Taking polyurethane off of handles

G

Grapevine

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Mar 5, 2002
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I have a nice user knife that I bought some time ago because I really liked the wood used on the handles. The maker had used polyurethane on it. I'd like to see if I can take off the thick coating of the urethane to get to the bare wood and use Danish oil.

So how do I go about this without harming the knife? Do I soak it in acetone and wipe and soak and wipe numerous times? If so, should I dilute the acetone down with anything or use full strength?

Thanks.
 
I would try lacquer thinner, but if acetone's all you have in the shop, try it. You can test by putting a drop on the finish and seeing if the finish starts to soften. You might be able to speed the process by carefully scraping off the top layers of the poly with a steel card scraper. The thinner may not dissolve the finish, just soften it enough for scraping off with a plastic putty knife or similar item. You may not be able to get the poly fully out of the pores of the wood with just thinner, which could mean that an oil finish will not develop the full chatoyance it otherwise would on raw wood.

One thing about acetone, it's a solvent for a lot of epoxies, so I'd be careful about soaking a handle in it unless I was sure there was no epoxy holding it to the tang.
 
That's what I was afraid of about the acetone, that it might dissolve any epoxy between tang and wood. The handles do have pins on them, but I don't think they're what's holding the wood from lifting off.

Would the acetone seep into the surface between tang and wood and dissolve cured epoxy before it takes off enough the surface urethane?
 
How about easy off oven cleaner? It is used to refinish stocks from old military rifles, to strip off the old finish.
 
Go to a hardware store. Get some apint remover for polyurethane paint. It will take it finish off with little change to the wood. I use it to strip the finish on some gunstocks.
Best to use it outside and be sure to wear chemical proof gloves!
Chip Kunkle
 
Use 1200 wet n dry and you will see it easily when you break through into the wood. I bet it isnt anywhere as thick as it looks, thats the beauty of polyurethanes. You will then have a nice finish ready for oiling.
Cheers Bruce
 
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