How to strip gilt+gesso
#5
I dragged this nice, heavy street find home years ago and am now figuring out how to strip it down to the wood, removing gilt or gold paint overlaying gesso. Soy-based stripper doesn’t really budge the paint much. If I can get that off, I know the gesso will come off with hot water, elbow grease and sanding. Anyone ever used PeelAway 1 or 7? Ideas welcome! Thank you from a newbie.


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#6
First thing I'd do is remove the glass, too easy to damage.  I've seen that type of finish taken off before, but it was by a commercial stripping company that dips in a caustic solution.  It can really warp parts if not done properly, so I'd hesitate that for something with thin parts like this has.
My own stripping experience with old paint like that has been plaster walls.  I had one wall with about 6-8 coats of different paint, going back over 100 years.  Thing I found was that no single stripper worked on all the different layers.  Some I had to remove with methylene chloride-based stripper while others would come off with the orange smelling water-based stripper. 
From the looks of the mirror, I'd be tempted to try some methylene chloride-based stripper, preferably a gel type if you can find it, cover it with wax or brown paper to prevent evaporation.  Try stripping it in small sections and have some shaped scrapers to get into the grooves to pull the old finish out, remember you want good rubber gloves, face mask and a respirator.  Follow the directions, especially regarding ventilation and I wouldn't leave it on too long.  Wash down the frame as indicated.  
That's a nice-looking mirror, be a shame to have it warp or crack if done incorrectly.
Personally, I would not try and sand the old finish off, IMO you'd do considerable damage to the profile of the frame taking it off that way.
My 2 cents.
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#7
I have done lots of furniture refinishing that had carvings etc and I used methylene chloride also. What I finally found that worked really well on carved areas is a small brass brush which can be found in the welding department. Before that I used those stripping pads (which is a just like a scotch write pad) but they clogged up so fast and only way to clean them is with thinner.

I think the furniture that I stripped was painted with lacquer and unfortunately it does not bubble up like latex or oil, it seems like the stripper just turns it back into paint so you need something that can take it off but also not clog. Paper towels did not work either, just spreads the paint around.
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#8
Speaking of stripper, I just noticed that methylene Chloride has been banned. The alternative premium product is now $60/gal!
Does this work as well as MC? At that price it better!

Edit - I read some reviews on the home center website and most say it works well on paint but seems like it might not work so well on clears.
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