Paint stripper, which is the best?

[banjodeano]

Hiya Guys,
I am wanting to help a friend take about 20 coats of paint off his very old skirting board, which is the best brand to use?, and will it take it all off in one go? i tried Nitromorse many years ago and wasn't overly impressed with it, any advice anyone?

 

[Burnerman]

Nitromors is next to useless now, since the caustic element was removed.....only namby pamby solutions are available these days.
If the paint is really thick, why not try a hot air gun and scraper?
John

 

[banjodeano]

Nitromors is next to useless now, since the caustic element was removed.....only namby pamby solutions are available these days.
If the paint is really thick, why not try a hot air gun and scraper?
John

Thanks John...i hear you mate, but its my son in law, and i have actually given him my heat gun to use, but to be honest, watching him use it is fooookin painful, he just fannies about way too much, i could have done the skirts in about three hours, and i am loathsome to do it for him, i just wondered if there was an easy solution for him.....pulling my hair out here lol

 

[Burnerman]

Best not let him near a naked flame then
For sure, Nitromors works to some degree if it finds an edge of paint but its hopelessly slow....I think Id show him how to get the timber really hot with the paint bubbling before scraping.
No real need to get to bare timber of course, just close enough to apply an undercoat.
Wishing you luck - if the guy isn’t surgically attached to his phone it will be a bonus
John

 

[opps]

You can still buy the old skool methyl chloride paint stripper but it was banned from domestic sale because of potential carcinogens.

As a professional decorator I seldom strip paint. Provided it is sound, I sand it flat, effectively treating the paint as layers of filler.

Often, when you strip paint you end up seeing the wood grain and spend ages filling all the gouges with two pack filler.