Coastal Upcycling is place where furniture makeover fans and DIY enthusiasts can learn refinishing tips, painted furniture techniques and share ideas with others who enjoy creating unique furniture pieces. If you're a DIY'er, furniture artist or hobbyist who is interested in learning how different finishes are done, make sure to subscribe for helpful training videos.
Paul has worked in Carpentry for the last 10 years. Along with his extensive background he is a big DIY'er in all things for the home. He has been creating furniture transformations for the last 3 years and owns a successful Etsy shop where he sells his creations to clients all around the country.
I have larger pieces such as head and footboard. For overnight, I guess I could use some plastic table cloths from dollar tree. Or what else? Anyone answer. Thanks.
Is the Citrus Strip only needed if you have a gloss on the surface that you want to eliminate before sanding? I wasn't totally clear on how you know if you need to use this product or just the other 3 s's of refinishing. Thanks in advance!
Its definately not one coat..its so thick and not self levelking at all so you get ropey finish with extreme brushstroke marks and dries so fast if you try to lay the paint off it drags it back off so that you have to sand inbetween coats and took 3 coats..you could thin it but would then take 4+ coats for decent coverage..then its so porous that marks extremely easy so you need to use matt clear...so expect to have to at least 2 coats + the clear....i rekon its a scam.....i suggest use a good primer tinted to topcoat colour, light sand then topcoat with satin aquaenamel which self levels. ....Ends up about the same gloss level as the chalk paint with the clear and only requires coating 2 maybe 3 times compared to 4+, much easier to work with and dont end up with exessive dry brushmarks ( unless going for that look in which case dont sand primer)
I have a old wooden desk with a few hard to reach corners and I'm at wits end getting into the corners and the hard to reach areas. Is a heat gun ok to use on a wooden desk after trying the orange and mineral spirits after they dry? Don't want to scorch the wood etc
Im watching 5 yrs later.. Perfect ! I'm going to use this on my dining room table tomorrow. And I just happen to have a thin, clear plastic shower liner to put over it that I got from the dollar tree a while back. Ty
I use a hvlp sprayer Not airless. I always get texture when spraying the top of the dresser but don’t have this issue when I spray the rest 😩 I can’t figure out why
I wish I could time travel back to 1980 and pick up a gallon of Zip Strip. That stuff actually worked! Fast forward to 2024 where I'm forced to use modern stripping compounds to strip paint from a 1990's era Made in Japan Fender Stratocaster guitar. Modern strippers have almost zero effect on this guitar finish! Total waste of money and I'm forced to sand the old finish off. The 80's stripper would burn your skin like the oven cleaners of that era and you had a sense of it's power. Modern strippers don't burn skin and do little to remove modern finishes.
Thank you for your great video. Love your resourceful ways (ie bamboo skewers). Are you still upclycling / wood working? I can't see recent videos, but would love to.
Very helpful information, thanks for sharing. I purchased a beautiful old dining set with ladderback and turned detail on all 6 chairs. The paint is peeling now and need refinishing. Hopefully I'll muster the patience to start this project. 😵💫
I just wanted to add the thicker the poly coating you are takiingoff the thicker you want the gel. Do not go cheap. Seriously! Thin coat will not work and just waste your time and money and end up goiing thick with it. Even 1/8 thick would be perfect if the poly is thick. Also, you do not have to re-sand if if hte wood looks good. Ater you clean the wood with mineral sprits . Please pay attentin to the look when you put mineral spririt do you like the look. This is what it will look like if you are using a cleary polcy coating. YOu can also the entire piece you are coating to see what it looks like when you put poly on it. you do not like the wet look , then you probalby should stain to the color you do like. Also , if you do wet it be sure to let it dry and if you find that the wood is rough from the water test then you might need to sand lightly to get this smooth again. Lastly I just alway left my on for at least 12-24 hours , but if you look and it looks like it starting to dry out then don't wait the full 24 hours. If it drys you will have to completely start over again. I would check in in 12 hours and decide then if you should leave it on for another 12 hours.
I have an old piece that was painted I have stripped it all back and it looked great under the paint it was Black Walnut veneer I used water to check the grain it looked amazing. I then stained it and thats when I could see the white paint in a lot of the grain, is there a solution to remove the paint out of the grain now that I have oiled based stain on it?
How can we figure out if it’s Laminate or wood? I am learning but have No clue how to tell the difference. Also can you use water based top coats with real wood as well? And what’s the fastest way to apply the top coat? Thank you
If I have a dresser that is really old but I have no idea what type of wood it is and it has a heavy coat of varnish on it do I do this step or just paint over it
Thank you! This was incredibly helpful. I bought CitriStrip yesterday to refinish an old cedar chest, and tried it earlier today on the top of the chest with marginal results.. Boy, I wish I'd watched your video FIRST! The instructions on the CitriSrip container are so abbreviated and incomplete. Yours are detailed and clear, with lots of practical advice. I know the rest of the project is going to go so much more smoothly, thanks to you.
My problem is this was the wrong choice for the video. Instead of putting it on for short periods of time and not effectively showing the stripping effects of the product you should have done it like you said at the end and covered it with the plastic wrap and then let it sit overnight or at least 12 hours or mini hours and then taking the plastic wrap off and removed it all! Then you would only have to do a little bit of light sanding after you clean it down and use different spirits and things to brighten the grain.
The problem with this video is his misuse and misunderstanding of the product. One layer is enough. But he should have covered the piece in Saran or plastic wrap. That will keep it wet for several hours or up to one day and will effectively break down the varnish so that when he takes the plastic off and scrapes it, it all comes off. Because he’s not letting it sit long enough that’s why it’s not able to come off effectively. But I recommend covering it in plastic to seal in the moisture! Hope this helps someone or anyone who is watching this and decides to use the product.
