Removing Shellac In Wood Floors
If a shellac finish requires restoration, it is possible to employ new material directly over the old since, like lacquer, shellac amalgamates, and also the two coatings merge. If you decide to your floor requires a more durable coating, however, you need to take out the shellac since it isn’t an appropriate undercoat for polyurethane or other kinds of synthetic masonry. You can certainly do it by sanding, which is the identical procedure you use to remove a polyurethane finish. If the ground is old and oversanded, however, you can even strip shellac with denatured alcohol.
Mop the floor with a powerful solution of a wax-cutting detergent and warm water. Floors finished with shellac are nearly sure to have a coating of wax to protect the finish, and you need to remove it all in order for the arc to work.
Divide the ground mentally — or utilizing masking tape, if you prefer — into 4-foot squares. Work on each square separately.
Pour a gallon of denatured alcohol to your bucket. Expand the alcohol liberally on the ground in 1 section with a paintbrush or a rag. Give the solvent two or three minutes to work, then scrape off as much of this finish as possible with a paint scraper. If you are worried about scrapes, use a plastic scraper.
Spread more solvent on the areas that still have complete, wait for a few minutes and scrape them again. Use the corner of the putty knife to remove complete from the gaps between V-groove boards.
Soak a mat of fine 000 steel wool in the alcohol and use the pad to clean the boards. Scrub along the grain of the wood — not across it — to prevent streaking the finish residue.
Finish up by dampening a clean cloth with clean alcohol and wiping the boards to eliminate any last bit of residue. When you are done, then move on to another part of the ground.