Stripping paint is one of the jobs that do it yourselfers love to hate. It is tedious, time consuming, and just plain hard work. Luckily there are some tools available which will make the work easier.

Your first weapon should be a chemical paint stripper, especially for stubborn layers of older paint. There are many brand name stripping compounds available that are quite effective and easy to use. You’ll need to be sure to wear protective gear, though; rubber gloves, long sleeves and pants, and goggles are a must. Spread newspaper or plastic tarp on adjacent areas to avoid any spillover, as well.

Using an old paint brush, a liberal coat of stripper compound is applied, and left on per the manufacturer’s instructions until the paint softens. Then, using a paint stripper knife or shave hook tool, scraping the paint off is relatively easy. When all the paint has been removed (and I mean all of it, don’t be lazy here), clean the wood with either cold water or paint thinner; this will neutralize the chemicals left behind by the stripper.

Electric Paint Strippers

Another tool in your arsenal is the electric paint stripper. This is a handy little scraping tool that has an integral heating element. The element heats up when switched on, and as you hold the tool a certain distance from the paint, it softens it up. I find this tool is more useful for small sections of real stubborn paint than for large areas.

Blow Torch

When all else fails, the gas or kerosene blow torch works wonders. Just use extreme caution when using one of these bad boys. All flammable material needs to be removed from the immediate area. Burning paint chips will be falling down all over the place, so keep on eye on them and make sure they extinguish immediately. Also, it is easy to burn the underlying wood, so never hold the torch in one place too long; keep it moving. You are trying to soften and melt the paint, not incinerate your house.

Blow torches are usually only used for total stripping, where badly damaged coats of paint need to be stripped all the way to the wood. They are also used on fine molding and scrollwork that has been obscured by too many paint coats.

Start at the bottom and work your way upward, applying heat by moving the flame across the paint until it blisters and softens in a small area. Then remove the flame. Scrape away the softened paint, using a stripper knife on flat surfaces or a shave hook for moldings and corners. When the stripping is finished, sand down the wood by hand, with sandpaper.

Of course, the best and most valuable tool, although quite hard to find, is having lots of willing friends and family members to help you. If you have enough of these you don’t need to do any work at all, except buying the beer and pizza.