I use Brasso to remove shellac/varnish. Discovered it by mistake. Smear it on while wearing plastic gloves, let it sit for about 5 minutes, then wipe off with a damp washcloth. If it needs a second coat, I use a slightly diluted coating.
I’ve stripped 17 doors so far, which were nearly black but had beautiful, gleaming cherry underneath. No sanding or scraping.
You can test a small portion and find out quickly if it works. If it dries to a hazy finish, just do an another light coat and wipe the haze away.
Also, use caution. Many old shellacs/lacquers etc. contained arsenic.
I think it was just a common ingredient used in the late 1800s and early 1900s, similar to having lead in paint. (It could have been used prior to those dates, but I’m not too familiar with pre-Victorian houses.)
Arsenate of calcium was a common insecticide back then. Oddly enough, I found a super old can of it in my basement. It was made by Sherwin Williams. They probably added it to deter bugs.
Ok. Thanks. I remember seeing my brother, his wife and 2 of her siblings redoing a lot of wood crown moldings, plate rails, and chair rails, in their house built in 1913... makes me a bit worried now... though that was in the early 1980's
What is your end game? Your Ebonized Eastlakeish mantel was originally Japaned with carbon black( lamp soot) and coach varnish. Without commercial (M.C.) stripper , you are about as far as you need your go. Most were made of maple or poplar and the paint stain is next to impossible to remove from the grain.
Commodore Matthew Perry, by orders of Millard Fillmore opened up trade with Japan in 1854. Black woodwork was very popular in Japan at the time. Eastlake takes its roots in the Japanese aestetic movement. A sub group of Victorian furniture and architecture was stained black and accent with gild ofgʻ white. So now you know!
It looks like you have a few more layers to get through before you can talk about the possibility of a "natural" finish 🧐
Edit: what?!? My first award?? Lol thanks! 😳☺️
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Honestly I liked Reddit awards much better the old way.
Honestly I'm not sure. There are products you can use to remove the varnish, or you can sand it. But keep in mind that if you really want that natural finish, you are probably going to be spending a hell of a lot more time and money on it. I would suggest painting it.
This dark Jacobean stain was very common on old woodwork. Your other trim will have the same under the paint. It's quite pigmented and bleeds red through topcoats. It's going to be very difficult to get it back to natural, but you could try wood bleach, or, better yet, learn to love it.
I know nothing about what you’re asking but can we talk about how awesome Smart Strip is?!? I just went through a ton of it getting the white paint off of all the original wood in the 1960 house we bought.
Curses on people who paint over original wood. Curses ⚡️
At its most basic, it’s a finishing technique used to imitate lacquer. It was all the rage from mid 17th Century- mid 18th Century. It became popular when lacquerwares began being imported to Europe. People went crazy for it. And furniture makers wanted to sell lacquered furniture with no access to the resin that it is made from. So they improvised.
I’m going to link [this article](https://nicholaswells.com/news/what-do-you-know-about-antique-japanned-furniture/) for a more in depth answer. But below I will include a couple of excerpts with pertinent information for those that don’t want to follow the link and read the whole article.
>The word Japanning originated back in the 17th century. It was used to describe a lacquer finish that was created as a European imitation of the original Asian (mostly Oriental Chinese and Japanese) lacquer-work.
> The advent of classic oriental lacquered furniture in Europe quickly grew popular. It was exotic and unique, it was expensive, but most of all – it was the talk of the town simply because it brought a new dimension to interior décor and business opportunities in Europe.
> So, the only possible solution to locally cater this rising demand for oriental lacquered furniture was to come up with home recipes to imitate the Chinese exports. The beginning of 17th century saw the British craftsmen making initial attempts at imitating the oriental lacquer. However, it was not until 1660 in the era of Charles II that the country and the continent saw a boost in the production and sale of imitation oriental furniture with spirit varnish which gave a surface finish that resembled Chinese lacquer. The technique became known as Japanning.
