De-varnishing a piece of furniture

[Grace212]

Hi
I was wondering of anyone knows the quickest way to transform a mahagony looking unit, quite large

Basically it’s an old piece of furniture that I’d like to do in a sort of shabby chic white

I had been thinking to just freecycle and buy new...then I accidentally spilled nail polish remover on it and hey presto, it’s white in that patch now!

Can anyone recommend products for this job, and are all they all going to suffocate me?! Might be a job that needs to wait till summer so all windows can be open? Thanks for any thoughts.

I've had doors dipped and stripped in the past. Cost about £25 per door and they collected and dropped off! I don't know whether they can do it for furniture, but worth checking.

Nitromors. Vicious stuff though, so wear gloves. Gets dark varnish off pretty easily, you brush it on, wait for it to bubble up, then strip it off with a scraper.

Chalk paint?

Thanks everyone

64s, are you thinking that chalk paint might go straight on top? That might be a better option if it’s feasible.

I just give things a super light sand before using chalk paint and haven’t had any issues.

Have a look on the Facebook frenchic fan forum page. People on there will chalk paint the cat if it sits still long enough!

Thants Lola! Bit worried about cats now....!

There are alternatives to nitromors - Googol them. We used no nonsense paint stripper from screwfix for a bed frame that worked quite well. If you look on their website they have ratings and comments on the different preparations. Good luck!

Hi, yes sorry I just suggested it because my understanding (based on admittedly not a lot of experience) is that chalk paint minimises the necessary prep because it goes on successfully over many surfaces that other types of paint won’t work well on.

You get a pretty specific type of finish but if it’s shabby chic you’re after anyway, I think it might be your simplest option.

64 I think a bit of sanding and chalk paint is the way! Now I’m overawed by all the colours...I was meant to go for a cream but now thinking that might blend into the wall a bit 😂

I’d like a duck egg blue but then I’d have to change the sofa. Or just consider the whole room “eclectic”!

Chalk paint is brilliant. This is what I did to a dark old bureau.