Stripping wooden bannisters

[SwedishChef]

Hi, I'm working on stripping my wooden bannisters which were gloss painted by previous occupants - a crime I reckon! I've got reasonably far but I need some expert advice on two tricky bits.

Here is a general photo of the bannisters in their current unfinished state:

The first problem: I've used several coats of paint stripper (Nitromors) and some sanding to get off the paint so far but you can see some white paint still left in the grain - particularly towards the bottom left of that panel. I can't seem to get this out.

My current plan would be to finish the bannisters using medium coloured danish oil - but this will make the white bits stand out more. Should I try and persevere with the paint stripper, use another method, or accept that I might not get it all out and pick a suitable finish to help disguise the remainder?

The second problem:

That is the top of the bannisters and I can barely get my hand in and it's hard to get enough leverage with a paint scraper. Any good tips for getting the paint out of there? It was hard enough doing it on the panels that I had easy access to!

All advice very gratefully received!

 

[awbcm]

I don’t think you will get the remaining paint out of the corners of the panelling. The reason you can’t sand that close to the edges. You could try a cabinet scraper but again I don’t think you have much luck.

But hears a trick; get your self some small oak panel moulding and fix this around the inside perimeter of the framing. The moulding will cover the areas that you have difficulty in sanding.

Have a look at Richard Burbidge