[bighowdytex]

I have a 67 Overlander that was restored some years ago by a PO. They refinished the cabinets with some kind of dark stain/finish which now has the appearance of old brown translucent shoe polish complete with heavy smudge marks like before you buff the shoe out. It is relatively shiny but is so dark you can hardly see the grain of the wood. I have done some test sections here and there with a light and quick application of citristrip. This appears to take the PO's stain application off, leaving the original "semi oiled looking" wood underneath. It is still dark like it should be, but the grain really shows now. After using the citrip strip and and a fine sanding, I am considering using a wood feeder oil to bring back the depth and color of the grain. I am not into the entire refinishing routine since what I am planning seems to fit my abilities.

My main question is...has anyone used citristrip the way I am to get rid of an old nasty finish. Again I am putting it on very lightly and waiting not even 5 minutes before I scrape it off. The "shoe polish" finish comes straight off with a nylon spatula. I have used citristrip in the same quick-on/quick-off method to remove latex housepaint from the batchroom walls to reveal the original funky laminate underneath without sustaining any damage.