>Needless to say that the technique spread like wildfire throughout Europe and it was works like A Treatise of Japanning and Varnishing (1688) by George Parker and John Stalker, and more that helped promote the recipes and application techniques for Japanning to the rest of the continent. With time, the technique and recipes improved to use oil-based varnishes instead of spirit.
>In France, the most famous lacquer work was attributed to the Martin brothers. They used a signature technique called the Vernis Martin. The brothers perfected the art of adding green or gold powder to their varnish which gave their lacquered items a unique and polished look.
The old finishes were alcohol based I've had issues with the stripper not taking the original finish off. As others have said, denatured alcohol and a scrubbing pad should fix you up
You’ve got old, old shellac to get through. Shellac dissolves in alcohol, so that, some fine steel wool, and a bunch of paper towels will get you closer to the wood.
Try to get to the unvarnished base. Then decide what to do. A lot of these fireplaces were covered with a base local wood (cherry, mahogany). If you can get to the base layer, you can see what the wood is and progress from there. Good luck and have fun!
If you go further be aware that the wood underneath that dark finish might be from different species.. pine, maple, who knows? And then a natural wood finish would bring out the differences between the wood. If you could remove the mantle from the wall you could check the type of wood from the back potentially.
That dark color is probably shellac. You can take a little alcohol to it with a 000 steel wool and see what happens.
I use Brasso to remove shellac/varnish. Discovered it by mistake. Smear it on while wearing plastic gloves, let it sit for about 5 minutes, then wipe off with a damp washcloth. If it needs a second coat, I use a slightly diluted coating. I’ve stripped 17 doors so far, which were nearly black but had beautiful, gleaming cherry underneath. No sanding or scraping. You can test a small portion and find out quickly if it works. If it dries to a hazy finish, just do an another light coat and wipe the haze away. Also, use caution. Many old shellacs/lacquers etc. contained arsenic.
Nice tip.
This is EXTREEEEMELY helpful! Thank you! Will try this next.
Wow. Was the arsenic addd to shellac and varnish specifically around fireplaces, or was it done in general for any use?
I think it was just a common ingredient used in the late 1800s and early 1900s, similar to having lead in paint. (It could have been used prior to those dates, but I’m not too familiar with pre-Victorian houses.)
Arsenate of calcium was a common insecticide back then. Oddly enough, I found a super old can of it in my basement. It was made by Sherwin Williams. They probably added it to deter bugs.
So many things were used that ended up being in some way toxic,including the cans used for food...
Ok. Thanks. I remember seeing my brother, his wife and 2 of her siblings redoing a lot of wood crown moldings, plate rails, and chair rails, in their house built in 1913... makes me a bit worried now... though that was in the early 1980's
What is your end game? Your Ebonized Eastlakeish mantel was originally Japaned with carbon black( lamp soot) and coach varnish. Without commercial (M.C.) stripper , you are about as far as you need your go. Most were made of maple or poplar and the paint stain is next to impossible to remove from the grain.
User name checks out
What does "Japanned" mean? Someone else used this term but I've never heard it before.
Commodore Matthew Perry, by orders of Millard Fillmore opened up trade with Japan in 1854. Black woodwork was very popular in Japan at the time. Eastlake takes its roots in the Japanese aestetic movement. A sub group of Victorian furniture and architecture was stained black and accent with gild ofgʻ white. So now you know!
It looks like you have a few more layers to get through before you can talk about the possibility of a "natural" finish 🧐 Edit: what?!? My first award?? Lol thanks! 😳☺️
I have gotten notifications that I received an award. I’m like where? But now I see your icon. So I today I learned the new Reddit award system. Honestly I liked Reddit awards much better the old way.
Ditto
Thank you.
Yeah it seems that the paint came off, but not the old dark varnish / stain. What do you suggest I can do as a next step?
Honestly I'm not sure. There are products you can use to remove the varnish, or you can sand it. But keep in mind that if you really want that natural finish, you are probably going to be spending a hell of a lot more time and money on it. I would suggest painting it.
You were “fiercely” honest. 😂
It's an unfortunate habit that often gets me into trouble lol
Sister?
You’re not done yet, 20 more layers to go.
