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My buddy in Seattle swore by using a heat gun to strip old shellac, but I was always worried about scorching the wood.
I finally gave it a shot on a 1920s vanity I'm working on, and it came off like a dream without any damage. Who knew a $40 tool could save me hours of scraping and chemical mess? Anyone have a different go-to method for stubborn old finishes?
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adams.uma23d ago
What specific heat gun settings did you find worked best to avoid scorching?
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diana_carr6623d ago
I kept my heat gun on the low setting, around 500 degrees, and kept it moving constantly. The trick is to watch for the shellac to just start to bubble and get shiny, then scrape right away. I used a wide putty knife with the corners rounded off so it wouldn't dig in. It takes a bit of practice to get the rhythm, but once you do it's way faster than chemicals.
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