How to remove brown timber stain

[Nik4]

Hi all,

I'm a newbie at DIY but as I'm spending more time at home now, thought I'd give it a go.  I recently purchased a set of outdoor timber screens i.e. solid acacia with a brown acrylic stain.  I'm looking to remove the existing stain & then apply Feast Watson Outdoor Furniture Oil in the weathered grey finish to get the look that I'm after.  However, I'm not sure which product to use to remove the brown stain.  Bunnings appears to offer a few different options i.e. 

- Polypaint stripper

- Intergrain Liquid 8 Timber Stripper

- Intergrain UltraPrep Tannin & Oil Remover

Hoping for some advice as to which product to use to remove the brown stain & prep the surface for the grey oil finish.

 

[MitchellMc]

Welcome to the Workshop community @Nik4. Great question, I'd be happy to assist with it.

I would start by finding an inconspicuous section (perhaps underneath the screen) and sanding it. You might find the stain is only in the very top layers and a brief sanding will reveal the natural timber colour. This method would be effective if the screen panels are not particularly intricate. 

The Intergrain liquid timber stripper would remove a significant portion of the stain and would be suitable if the sanding approach doesn't work.

I do not believe paint strippers will have much of an effect on the stain, as they work by bubbling off coatings. A stain is a penetrative liquid which absorbs into the timber fibres.

If you need further information on the processes involved or had other questions, please let me know.

Mitchell

[Nik4]

Hey Mitchell,

Thanks for your response.  What sandpaper grit would you suggest I use initially?  If sanding alone doesn't remove the stain and I resort to using the Intergrain Liquid 8 Timber Stripper, would I need to sand the screen again with a finer sandpaper before applying the grey furniture oil?  

[MitchellMc · Accepted solution]

Hi @Nik4.

Ideally, we would like to sand the stained surface just the once before applying the finish. I would start with a 240grit sandpaper for this. The timber stripper might raise the grain of the timber requiring a quick sand before applying the finish. The 240grit would be suitable before applying the finish, but it is always best to do a test section to see if any scratches show through. If they do you could drop it to a 320grit.

Mitchell