Solvent 17

Solvent 17

I was having trouble getting all this old finish off the spindles to the staircase I'm refinishing. The more generic stuff from the home center wasn't cutting it well. Sanding and scrapping alone works okay, but still is not sufficient or efficient. There must be at least three layers of stuff on these spindles evidenced by the various colors I see as I cut through to the bare wood.

So I called Cincinnati Color Co. and asked for their advise. They recommended a product they carry called Solvent 17. So I tried an internet search for "Solvent 17 stripper" which brought up a few, how should I say? ... unintended results.

I picked up this Solvent 17 from Cincinnati Color Co. yesterday and I must say this is the best, um, stripper I've ever seen or worked with. There is still something under the finish that does not respond well to even this solvent 17 and small specs of it are left behind to be scrapped off. I think it may be some kind of compound or maybe even a heavily leaded paint. Outside of that little nuisance I can gladly say that Solvent 17 is so good it will take the old off your grandma.