Polyvine Varnish and Paint Remover Review

As a professional decorator, I’ve been using Polyvine products for several years. Their Decorators Varnish is outstanding for tasks like protecting wallpaper and painted surfaces. Their Heavy-Duty Varnish is great for worktops and other interior woodwork.

Polyvine Varnish and Paint Remover is a relatively new product, and it’s one I’ve used on several jobs. I thought it would be useful if I sat down and wrote a quick review.

Polyvine Varnish and Paint Remover Specifications

• Type: Water-based, emulsion gel remover
• VOC Content: Ultra-low (< 1 g/L), non-toxic, household-safe, no ventilation required
• Removes: All oil- & water-based paints (including old lead), emulsions, lacquers, varnishes, polyurethanes.
• Suitable Surfaces: Wood (hard/soft), metals (aluminium, brass), masonry (brick, concrete, plaster), stone, tiles, fiberglass, GRP
• Applications: Interior & exterior; ideal for doors, floors, walls, furniture, worktops, window frames
• Coverage: ~4–6 m² per litre
• Dwell Times: Multi-layer paint: 1 hr to overnight. Stains/varnish/lacquer/shellac: 15–30 min. Polyurethanes & acrylics: 30–45 min.
• Application Method: Brush on liberally; remove with scraper or stainless steel scouring ball; may cover with plastic and leave overnight for intricate surfaces.
• Clean-Up: Water wash-up; no caustic neutralisation necessary
• Available from; Lots of trade paint stockists. Click here to see online prices

My Polyvine Varnish and Paint Remover Review

The best description I can give for Polyvine Varnish and Paint Remover is it’s an eco-friendly paint stripper that contains no harsh chemicals like other strippers do. This comes with some great advantages; you don’t need a lot of ventilation in a room whilst using it, it’s safer if it gets on your skin (you should still wear PPE), no strong smell, and you don’t need to neutralise a surface after you’ve finished using it.

There are other positives to using Polyvine Varnish and Paint Remover. It’s very easy to work with for one! It comes as a thick, creamy gel, which is non-drip, so it’s great on application. It’s slow drying too! Drying time is an issue with a lot of the other paint strippers on the market; you apply the product then need to keep topping it up while it works. You can leave Polyvine Varnish and Paint Remover for longer periods without fear.

It isn’t all good unfortunately. Because Polyvine avoid using harsh chemicals, their Varnish and Paint Remover isn’t as powerful as some of its competitors. It does the same job, but it takes a bit longer.

A Recent Job

I thought I’d highlight a recent job where Polyvine Varnish and Paint Remover was used. This is an old worktop that I recently renovated. It had previously been coated with some sort of oil, but it was all stained and needed to be stripped back.

I could have used a machine sander to remove it, but that would probably have taken hours and might have left staining. I also wanted to avoid using oxalic acid to bleach the wood. So, I went with a paint stripper.

Even though I could take the whole worktop outside, I wanted a paint stripper that wasn’t too harsh. After all, food will be prepared on this counter in future. Polyvine Varnish and Paint Remover was the perfect product.

It’s thick and creamy consistency meant that application was easy, and I could leave it to do its thing, even in the sunshine, and it wouldn’t dry out. I applied the Polyvine Varnish and Paint Remover, left it around 45 minutes, scraped all the old coating off, then cleaned the worktop with warm soapy water. No issues at all.

Conclusion

Polyvine Varnish and Paint Remover is probably the best choice for use on a lot of stripping jobs around the home. You don’t want to be messing around with harmful materials in your kitchen, or anywhere near your family and pets.

Just be aware that you may need to leave it longer than you would some of the high-strength alternatives. That said, Polyvine Varnish and Paint Remover’s slow drying time means this isn’t an issue.

Review Summary