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My old boss in Cincinnati swore by a 50/50 mix of linseed oil and turpentine for stripping old varnish.
He said it would soften anything without hurting the wood, so I tried it on a 1920s oak dresser last month. After letting it sit for an hour, it just made a sticky mess that was ten times harder to clean off. Has anyone else run into a 'classic' tip that totally backfired on a specific finish?
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karen7395d ago
That old linseed and turpentine mix gets a bad rap sometimes, but it works if you know the trick. The key is using raw linseed oil, not the boiled kind, and real gum turpentine. A lot of modern substitutes just don't cut it. Letting it sit for only an hour might not have been long enough for a really old, hard finish. Sometimes those classic methods need more patience than the quick chemical strippers.
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price.logan5d ago
Hold on, that's a lot of hassle for maybe working. Who has time to hunt down raw linseed oil and real gum turpentine anymore? That stuff is hard to find and honestly kind of a mess to use. Modern strippers are made to work fast and clean up easier. If the old method needs hours or days to maybe soften the finish, that's just not practical for most people doing a weekend project. I'd rather use something I know will work in one afternoon without all the weird old-timey steps.
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