Expert: Eileen Cronk - 5/11/2007

Question
HI, I HAVE RECENTLY MOVED INTO AN OLDER HOME AND THE UPSTAIRS HAS SOME VERY OLD WOODEN DOORS THAT HAVE PAINT AND OTHER PRODUCTS STAINING THEM, I WOULD LIKE TO KNOW WHAT PRODUCTS THAT IS THE SAFEST AND EASY TO USE.

                     THANK YOU
                    TONY C. HAMBLIN

Answer
Hi Tony
Nice to hear from you.
Personally I do not think any stripper is 100% safe.
If it removes multiple layers of paint as you require it can't be that safe.
The key is to follow directions on the label.
And have the very best ventilation you can..preferably outdoors in the shade.
The doors will have to be removed anyway so why not work in a safe spot.
You must also beware of lead paint as the dust can be very bad for us.
A few years back I worked on a restoration of a century home and we stripped 11 doors by hand. It was the worst job I had ever encountered. Each door took two days.
We used heat guns to get the worst of the paint off, then Circa paint and varnish remover. I consider it to be one of the best strippers.
It was unfortunate that we had no one in the area who did vat stripping. In this case it would have been the best, and possible something you may be interested in enquiring about.
Hope this helps and thanks for a great question.
Regards Eileen