Before stripping paint from a home built before 1978, have it tested for lead. (See more about testing paint for lead).

There are several ways to strip finishes: heat-gun stripping, chemical strippers, scraping, and sanding, to name the primary ones. Stripping paint can be a real hassle and often yields marginal results. It can be very tedious to get paint out of all the nooks and crannies, and, when the finish has been entirely stripped, the wood may not look the way you hoped it would.

Chemical strippers are normally the least damaging to the surface and work best at removing paint from fine woodwork or irregular surfaces. (For more information, see “Chemical Paint Strippers.”

If you plan to repaint, however, keep in mind that you can fill nicks and gouges before painting. In this case, stripping with a combination of heat-gun and stripper is usually faster. It’s often most effective to use a heat gun on flat expanses and a chemical stripper on details. When using a heat gun, have a fire extinguisher (or a bucket of water) on hand in case the wood begins to burn.

When using chemical strippers, wear rubber or neoprene gloves to protect your hands, eye protection, and—for some chemicals—an organic vapor respirator with new cartridges. Good ventilation is imperative.

Apply the stripper in one or more thick coats and let it work; that is, don’t scrape too soon. All layers of paint should be easy to lift with a scraper or, better yet, a plastic household spatula. On vertical surfaces, choose a stripper that has plenty of body, and be sure to protect the floor with plastic masking taped around the perimeter and newspapers on top to absorb the sludge.

If you’re stripping woodwork, also protect the walls by taping newspapers to them. Be sure to follow label directions.