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

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.

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.

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.....

>Can I buy a heater?

This has to be a troll.

Not trolling, just dumb.

So citristrip, dry well, sand in the basement?

Yes

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. 😎

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

Git'r'done

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

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.

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.

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

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

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.

> 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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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!

Ffffffffffffff, Duluth checking in.

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

Good luck y’all!

Ah, the coming end of DIY season...

That's really helpful info, thank you