Removing paint from Stair Strings

[thediynovice]

Hi

This weekend I attempted to remove the paint from our stair strings, back to bare wood.

I used a heat gun, which got through 2 layers of paint, but didn't budge the last coat - a white coat.

I then tried Nitromors, which got through the same 2 layers, but even this didn't touch this last white coat.

The only way I could get rid of this last white coat was to sand it off.

Does anyone know what this coat could have been, or how I can get rid of it without having to sand the whole lot?

The Newel posts didn't have this layer on them, and I got back to the wood in no time.

Many Thanks

 

[Zampa]

Probably acrylic primer...or emulsion..neither if which react to heat and are very slow reacting to stripper.