GARY wrote:

Hello, Robert,

I read the entire thread at http://tinyurl.com/fpso5.

Eliminating some of the off-the-subject comments, a number of good
suggestions remain. However I don't know which would yield the results
I'm looking for so I'll re-state my situation:

The Minwax Fast-Drying Polyurethane was applied over many years' of
liquid furniture polish (like Pledge, Old English, etc) which is on top
of the original, factory-applied lacquer (?) finish and dark, walnut
stain.

How can I remove only the polyurethane and the polish so the original
lacquer and stain remain?

With a dental drill and a good magnifier and far, _far_ more patience than I
have.

You're not going to find a stripper that will selectively remove
polyurethane but not lacquer.

If you're willing to risk damaging the lacquer you could try a card
scraper--if you're _very_ lucky the accumulated furniture polish might act
as a release compound and let the polyurethane peel off without a lot of
fuss. Trouble is that it's easy to dig too deep and may be difficult to
see where the poly ends and the lacquer begins.

The bottom line on this is that unless the piece is a very, _very_ valuable
antique you're going to be better off to just strip the whole thing and
refinish.

--
--John
to email, dial "usenet" and validate
(was jclarke at eye bee em dot net)