A raw wood look on furniture is becoming very popular, especially in farmhouse home decor. However, achieving a raw wood look is considered extremely difficult and labor intensive. In this post, I am going to share my method for getting a raw wood look on furniture that is much easier and less time intensive!
How get a raw wood look on furniture
The easiest and most effective way to achieve a raw wood look on furniture is to use a chemical stripper. But before you click away, because you probably HATE using stripper like most other DIYers, let me explain my process and how using a stripper can actually be super easy! Yes- dare I say using a stripper is easy. In fact, using my method, it’s actually as easy as washing your car!
Why chemical strippers are better than sanding
To get a raw wood finish on most pieces of furniture, I always find its less work to use a chemical stripper than by sanding a piece. Sanding with an electric sander can work great for getting a raw wood look on just a table top. But if you want a raw wood finish on a large piece, hand sanding just takes so much time! Also, its nearly impossible to get down into the details or sand around curves! Therefore, I find chemical strippers to be the best option for large pieces of furniture or any furniture that has curves/details.
The best chemical stripper
I have tested several different chemical strippers over the years and in my opinion, Citri Strip is the best for a few reasons. The biggest reason is it is extremely effective at stripping furniture. The formula is thicker and more paste-like than other chemical strippers. This is great because it will cling on your furniture better and thus remove the finish more effectively. Also, because of its paste-like formula, it will stay more moist and be less likely to dry out.
In addition to this, Citri-strip has a more pleasant smell than most other strippers. Don’t get me wrong, I would still never purchase a candle in this scent as it still has a very artificial-chemical orange scent. However, it is so much more pleasant than just a straight chemical scent. Definitely work outside when using this product as it is still has strong fumes.
Let me share with you my process for getting a raw wood finish with a chemical stripper (the easy way)!
The easiest way to get a raw wood furniture:
Let me share with you my process for getting a raw wood finish with a chemical stripper (the easy way)!
Supplies
- Citri-strip chemical stripper
- Water hose and nozzle
- Shop rag
- Chip brush
1. Apply chemical stripper
To begin this process, it is important to be working outside with a chemical stripper. The fumes of even Citri-strip are strong and its not something you want to be breathing in for an extended period of time. Choose a spot outside that is shady (especially if its a very warm day). If it’s too hot, the stripper can harden on the piece before it has fully removed the finish and will be really difficult to remove later on. The last thing you want is dried stripper on your piece!
After you have picked a good place to work, apply a generous amount of stripper all over the piece. I think that one of the key reasons to why my method works so well is because I use a lot of product. For example, for stripping this 4ft church pew, I used an entire quart of stripper. Using more product helps ensure it won’t dry out as fast.
I apply the stripper using a chip brush and disposable pallet (e.g., paper plate or piece of a card board box). I like to use a cheap chip brush so that I can throw it away after stripping a few pieces.
2. Let stripper sit on for 1-5 hours
After applying stripper to the entire piece, then I just let it sit for several hours. The most difficult part about stripping a piece of furniture is determining how long to let it sit. Obviously the longer you let the chemical stripper sit on the piece, the more removed the finish will be. However, like I have mentioned before, you don’t want to allow the stripper to sit on too long or it will dry on the piece and big a headache to remove.
For me, I leave the stripper on the piece as long as possible and wait to remove it once I start to notice it is drying. Usually I can leave the stripper on the piece for 3-4 hours (this is my sweet spot) before I start to see signs of drying. This lets me know its time to be removed.
The stronger the finish you are removing the more difficult it will be to remove. However, if you are removing the finish from vintage pieces like me, the finish will likely already be showing signs of wear and won’t take multiple coats to remove. It is possible that your finish will not come off with one application of stripper, however you can repeat this process if needed. Although I rarely need to do this, even when stripping newer pieces.
side note on using plastic wrap when stripping
Since preventing chemical strippers from drying out is such a big concern with stripping furniture, lots of DIYers recommend wrapping the piece in plastic wrap after applying the stripper. The plastic wrap is meant to keep the stripper from drying out and will allow you to leave the stripper on for several more hours (up to 24 hours!). However, I have tried this method several times and I do not recommend it. I find it wasteful (it take so much plastic to completely cover a piece!), an extra step that is not needed, and ineffective. Feel free to try it for yourself but I find that by using lots of stripper is all I need to do to keep the product from drying out.
3. Ruff up stripper with rag
Once its time to remove the stripper, I let my water hose do all the work in the removal. However, before I can wash off the stripper, I need to lightly scrub or rough up the stripper. This step loosens the top layer of stripper that is more dry and will allow it to wash off with ease! To do this, I just use a shop rag, billow pad, or scrub brush that I don’t care about. I scrub in circles allow over the entire piece to get it ready to be hosed off.
4. Rinse off stripper with water hose
A lot of people use a putty knife to scrape off the stripper. This literally takes hours and is really easy to gouge up your piece. I find that using a water hose, I can let the water pressure do the work for me to push the product off the piece.
Once you have rinsed off your entire piece, do not be discourage if it still appears dark. You won’t be able to see the raw wood finish until the piece is fully dry. So move it out to a sunny spot and in 30 minutes or so you can see you fruits of your hard work!
Can you use this method on solid wood furniture?
One con to my method however, if you are stripping a veneered piece, this process won’t work. This is because using too much water on a veneered piece can cause the glue underneath the veneer to soften and cause the veneer to peal off or crack. This method is really just meant for stripping solid wood furniture.
5. Lightly sand off any remaining stripper
No matter how well you try to remove all the stripper with the water hose, there always seems to be little bits in the cracks around the piece. These are super easy to remove by lightly sanding with a high grit sandpaper. You want to remove all the stripper from your piece before you seal it.
6. Seal the piece for durability
After you have stripped the entire piece now its time to seal it. This step is totally optional depending on how much durability you will need. For example, for a wooden mirror that I stripped, I did not seal it at all. However for heavier use items, like my raw wood kitchen table, I did seal to protect it from spills and damage over time.
How to seal raw wood without changing the color
Since my pew was going on my front porch, I knew I needed to seal it to protect the finish from the elements. because it was going on my front porch, it is advised to use a exterior sealer to make sure it is fully water proof. However, all the exterior sealers I tried left the wood too dark and almost brought it back to the same color before I stripped it.
The best sealer for raw wood without changing the color, in my opinion, is Miniwax Polyacrylic in matte. The product goes on slightly blue but will dry completely clear and is virtually undetectable. I like using the matte finish because it does not change the shine of raw wood. Polyacrylic is an interior sealer and is not advised for exterior pieces, however, I really wanted to preserve the raw wood look for the pew as much as possible (even if it means that I need to reseal the pew every year or so).
I will keep this post updated with how the pew is doing on the porch after a few months and let you know how I am likely this sealer for exterior pieces. Until then, I fully plan on enjoying many cups of coffee on my my new porch pew!
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