I'm new to DIYing in the Midwest (USA) and need some advice.

I'm in the middle of stripping two pieces of furniture, one stained and one painted. I'm using Citristrip and low-odor mineral spirits, which are working well. After that I plan on sanding with my orbital and by hand, then staining.

Here's the issue. I've been working in my garage with the garage door open for ventilation. It's suddenly gotten cold. Soon we'll have a lot of rain, and then snow. Citristrip advises using at 65-85F. I can't strip stain in my basement, right? Can I get a heater? Is that even safe? If I find time to finish the stripping, can I sand in freezing weather? Can I stain in my basement? Help!

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TheFishBanjo t1_it4q7hg wrote on October 20, 2022 at 10:35 PM

I am in the midwest (MI) and it will be in the 70s this weekend.

Git'r'done

c9belayer t1_it52f7h wrote on October 21, 2022 at 12:08 AM

You said it! I got 3 projects to wind up while the weather holds… can’t do ‘em in snow.

alabasterwilliams t1_it6934b wrote on October 21, 2022 at 6:11 AM

Ffffffffffffff, Duluth checking in.

If I don’t finish shit this weekend, I’m in the doghouse until June.

Good luck y’all!

M0U53YBE94 t1_it49dx0 wrote on October 20, 2022 at 8:39 PM

Proper ventilation is a must. And any heat source that doesn't have a open flame should be safe.

SixShadesOfBlack t1_it5by86 wrote on October 21, 2022 at 1:18 AM

> And any heat source that doesn't have a open flame should be safe.

This isn't a global truth, combustion can happen with many chemicals with the right air-to-chemical ratio and a sufficiently hot surface. Ni-Cr heater wires might exceed the autoignition temperature.

lurk4ever1970 t1_it4e6zg wrote on October 20, 2022 at 9:10 PM

The CitriStrip isn't a big deal, I've used it indoors on small projects with no problem. But you're going to want better ventilation for mineral spirits and stain, and probably some dust control for the sanding. Sawdust indoors is a pain.

An electric heater and some "walls" in the garage (hang some tarps or heavy sheet plastic) should make for a warm enough space to keep working. As long as no one is screaming about parking the car outside.....

trijkdguy t1_it4u1nj wrote on October 20, 2022 at 11:04 PM

Bust ass this weekend, supposed to be in the 70 in Chicagoland then it starts dropping again

StrongArgument OP t1_it5faab wrote on October 21, 2022 at 1:42 AM

I work weekends, sadly. Hopefully it will be warm and dry enough when I have a day off again!

owlears1987 t1_it4un8l wrote on October 20, 2022 at 11:09 PM

Ive stained in my basement and never will again, the whole house smelled like stain for a long time. Citristrip doesn’t have as strong of a smell but your cleanup will really intensify if you’re stripping in your house. I’d power through in the garage, heater if you gotta.

KyleTheToolman t1_it4bmh4 wrote on October 20, 2022 at 8:53 PM

Citristrip is pretty tame. Have recently been using it in a house that is occupied without issue. I wouldn’t fret using it in the basement. Maybe hold off on the mineral spirits.

StrongArgument OP t1_it4ipwh wrote on October 20, 2022 at 9:41 PM

So citristrip, dry well, sand in the basement?

KyleTheToolman t1_it4irun wrote on October 20, 2022 at 9:41 PM

Yes

JL4575 t1_it53zsp wrote on October 21, 2022 at 12:19 AM

Citristrip is fine indoors, but you’ll have to use a lot of mineral spirits to clean it off.

Intelligent_Ebb4887 t1_it4cuay wrote on October 20, 2022 at 9:01 PM

Sanding you can do anytime and anywhere you don't mind a mess.

I've put a space heater in my garage to work on things in the winter, but for stain/paint to dry that would require longer amounts of time than I'd be comfortable with. I've also done staining in my basement, but I don't have much ventilation, so I try to limit that.

