Is your home décor feeling outdated? Before you rush out to buy new furniture consider a DIY furniture refinishing project.

Furniture refinishing is a great way to transform your lackluster or outdated pieces of wooden furniture. Strip off old paint or wood stain to create the ideal base for a fresh finish, or simply enjoy the rustic raw wood look. Let your creativity soar as you create a one-of-a-kind look or statement piece. Motsenbocker’s Lift Off Paint & Varnish Remover makes the process easy without the need for power tools or harsh chemicals.

This furniture refinishing project works with polyurethane finishes, painted or stained wooden furniture.

Guide to Furniture Refinishing

What You’ll Need:

• Paint Brush
• Scraper
• Plastic gloves
• Plastic container
• Disposable cloth or paper towels
• Drop cloth
• Plastic wrap – optional
• Rubbing alcohol and cotton cloth - optional

Furniture Refinishing Tips

1. Remove hardware drawers, and cabinet doors if necessary. This will ensure all of the original finish is removed from hard to reach areas such as around drawer pulls.
2. Work in a well ventilated area or outdoors. Protect surrounding areas with drop cloths before getting started. Remember: if you are working near wood floors or painted surfaces, any spilled or splattered PVR may remove that finish too.
3. Pour Motsenbocker’s Lift Off into a container then apply liberally to the furniture using a paint brush.
4. Allow the Paint & Varnish Remover to sit for 5 minutes. Motsenbocker’s Lift Off starts working within 5 minutes, but heavily painted or varnished pieces may require more time. If you have a longer wait plastic wrap can be used to cover the area to prevent it from evaporating too quickly.
5. Use a scraper or souring pad to begin removing the old finish. Work in the same direction as the wood grain. Repeat as necessary. Heavily coated surfaces and deeply ingrained stains may require multiple applications.
6. Clean surface with warm water or rubbing alcohol using a clean, white cloth to remove excess coatings and Lift Off® from surface.
7. Allow the newly stripped surface to air dry before applying a new finish or paint. Stripped coatings are safe to be disposed of in the trash.

Plastic gloves can be worn to protect skin from drying

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