wooden beams

Hi. I have a 16th century cottage and about to decorate on of the bedrooms. It has wooden beams at irregular intervals - typically 30cm-60cm spanning most walls and ceilings. Semi structural - and listed! Looking for recommendations to avoid paint splashes on beams as I'd rather be using a...

I am trying to remove white paint from wooden beams (sanding and paint stripper) but there are so many cracks in the wood that I just can't get the paint out of. Any ideas? I could use epoxy but I think I would end up filling a large amount of the beam as it is covered in cracks. Could I...