Gluing Up Varnished Boards

683 Views 9 Replies 6 Participants Last post by 711b, 6 mo ago

Eagle0199

Discussion Starter · 6 mo ago

I've rescued some 1" thick (actually 3/4 or so) boards from an old bunk bed set. The boards are oak and have what appears to be a typical varnish-type furniture coating. I don't have a use for them as-is but thinking of gluing them together to make some thicker boards that might have more functional uses.

I don't have a plainer to remove the coating and question my skills to remove the varnish by sanding, without leaving the surface uneven. My question is whether or not these boards could be glued together without first removing the finish, and would there be a satisfactory bond. Where should I go with this?

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BobSc

· #2 · 6 mo ago

Varnish comes off easily with chemical strippers and not extremely difficult with scrapers or sanders. However, if this is a commercially manufactured bed frame it is probably a sprayed on Lacquer of some type, which also will come off fairly easily with chemical strippers. I wouldn't try to glue them with the finish on as it will leave a visible joining line and the glue may not adhere well to the surface finish...

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GladesGuy

· #3 · 6 mo ago

A hand sander with 400 grit will do the job without any change in the surface evenness. All you need is to lightly rough up the surface for the glue to adhere. You can also wrap the paper on a short section of 2X4 and rough the surface up.

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Eagle0199

Discussion Starter · #4 · 6 mo ago

Thanks, I did not think of chemical strippers (and I was shopping in Lowe's about an hour ago). I think the stripper will be the best route to go.

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Big_Fisherman

· #5 · 6 mo ago

Have you considered card or cabinet scrapers?

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Arrowhead

· #6 · 6 mo ago

I have done this with a random orbit sander and being very careful to keep it completely flat on the board. I would use Gorilla Glue or Elmer's clone as they foam up and fill small voids. I have never had a glue failure with this type of glue. Leaving the original finish is not the way to go.

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711b

· #7 · 6 mo ago

Eagle0199 said:
I think the stripper will be the best route to go.

Probably not. It's a lot of effort and will likely not get all the finish out of the surface of the boards. You will likely do as well just sanding them and gluing. This will get the finish off the surface and expose the wood -- even if there is some finish left in the grain. The resulting boards will bond just fine, and you won't have spent a lot of time with chemical strippers to get there. Part of the process here will be clamping the boards to ensure a good bond as the glue is setting. When I've done this with long boards, I've typically laid them on my (absolutely flat) concrete garage floor, applied the glue (pay attention to the directions), and then weighted the stack down with concrete blocks. If you can't "clamp" them in some way, you won't get a reliable bond, and if you don't do this on a flat surface you won't get an even one.

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711b

· #8 · 6 mo ago

I use Titebond for pretty much all of my wood gluing. They have several varieties. If you anticipate using the result indoors, I'd go with Titebond II. If you're thinking of outdoor use, then go with Titebond III. I haven't had a failure in using this for more decades than I'd like to remember -- this includes a little (about 12' long) garden bridge I built about 25 years ago and laminated the bent wood arches with Titebond III. It's finally degraded to the point where I need to replace it, but those laminations have never come apart. If you want to go nuts about it, then drill some holes through your laminated result, drive some dowel rods through them with glue, and then cut them off flat with the surface.

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Eagle0199

Discussion Starter · #9 · 6 mo ago

For this particular "found" board, I hit it with citristrip and covered it with plastic wrap per the container directions. After 24 hours I carded and wiped down, then did another treatment for another 24 hours. When all the citristrip/gel/old varnish had been removed I lightly sanded and let it dry for another 24 hours, then glued up with Elmer's glue. I found that the edges on the board had been slightly rounded so there is a visible glue line while it is setting up. We'll see if it is less noticeable after more drying, sanding, and stain. Even if there is a line, not a big deal because the intended purpose is just making some 4" blocks and drilling holes for bench ammo holders for my 4H shooters. My chance to play around with wood, glue, and power tools.

This is what I'm eventually going for:

Wood Gas Natural material Rectangle Pattern

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711b

· #10 · 6 mo ago

Unless you plane it in one way or another to near perfect flatness, you're almost certainly going to have some sort of glue line. For your application and personal use, who cares? 😂 It should work out well.

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