Paint Removal - Front Shelf

That nasty looking bookshelf that was built into the wall recess in the living room has to have something done to it. I've decided to get rid of the paint, and try to varnish the wood. I know this sounds like a great idea. I think it'll look something kind of awesome when it's done, but how do I go about achieving this?

The idea came to me as I waited for Sherwin-Williams to finish mixing my paint. I thought of how ugly that thing was, and I knew I wanted to change it. I could paint it, but the color would just be a bit difficult, since I would possibly have to introduce another color to the living room. Sherwin-Williams had some paint removal chemicals, but I wanted to check Home Depot. SW was notoriously expensive for everything, and if I could get the same thing as Home Depot for less - why not.

I ended up getting the "green," earth and people friendly paint remover. It required a thick application with about 24 hours curing time.



The two pieces of wood from the garage seem like poor subjects for this project. I may need to get better quality wood for it. The existing wood was stripped well, and looks really nice.