Furniture, Wood and Cabinetry Finishing - Stripping an antique table we found at yard sale . .

We found an old sewing notions table at a yard sale this weekend. I have no idea how old it is. The drawers have dovetails and the bottom of the table is slatted wood instead of solid. The table has been painted (from what we can tell) at least twice. There is a brown paint on top that's already popping up, and it looks like a black paint underneath of that. The inside looks natural or stained. What is the best way to strip the paint?

a liquid stripper works well but is really hard on veneer. so be sure of what the piece is made of before you use it. I would hate for you to ruin it.

the table sounds simiilar to one my grandmother had. it was originally black.

you might try sanding down to the bare wood. or you could sand off only the brown that comes up easily. leave the rest. maybe crackel and top with a color you like. distress the edges down to bare wood with sand paper. then top with a clear coat like polyurithane. Shabby Chic done cheap. :)

Hi there,

If you want to go to wood, you can use the liquid/gel stripper to get the icky brown paint off then sand the black layer to wood.

I personally like sanding better than stripper, however if I knew for certain that I had multiple layers I'd use stripper first.

Good luck,

Nikki