DIY Furniture Stripper Review: 4 Green Finish Removers Compared
In case you don’t know this about me, I hate stripping furniture! It is absolutely my least favorite part of refinishing furniture. Thankfully I love painted finishes so I don’t do it too often. However, our dining room table was in desperate need of a refinish so I knew it was time to break out the furniture stripper. I am constantly in search of my “favorite” product that will maybe make the job a little less painful. With that in mind, I decided to test 4 different paint/varnish strippers that I had on hand: Stripwell QCS, Citristrip, Smart Strip, and GreenEZ. This furniture stripper review article summarizes what I found!
Of note, I only work with eco-friendly strippers. No harsh chemical strippers that contain Methylene Chloride or oven cleaners here! Yes, I know that those options may work better and faster. But it’s a personal choice that I’ve made in my business where I try to be as eco- and health-friendly as I can be, so those harsh strippers have no place in my workshop.
How I tested the strippers
To test these four strippers I used the two leaves of the dining table. The finish on this table was varnish or lacquer and it was thick. I took my sander to it and it did almost nothing. Same with my carbide scraper. Manual removal of the existing finish was out of the question, I needed something chemical!
For this furniture stripper review, I started by liberally applying each stripper to a section. Then I covered the area with plastic wrap to hold in any moisture and try to keep the stripper from drying out. I came back and checked each section in one-hour intervals. When the section was ready, I used a stiff metal scraper to remove the stripper and varnish, and then followed the manufacturer’s directions for removing the remaining residue. I had plenty of blue shop towels on hand to help with the mess – stripping is a messy business! Here is the review of how each stripper performed, starting with my favorite!
A note on product links
This post contains Amazon affiliate links, meaning I get a small commission on qualifying purchases, at no cost to you.
Product 1: Smart Strip
Smart Strip was my top performer overall. It comes in a tub and is a paste you can apply with a chip brush. The safety data sheet recommends chemical-resistant gloves to prevent skin exposure, eye protection, and a respirator if not working in a well-ventilated area. It also has less odor when compared to the others. A quart-sized tub costs around $25 and can be purchased at big box stores, your local hardware store, and Amazon.
So why did I like Smart Strip the best? First, it was the least messy to apply and the least messy to scrape off. It was also the easiest to clean up. After scraping off, a scrub with soapy water removed the stripping residue. I also liked that it doesn’t really dry out – the plastic wrap was not necessary. The only downside was the time it took to work (or dwell time). The dwell time for this project was around 3 hours, but because the stripper doesn’t dry out during this time, patience is all you really need. Just to plan on a potentially long dwell time, it will vary from project to project.
The Verdict: Smart Strip
This was my overall favorite. It is easy to use (easy application, no plastic wrap, residue cleanup with soapy water). While the dwell time was the longest, this product didn’t significantly dry out, so as long as you have some time to let it sit and do its thing, it works great! Plus it is one of the cheaper options and widely available for purchase.
Product 2: GreenEZ
GreenEZ is a nontoxic 2-part system with a Furniture Stripper and a Finishing Cleaner. The stripper is a gel formulation and the cleaner is a liquid in a spray bottle. The safety data sheet recommends chemical-resistant gloves to prevent skin exposure, eye protection, and a respirator if not working in a well-ventilated area. The cost for a bundle of both products is around $75 and can be ordered directly from the company or through other specialized vendors (like Wise Owl Paint).
GreenEZ was the fastest working of the 4 products I tested. After only 1 hour I was able to scrape off the majority of the finish. In fact, I had the test area cleaned with the finishing cleaner before any of the other stripper test sections were ready to be scraped. The removal was somewhat gooey and messy. I also did not have a lot of luck with the plastic wrap that I used – the stripper seemed to dissolve the plastic and it let in enough air to start drying the product out in places. Once it started to dry out it was difficult to remove, so I had to reapply in those areas. GreenEZ does recommend using plastic wrap to keep the stripper wet, so maybe it was the brand I used (Costco Kirkland brand)?
The Verdict: GreenEZ
This was the fastest acting of the 4 green strippers I tested. I would definitely recommend it if you are looking to get a project stripped quickly. However, its price point does give me pause and I had to use a fair amount because the plastic wrap trick didn’t work for me (but again, this could be user error).
Product 3: Citristrip
Citristrip is marketed as a safe stripper with no harsh fumes. It does contain several chemicals that can cause irritation and other health effects but is far healthier than traditional paint strippers. The safety data sheet recommends chemical-resistant gloves to prevent skin exposure, eye protection, and a respirator if not working in a well-ventilated area. It comes in gel form and requires cleanup with a chemical solvent like stripper afterwash. A 40-ounce container costs around $25 dollars and can be purchased at big box stores, your local hardware store, and Amazon.
On this table, the Citristrip did a decent job removing the finish. At the 1 and 2 hour marks, it had started working but definitely needed some more time. By hour 3, it was ready to scrape off. Removal was gooey and messy – if the stripper started to dry out at all, I had to reapply and let it sit a bit. After removing as much as I could, I cleaned off all of the extra residue with stripper Afterwash and blue shop towels.
The Verdict: Citristrip
This stripper did a decent job of removing the finish on my table with some patience. But it was a mess if it started to dry out too much and was a pain to clean up. I didn’t like having to clean up the residue with stipper afterwash – using this solvent definitely takes away from it’s ecofriendliness. Probably not a repeat purchase unless I’m in a pinch and need to grab something quickly at a big box store.
Product 4: Stripwell QCS
Like GreenEZ, Stripwell QCS is also a non-toxic 2-part system with both a Finish Remover and Surface Cleaner. It comes in a liquid formula that is less messy and goopy than the other gel strippers that I tested. However, any excess you apply will run right off if the surface isn’t flat. The cost of the 2 products together is around $75 for the standard-size spray bottles. It must be ordered directly through the company’s website. According to the safety data sheet, no real personal protective equipment is required. However, I did use gloves to protect my hands and keep them clean.
While I’ve had success using QCS on an older antique finish, it was no match for the thick finish on this table. At each one-hour interval, I checked the finish and added a bit more to make sure the area stayed wet. After 4 hours (covered) I was barely able to remove any of the finish so I gave up and moved on. Had I been able to remove the finish successfully, there is a QCS surface cleaner that I would have applied as the next step to remove the residue (I have done this on other projects and it works well). Additional cleanup can be done with soap and water.
The Verdict: Stripwell QCS
While I have had success using this product on other furniture projects, this test demonstrated it is not a “heavy hitter.” It is easy to use and easy to clean up, so I will definitely continue to use what I have on certain projects. However, given its cost (and the success of some of the other eco-friendly strippers) I probably won’t be purchasing more.
Summary
I hope you found the furniture stripper review helpful! While I feel all of these strippers are good products, my overall favorite was Smart Strip, just becuase it was easy to use, easy to clean up, had the least odor, and was one of the cheaper options. While I’m personally willing to spend money on a greener option in many cases, Smart Strip makes it so you don’t have to! I ended up using it on the rest of the table and was able to complete the project with the quart-sized container (just barely).
I’ve used GreenEZ on several projects before, including this mirror project. I used Citristrip and Stripwell on a few projects as well and have been happy with the results. Have you used any of them? I’d love to hear what your favorite one is – or if you use something else, I’d love to hear about your experience with that too! I’m still not a big fan of stripping furniture, but I think the result was worth it! And if you’re interested, you can see the completed table here.
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