wrinkle anything for the portions over metal. Another factor is that portions of the wood may have been exposed to a tung/urethane varnish, but I did wipe it off before the varnish got sticky. (yes, I'm in a mess.)

Thanks for any info you may have.

- Daniel

[loutent]

Acetone will dissolve shellac but not do much to poly- may soften it a bit, but not dissolve it. I have refinished some poly coated chairs etc with pretty good results using Parks refinisher. As I recall, it is a combination of solvents which dissolve several types of coatings. Still requires some elbow-grease!

Worth a try.

Good luck!

Lou

[Sweet Sawdust]

[Joe]

replying to Daniel, Joe wrote: Polyurethane is one of the toughest and most durable clear coats on the market. (Depending on what brand you buy) It helps to be able to identify what you are dealing with by site and touch of the surface that it has been applied to. But that comes with experience of being a professional painter and wood finisher . (30 yrs worth) Lemon and other citrus oils are more of a cleaner and protector than anything else. Paint stripper works well for taking off all different kinds of finishes but works better on horizontal surfaces so it can fester and work it's magic. However stripper has changed over the years because of all the material regulations and poison control these days. Lacquer thinner and course steel wool works really well just make sure you take proper precautions like wearing rubber gloves safety glasses . Make sure you prep with tape, paper and chemical resists plastic be it will destroy everything the it touches. You will have to sand after the chemicals dry and evaporate . If you can't use a sander you will have to hand sand before applying your choice of finish or You will know rite away if you didn't remove old paint or finish well enough when you apply new finish It takes a lot of patience to be a painter and not everyone can do it and you have to think 2 or 3 steps ahead. I hope I helped you Daniel.

[Ed Pawlowski]

13 years later Daniel has an answer. Sadly, he was killed when his garage blew up when he tried heating acetone to make it work better. Seems he was lacking proper information on its use. He is survived by his ex-wife, dog, and a polyurethane coated bookcase.

[Puckdropper]

Ed Pawlowski wrote in news:HLAIA.630$ [e-mail]:

Did he at least get a nice smooth coat on the bookcase?

Puckdropper

[nailshooter41]

I felt obliged to observe a moment of silence after reading that.

LOLOLOLOL!!!!

Robert

[krw]

I think the bookcase was a ruse to throw the DEA off the track of his acetone purchases.

[DerbyDad03]

What about the gerbils? ;-)

(Inside Joke)

[Ed Pawlowski]

Fireman had roasted gerbil for lunch