How to Remove Citristrip Residue from Wood Furniture
There is nothing more annoying in the DIY furniture makeover world than removing the gross sticky residue after using a chemical stripper on wood furniture. Choice words have been said around here.
Remember back when Robert and I stripped old paint from our fireplace mantle and I was in love with the Citristrip gel we used? The fresh citrus scent makes stripping paint so much more bearable than other types of paint strippers.
Well, that relationship has run its course and after this last furniture stripping project, it’s time for a breakup. Sorry Citristrip. It’s you, not me. And just like every difficult break-up, I turned to alcohol to get me through it. Denatured alcohol that is. (Har har. Come on now, this is a family-friendly blog.)
When to Use Citristrip
Citristrip CAN be the best way to remove oil-based paint or layers of dried latex paint from a piece of furniture. But sometimes you’re left with Citristrip residue that is extra stubborn to remove after taking off an old finish.
Yesterday I posted about my mid-strip progress, or lack thereof, and I finally had to call it a day after 24 hours of scraping the stubborn gummy residue that made a complete mess and still didn’t want to budge.
Citristrip did great on latex paint before, but it was no match for 40 year old varnish.
The Citristrip label said to clean up the residue with mineral spirits, but after hours of applying, scrubbing, and a few dollars shorter later, it still wasn’t much better.
However, I won the battle! So here’s how I fixed the issue.
Makeover: Designer Knock Off No Sew Dining Chairs
Most Effective Furniture Stripper
For removing oil-based paint and varnish, use Dumond Smart Strip instead. It is a much more powerful formula than Citristrip.
Here’s a shot of the chair legs right after applying the Citristrip. I was blissfully unaware at this point. I was so mad about the gummy gunk later that I didn’t even take a picture of it. Trust me on this one; it was bad.
Related: How to Refinish Wood Furniture Without Stripping
How to Remove Citristrip Dried Residue
I searched high and low through resource after resource to figure out the easiest way to fix the dried Citristrip disaster I created and came up with a few solutions but nothing that really worked.
Several sources I found said to try another coat or two of the varnish stripping gel. And my thoughts were “No freaking way! I can’t do it again. I need a shortcut.” (Shortcuts usually lead to more disaster when it comes to home improvement, but I proved that lesson wrong in this scenario…thankfully.)
I reached the point where I didn’t even care that the furniture still had some leftover stain and varnish. I just wanted the residue gone so that I could prime and be done with it. So if you find yourself in a gummy, gunky stripping mess like I did, here is the solution that I figured out through trial and error.
The answer to my Citristrip disaster:
Denatured Alcohol!
Check out that beautiful gunk-free wood! Mineral spirits didn’t work. Goof off didn’t work. Goo Gone didn’t work. Sanding didn’t work. Hot water made it stickier. Additional stripper just caused a bigger mess (these chairs had a LOT of varnish).
But when I swiped on the denatured alcohol, I could almost hear angels singing. It was the best result. Saying a little prayer for patience probably helped too.
So after a good wipe down of denatured alcohol and using steel wool on the flat surfaces and a small brass wire brush to work it in the little crevices, I finally saw light at the end of the tunnel.
To be safe since there are a few varnish spots still left, I’m giving the wood a coat of oil based primer, Kilz Original.
I’ve never been so happy to take an after shot in my life.
Related: How to Clean Wood Furniture to Make It Look New
How to Use Citristrip for Best Results
Here are some helpful tips to use Citristrip with good results next time:
- Protect your work area with a large drop cloth
- Wear protective gear such as safety glasses and chemical resistant gloves
- Apply a thick layer of Citristrip (don’t hold back)
- Cover the stripper with saran wrap and let it sit for at least 30 minutes
- Begin paint stripping with a plastic putty knife or plastic scraper
- Wipe away paint stripper residue with a paper towel or clean cloth
- Repeat the process with a second coat if needed when removing thick layers of paint
- Clean off remaining residue with odorless mineral spirits or Paint Stripper After Wash
I’m so glad to finally be done with that first step, but whenever I have a DIY fiasco happen, I have to look on the bright side that at least I learned a skill to always keep in mind for any other projects from here on out.
I’m in the same situation as everyone else it seems and I appreciate all of your suggestions, comments and feedback. One thing that I came across, while looking for a solution to the white residue, was a warning about not using the steel wool, because it can ignite the chemicals (fumes) (not sure if this was for the stripper or the denatured alcohol) if a fiber of it were to come in contact with an electrical source. I don’t know the definites here, but at least a warning to be cautious of this. That is also where I first heard the suggestion of using the Scotch Brite scrubbers instead too.
Oh my god!!! I found this article out of desperation because of the messing citris trip… it is my first time ever stripping a furniture and what a nightmare…. I have a Victorian dining table, hutch and 10 cane chairs. I can’t and I won’t deal with this stripping anymore. I when to the store and got the denatured alcohol and it worked but after brushing and brushing and brushing. It was too much effort, but it did worked at the end. Now I have a question: can I just paint the chairs without stripping it or sanding them?
Awesome! Yes, you can paint them. I would sand them a little just to try to get them as smooth as you can. Prime before you paint too. Kilz Original should do the trick.
There were definitely angels singing! I’m definitely thanking God for your post… And you too of course. Saved the day, for certain.
This post about denatured alcohol removing Citristrip gumminess might have just saved my life!! We used Citristrip on an old wood floor that had a petrified padding crisis – worked beautifully to get the remaining padding off, after using a tile scraper to remove the majority. Afterwords though, panic set in. Gummy messy floor and no hope in sight! Heading to the local hardware store to buy a gallon and pray it works like you say. Thanks for sharing!
A cheaper substitute for denatured alcohol is to go to Dollar Tree and buy 12 oz bottles of Gas Treatment or Fuel Injection Cleaner for $1 each. The ingredient in both is ethanol which is grain alcohol, ie same as moonshine whiskey but they add methanol to it so people cannot drink it to get drunk it would make you vomit or go blind or die.
Works like a charm to remove shellac based coatings on most old furniture.
I buy the cheap dollar tree green scrubbing pads that look like scotch brite pads and dip them into the cleaner and scrub off the finish.
Wash everything including your hands with Dollar Tree LA’s Totally Awesome yellow cleaner. It is a degreaser and that stuff really is great and very powerful.
I use that as a hand cleaner when working on my car spray some on your hands and scrub with a green pad and wash with warm water.
Do not use LA’s totally awesome cleaner on glass it leave white smeared residue.
https://www.dollartree.com/SMB-Fuel-Injector-Cleaner-12-oz-/p128303/index.pro#ratingsReviews
https://www.dollartree.com/20-oz-Totally-Awesome-Cleaner/p8056/index.pro
Will this work to remove the factory finish that seems to still be on my store bought bar stool even after sanding?
Hi, Suzy! It could. I would test it on a small hidden spot. Then decide if you like to results.