Wood refinishing question - not vintage
 

We have some 70's era pine furniture that I want to strip and refinish - no idea where to begin. Open to suggestions! Thanks!

Sandpaper is the beginning.... Sand then stain, paint or oil, what ever you plan to ( refinish) with. Refinishing furniture is a Job! Time consuming, lots of sanding.... Makes a person appreciate why it costs so much to have someone refinish for you. A very labor intensive project. Wear a dust mask!

I would start with a water based stripper, it's low odor and they do work well if you give them time, if the old finish is really thick you may need to do the stripper twice, after that it takes some sanding but not a whole lot, you can use an electric orbital sander the go over that by hand, be sure to ALWAYS go WITH the grain, once you sand across the grain it takes a lot of work to fix. good luck, we'd like to see it.

This is a project I'd do outside in warmer weather. Always use a Respirator Mask designed to keep you from inhaling the dust & fumes. I use the ones with canisters that screw on & have replacable filters. Goggles too to protect your eyes & stripping gloves.

Try a water based stripper first. Sand with the grain. Last step wash down good with mineral spirts, wiping with the grain, to remove any oils/etc left on the wood. If they stained the wood first you may not be able to get it all out, even with sanding. I've refinished many dressers & bed frames dating to early 1900's. I've also stripped the wood doors, baseboards, staircase, window frames, etc in my 100 year old house. It's a lot of work, but the end result is worth it.

Stores like Home Depot, Lowes, home supply/repair stores often have a brochure with suggestions on how to do projects, supplies, etc.

Since it is winter up where you are you may want to take it to a "stripper". There are companies that will "dip" you item and that will strip off the old varnish.

Google several videos on "how to". It is not "hard" but is time consuming.

Be aware that dipping can open glued joints and weaken your pieces.

My DH brought me home a garage sale find---a big black chest. It was pretty ugly and I was less than thrilled! When I opened it I discovered that it was a cedar chest. Got to work with the stripper (STRIP-EZE back then) and after a week or so of hard work, ended up with a BEAUTIFUL cedar chest...The smell came back and we have it to this day.
It will be worth it! Take your time.
I did the work in our garage...but it is cold in Ontario now.....might want to wait until spring unless you have a heated garage.

Thank you all for the suggestions. The pieces are likely too long for a dip process. It is cold here, so it will be turn up the heat in the garage, yes, and the smaller pieces will come to the basement. Nothing will be done until after Christmas!

If it's painted, yes, a 'stripper' is needed. If it's just a dark wood finish and you want to take it back to it's original finish, you might try denatured alcohol. not rubbing alcohol but denatured alcohol. You can get it at the hardware store. Try a small corner an see if that does what you want. Put it on a rag and rub in a circular motion.