TheQueenMother t1_it5c9gr wrote on October 21, 2022 at 1:21 AM

Most my woodworking is done in my basement. It is just warm enough in the winter and running the dehumidifier helps the paint dry nicely. I use some big halogen work lights that put out a good amount of heat also. I've used one of those window exhaust fans from time to time too.

Material_Community18 t1_it57cfu wrote on October 21, 2022 at 12:44 AM

Regarding staining in your basement: water based/water borne stains and finishes are really good these days and I'd apply them in my kitchen*. My favorites are:

TransTint dyes
General Finishes High Performance Top Coat
Target Coatings EM6000 (lacquer) or EM9300 (polycarbonate/polyurethane) top coats

* as long as I wasn't spraying them, that's still something that should be done with lung protection.

Abject-Possession810 t1_it8r500 wrote on October 21, 2022 at 7:26 PM

That's really helpful info, thank you

LadybugGal95 t1_it5n5fd wrote on October 21, 2022 at 2:41 AM

Another Midwesterner here - whatever you do, do NOT, I repeat do NOT varnish while you are running the dryer. Our dryer is in the basement but in a separate room from where my husband was trying to varnish something one winter. Dryer sucked in that smell and BAKED it into our clothes. Nasty, nasty, nasty.

Dokino21 t1_it50zw5 wrote on October 20, 2022 at 11:57 PM

I am not telling you what to do, but I am saying that I have used Citristrip in the basement. I had a box fan in a window pulling air out just to be safe, but the smell itself wasn't that heavy.
If you can heat the garage, I think that might be your best open and just use a fan in a window.

Peakbrowndog t1_it5s66d wrote on October 21, 2022 at 3:21 AM

I use an oil radiator type heater. Everything enclosed, no sparks or flames. I keep it on all winter in the shop to keep it warmish.

Demolishonor t1_it5y5xp wrote on October 21, 2022 at 4:14 AM

From experience never use anything like stain and im assuming stripper in the house. Even low voc or whatever it’s bad. Especially when you got a little one. Made this mistake and couldn’t get it out to the garage fast enough. Never again.

Garage with a heater should be fine. Ive heard people build a little blanket fort for their piece to heat/cure/stain in by trapping hot air in there. Never done it myself and wouldn’t do it without constant supervision if you’re leaving the heater on.

One thing ive done is let the piece stay over night in the house prior to staining. Move to the garage and then stain. My piece usually retained heat long enough for the majority of the smell to dissipate. Using waterbase quick drying low voc stain in this case.

Sanding just wear gloves and your cold gear no biggy. Wouldn’t do it inside unless you got a space specific for this which doesn’t sound like you do.

Pleasant_Carpenter37 t1_it67s7c wrote on October 21, 2022 at 5:55 AM

Whatever you do, don't stain in your basement. I used to live in a duplex, and the neighbors decided to stain some furniture in February. I nearly passed out from the stench!

HaddockBranzini-II t1_it89xcv wrote on October 21, 2022 at 5:31 PM

Ah, the coming end of DIY season...

21pacshakur t1_it4hhhd wrote on October 20, 2022 at 9:33 PM

>Can I buy a heater?

This has to be a troll.

StrongArgument OP t1_it4i3ca wrote on October 20, 2022 at 9:37 PM

Not trolling, just dumb.

21pacshakur t1_it4nfyv wrote on October 20, 2022 at 10:14 PM

Well there's a variety of ways to answer that...Can you buy a heater? Maybe you can!

Do they sell heaters in any stores nearby? If not, can you buy a heater and have it delivered? Do you have money to buy a heater? Do you live in some sort of arrangement where you don't really have autonomy or what others might call, free will? Is there a person or group of people that are actively working against you, that would thwart your attempts to buy a heater?

So, maybe you can, maybe you can't.

This will be one you'll have to answer yourself I'm afraid. But I personally think, that you can buy a heater if you are so inclined. 😎

StrongArgument OP t1_it5ffem wrote on October 21, 2022 at 1:43 AM

The actual question was if it’s safe to use a heater when I’m using volatile chemicals in the same room, and if so, what type of heater is appropriate.