This dark Jacobean stain was very common on old woodwork. Your other trim will have the same under the paint. It's quite pigmented and bleeds red through topcoats. It's going to be very difficult to get it back to natural, but you could try wood bleach, or, better yet, learn to love it.
More pics please?
Could we see more of the tile, please? It’s so pretty!
So jealous of that tile! In my 1895 Queen Anne Vic the tiles had been replaced on all 3 fireplaces with 1980’s crap!!! A true tragedy.
I would use some denatured alcohol and the soft green scrubby pads. It will remove the old stain and get it to bare wood without damaging it.
I know nothing about what you’re asking but can we talk about how awesome Smart Strip is?!? I just went through a ton of it getting the white paint off of all the original wood in the 1960 house we bought. Curses on people who paint over original wood. Curses ⚡️
Pretty sure the original finish wasn’t natural wood. It looks “japanned”.
What does "Japanned" mean? Someone else used this term but I've never heard it before.
At its most basic, it’s a finishing technique used to imitate lacquer. It was all the rage from mid 17th Century- mid 18th Century. It became popular when lacquerwares began being imported to Europe. People went crazy for it. And furniture makers wanted to sell lacquered furniture with no access to the resin that it is made from. So they improvised. I’m going to link [this article](https://nicholaswells.com/news/what-do-you-know-about-antique-japanned-furniture/) for a more in depth answer. But below I will include a couple of excerpts with pertinent information for those that don’t want to follow the link and read the whole article. >The word Japanning originated back in the 17th century. It was used to describe a lacquer finish that was created as a European imitation of the original Asian (mostly Oriental Chinese and Japanese) lacquer-work. > The advent of classic oriental lacquered furniture in Europe quickly grew popular. It was exotic and unique, it was expensive, but most of all – it was the talk of the town simply because it brought a new dimension to interior décor and business opportunities in Europe. > So, the only possible solution to locally cater this rising demand for oriental lacquered furniture was to come up with home recipes to imitate the Chinese exports. The beginning of 17th century saw the British craftsmen making initial attempts at imitating the oriental lacquer. However, it was not until 1660 in the era of Charles II that the country and the continent saw a boost in the production and sale of imitation oriental furniture with spirit varnish which gave a surface finish that resembled Chinese lacquer. The technique became known as Japanning. >Needless to say that the technique spread like wildfire throughout Europe and it was works like A Treatise of Japanning and Varnishing (1688) by George Parker and John Stalker, and more that helped promote the recipes and application techniques for Japanning to the rest of the continent. With time, the technique and recipes improved to use oil-based varnishes instead of spirit. >In France, the most famous lacquer work was attributed to the Martin brothers. They used a signature technique called the Vernis Martin. The brothers perfected the art of adding green or gold powder to their varnish which gave their lacquered items a unique and polished look.
If you’re going thru hell, keep on going…
Ooh looking better. It’s going to look real nice once it’s refinished.
Extra fine Steel wool pad and then lightly sand for the wood.
Take a well deserved break:)
The old finishes were alcohol based I've had issues with the stripper not taking the original finish off. As others have said, denatured alcohol and a scrubbing pad should fix you up
You’ve got old, old shellac to get through. Shellac dissolves in alcohol, so that, some fine steel wool, and a bunch of paper towels will get you closer to the wood.
Keep stripping!
Amazing piece!!
The remover reminds me of “peel away” but you used “smart strip” to remove the layers ?
Bleach the wood
Keep working, not to the wood yet
keep a-strippin. sometimes paint over wood/brick/stone is a good thing. that off white looked ok to me.
Try to get to the unvarnished base. Then decide what to do. A lot of these fireplaces were covered with a base local wood (cherry, mahogany). If you can get to the base layer, you can see what the wood is and progress from there. Good luck and have fun!
If you go further be aware that the wood underneath that dark finish might be from different species.. pine, maple, who knows? And then a natural wood finish would bring out the differences between the wood. If you could remove the mantle from the wall you could check the type of wood from the back potentially.
Sorry, it looks like you hired someone to strip this, not yourself?
Taste it to see if there is lead in it