Strip-O-Rama

I've been in a fight with my butler's pantry, ever since I moved in. The previous owners had the shelves covered with a very tacky, sticky, dirty-under-the-curling-edges contact paper, and the outside was painted in a dirty white. I managed to get the top half cleaned up and painted, and it displays my glassware very nicely. The bottom, however, was in need of more TLC. Thus began my experiment with strippers.

The first stripper I bought was Klean Strip. Costing under $30, it's a pretty typical, very strong product, with lots of warnings and skull-and-bones signs on the can. Since it was still warm outside, I was able to keep my windows open (a requirement, believe me) while waiting for it to work its magic. It didn't take long.

As directed, when the stripper turned blue, it was time to scrape it off. I must admit, this product works, and it works well. I could see all the way down to the wood – alas, not a nice dark wood like I imagined, but a light-colored wood, possibly oak, but I'm no wood guru. The bad points? You must wear gloves. Seriously. Though I wore latex gloves, I did get a microscopic portion of the stripper onto my wrist, and immediately felt a burning sensation. Fortunately, I was able to wipe it off. After that, I put on some heavy-duty gloves. And safety goggles. Can't be too careful. Also, I don't care what the can says – there is an odor, and a strong one. I'm glad I had the windows open, because I was sure I would pass out, if I spent any prolonged time near the pantry. I can't even imagine what would've happened if I'd kept the windows closed. I was able to get one of the doors almost perfectly free of paint, but I couldn't bring myself to work on the other door. It was time to try Product #2.

Peel Away is marketed as an environmentally-safe stripper, able to remove 32 layers of paint in one shot. The Home Depot guy recommended it to me, and he gave me an unbelievably awesome deal on a gallon of the stuff, since it was the last one on the shelf. Once I had help getting it into the back of the buggy, off I went to try it out.

What dude didn't tell me was the amount of preparation that was needed, to complete the stripping process. First, I had to put on gloves and make sure not to get any of it on my skin. I put on goggles because, well, ditto on the eyes. I already had a drop cloth on the floor, so that I wouldn't do any damage to the ceramic tile (would stripper make ceramic tile lose its color? I really don't want to know). Lastly, I read the rest of the directions. I should have read them at the store.

Part Two of the Peel Away process entails sticking the already-supplied paper over the thick layer of stripper. You have to really press it into the surface, especially if the piece has tiny crevices – like my pantry. Part three entails some strange “neutralizing” process which, apparently, you have to do after removing all the stripper. According to the package, the neutralizer must be applied, then a constant stream of running water has to be sprayed onto the surface. As I was doing this indoors, on what was essentially a part of my wall, there was no way I was gonna shoot a stream of water anywhere! I went back to the store (where they didn't even sell the neutralizer!), spoke to the same Dude, and he told me “Just use a spray bottle of warm, soapy water” until the residue is off. I went back home and did that. And it took forever.

While this product worked okay, the only bonus was the low-odor factor. There was way too much work involved, and the results were less than satisfying, but I got the job done, enough to get the top part of the pantry painted. I decided to wait and find a much better product, before tackling the bottom half.

And I did. But not before trying one more really crappy product, Fastrip. It sucked. 'Nuff said.

I first heard about Soy Gel on Cool Tools, the show with the guy who's way too enthusiastic about tools. I figured since he usually showcases nothing but the best (or at least, the pretty good), I decided to order some myself. The cost was $20.95 for a quart (plus shipping, since I couldn't find it locally).

SOY-Gel Paint and Urethane Remover is described as “a safe industrial strength and consumer friendly paint, varnish, and urethane remover made with 100% American grown soybeans.” It has a thick, goopy texture – it looks like dark yellow aloe gel. There is no chemical smell. I didn't have to wear gloves (even though I did anyway). All I had to do was apply a thick layer onto the surface, and wait.

Though Soy Gel did not work as fast as Klean Strip, it worked pretty well. I did have to reapply several times, but that's because I left it on for too long, and some of the product dried on the wood. The bottle says to cover the item with plastic, to prevent this, but I didn't listen. Overall, I was very happy with Soy Gel, and I'd definitely buy it again. What's even better, is that it cleans up with plain water.

After several months of trying several different strippers, and just putting it off in a fit of exasperation, the butler's pantry is finally finished, just in time for my upcoming shindig. The whole process was a learning experience, and I'm guessing that the next time I have a similar project to tackle, it won't take half as long to complete. At least, I hope not.