Testing for Oil or Water Based Finishes

When beginning any wood working restoration project then testing for oil or water based finishes should one of the first things that you do. The reason for this is that each kind of finish or paint will require a different method for removal. If you try to use the wrong kind of removal method, while you may not actually ruin the wood, you can at the very least ruin the effect that you are going for. This doesn't even mention the fact that you will end up wasting all kinds of time by using the wrong kind of removal method.

Here are a few simple tests that you can use to help determine whether you have a water based, or an oil based finish. Each of these methods are things that you should be able to do with the materials that you already have in the house. If you don't have these materials in your home already, then a quick trip to your local department store will quickly get you back on track.

• Cotton ball. Gather together a cotton ball, and a little rubbing alcohol. Dampen the cotton ball with the alcohol, and begin to wipe it along the woodwork. If, after the alcohol has dried, the woodstain is a little lighter in color, then you know that the stain is water based. Oil based stains really don't react to alcohol at all.
• Goo-Gone. Purchase a bottle of Goo-Gone or any other similar cleaner, and place a little bit of it on an old clean rag. With the rag in hand, begin to wipe down the wood stain. After a while, if you notice the rag getting dirty with the stain, and the wood is becoming a lighter color, you know that you have an oil based stain. Cleansers such as Goo-Gone only really work in this manner on oil based stains, and the water based ones are not harmed in any way.
• Touch. Another method that you can use to test between water based and oil based finishes is by touching the stained area. Typically oil based stains will feel just a little smoother than water based ones. The reason for this is that the oil stains typically rest more on the top of the wood, rather than "inside" the wood as the water based stains do.
• Water beads. Oil based stains are somewhat more water resistant than the water based finishes. Due to this, by sprinkling a little water onto the stained area you can tell if the stain is water or oil based. Simply wait for a minute and see if the water beads up. If it does, then you have an oil based stain.