Paint remover

[p_leyden]

Does anyone here have a recommendation for a good paint remover? I presently have a can of "Kleen Strip" which is almost totally useless. When I called the manufacturer they told me the conditions necessary for the remover to work. Temperature,humidity, etc.,etc, the color of my socks-disregard that last item!
Removers I've used in the past would remove multiple layers of paint quickly. There has to be something better out there!
Thanks for your help!

[fredhargis]

The EPA and some environmental groups have been working to ban the effective strippers you used in the past, and they have succeeded in many areas. More correctly, they are working to ban the active agent: methylene chloride. If you can find some on the shelves of any store near you it is almost certainly what you used to use (don't forget all the safety considerations). I have no idea what you can do if you can't find that, it's possible (I suppose) the green replacements will work if given enough time. Maybe someone will have another suggestion. If not I'd consider the mechanical approaches, heat gun, scraper, etc. Then finish with the less effective strippers.

[MichaelMouse]

The EPA and some environmental groups have been working to ban the effective strippers you used in the past, and they have succeeded in many areas. More correctly, they are working to ban the active agent: methylene chloride. If you can find some on the shelves of any store near you it is almost certainly what you used to use (don't forget all the safety considerations). I have no idea what you can do if you can't find that, it's possible (I suppose) the green replacements will work if given enough time. Maybe someone will have another suggestion. If not I'd consider the mechanical approaches, heat gun, scraper, etc. Then finish with the less effective strippers.

Pros still using NaOH dips, or has that been banned?  Might get it done rather than DIY.

[retrdwoodwkr]

I just stripped five bow back oak chairs with JASCO, got it at Home Depot.  Since these were made by Richardson Brothers, I assume the finish was lacquer but not sure.  I did all stripping outside in an open garage.  I would brush on a thin layer, wait 3-4 minutes, then start scraping off the goo.  I found some red fairly stiff scrapers at Lowes that worked well.  To get around the slats, I cut one down to fit, helped remove finish in narrow spaces.  The can said wait 15 minutes but by that time everything would be dry and nothing would come off.  I would then wipe up as much of the goo with paper towels because this reduces the volume that reminded for the next application.  I then repeated the process with the stripper.  This normally removed the bulk of the finish.  Wipe off residue with paper towel, then used some very coarse blue pads from Lowes dipped in stripper to get at the remaining finish.  I cut the pads down to fit into narrow spaces and to minimize gumming up pads with goo overload.  The pads normally got too clogged up after 5-6 uses and had to be discarded.  Wipe off as much as I could with more paper towels.  Then I got clean pads soaked in mineral spirits and went over the stripped section to loosen up are remove any remaining finish.  Again, wipe down with paper towels then go on to the next section.  

This was not a fun job.  I worked on one or two chairs per day, taking a break between work sessions to regain sanity - and to recover from alcohol addiction.  Over the last few days I took the chairs into the shop and removed ary remaining finish with card scrapers and 120 grit sandpaper.  Some of the cross spindles were attacked by dog and had to either replaced or sanded down to eliminate tooth marks.  The previous yahoo owner used some fine hardened screws to hold things together that had to be removed.  

Everything is removed, cleaned up and ready for assembly.  I will use pegs instead of screws where needed.  I will use fox wedges to attach the legs to the seats.  Then I will stain and finish with urethane.  

Why go through this trouble you ask?  No idea.....

[John Mihich]

I do a lot of stripping.  I use various strippers but pick the one for epoxy or marine finish.  It has the most of the methal etholoine (sp) in it.  Pick up the cans and get the heaviest.  The heavier the can the more effective,

[rudedan60]

I used this in the past when it was SoyGel Blue Bear® Soy Gel Paint & Urethane Stripper  Clean up is easy and it encapsulates the paint. Just scrapes off.
Dan

[jteneyck]

Does anyone here have a recommendation for a good paint remover? I presently have a can of "Kleen Strip" which is almost totally useless. When I called the manufacturer they told me the conditions necessary for the remover to work. Temperature,humidity, etc.,etc, the color of my socks-disregard that last item!
Removers I've used in the past would remove multiple layers of paint quickly. There has to be something better out there!
Thanks for your help!

KleanStrip Premium has always worked well for me.  It contains methylene chloride which is being/has been banned.  But it's still available at my local independent ACE Hardware, at least for the time being, so you might check similar outlets.  HD and Lowes no longer carry it.  

John

[msweig]

Many of the more modern strippers work fine, you just have to be patient (though I have no experience nwoth the specific one you mentioned). The advertising/instructions is what makes them frustrating. I've had them work quite well if you apply, cover everything in plastic, and wait 24 hours. "Works in 30 minutes" is ... inaccurate....(or insert a more strongly worded term).

You still need good ventilation though. They evaporate more slowly, but some of them are actually more toxic than the old stuff IF allowed to build up in the atmosphere. So bag the piece. But you still want it in an area with good cross ventilation.

[DFJarvie]

A heat gun also works good too. Don’t use it close to a window pane.