On 28/03/18 11:16, Dave Plowman (News) wrote:
In article ,
Nick Odell wrote:
I dunno. They date back to perhaps 1990, so before water based became
common for such things? I'd describe the finish as satin. And there
doesn't appear to be any undercoat. Looking at the odd chip with a
magnifying glass.

If it is real teak it might turn out easier to strip than feared - if
you are lucky. Teak is loaded with oils that are incompatible with many
finishes so it's common practice to put on a sanding sealer before
applying a proper finish. Or it might have been finished in something
like melamine which may resist good bonding with the black layer. Either
way, there's probably quite a forgiving boundary between the teak and
the black layer. If the black chips easily it might just scrape away.
Otherwise, if you can identify the right solvent to soften it up, the
softened black might be scraped away without damaging the teak below.

Definitely no laminate. All the others I've seem are made from teak faced
ply - rather than ply then veneered afterwards. You can see this at edges
- all a stepped joint with reinforcement battens inside. They were
designed for ease of construction rather than as a perfect bit of
furniture.

I've not had any success with current easily available paint strippers
since H&S or whatever had the formula changed.

Any joy with cellulose thinners? Meths? Nitrocellulose was a common
finishing material in those days - especially for custom paint jobs.

Nick