Ready Strip. Is it *really* that awesome?

[Deleted]

DIY stripping trim paint is not a task to take on lightly.

I haven't used Ready-Strip, but I did strip all of our woodwork. No one ever recommended Ready-Strip to me, so I can't imagine that it's the be-all, end-all in stripping. I've found that the best method really depends on the preparation of the wood underneath, the type of paint used, the number of layers, and personal preference. It was just trial and error for me to find the best method for each room. In our guestroom, the paint was really thick over wood that had either shellac or lacquer on it. In that room, a heat gun was the best. It peeled the stuff right up with no chemicals. I did have to do a quick brush-over with citrus stripper for clean-up, but it wasn't bad. However, there's is that pesky risk of burning your house down. In our living room, the paint was much thinner and I think the bottom layer on our window sashes was milk paint. I never did find a product that would remove milk paint; I just had to scrape it off by hand with a blade after using chemicals on all the top layers. On the LR trim, the paint was thinner, and the heat gun just sort of made it smear rather than coming off in clean clumps (perhaps it was less lead paint or something)? I found that Peel Away followed by a citrus cleanup was most efficient there (though more $$$). For things like doors with fewer layers that I can take outside and do on the patio, I preferred Jasco because it's super fast and I didn't have to worry about the mess/smell in the house.

And the chemicals will screw up any wood floors you have, especially on any baseboard work. I used all sorts of plastic and tapes, and it still leaked through in places and damaged the finish. It's mostly covered by furniture and I was able to use some matching stain, apply some poly and use steel wool to buff it in, but it's by no means perfect. Just something to consider if you have really nice floors or are meticulous about them.

[mrs.jacinthe]

I just used soygel on the linen-dresser-of-doom. It's expensive, but it really works, and it doesn't stink like chemicals. More sweet-smelling than anything.

[downtoearth]

Just keep in mind that if you do have small kids, you should think about lead when stripping. It's pretty easy to clean-up the lead chips and leftover paint, but our local health department was sending out PSAs that lead paint over wood will result in lead leaching into the wood, so once it's stripped, you don't want kids mouths or food near that stripped wood at all. Pretty easy to keep the kids from sucking on the window sills IMO, but just keep that in mind that you might have high levels of lead in your stripped wood after the fact.

[justemily]

I have Citristrip (bought it at Lowes/HD) in the past and I don't think it smells bad at all.