What's the easiest way to get 100 years of paint off cabinet doors?

Question

I bought a house, and it's 100 years old. There are three layers of paint, from what I can see...maybe more. I bought stripper and set out on the longest messiest project ever. No matter how many times I used the stripper, the paint just wasn't coming off. I tried sanding but I don't think I used a low enough grit. What should I do?

Answer 1

heat gun works the best.

Answer 2

heat, as stated before- even an electric heat gun will work fairly well

Answer 3

As you can see, you can gas yourself with chemical strippers, get all gooed up and waste a bunch of rags . . .. or . . . ..

Get a small propane torch. Wave the tip back and forth about 8-12 inches from the surface, just enough to bubble the paint. Not too close so you don't get wood burn marks. Work it over until all the old paint bubbles up, it will flake off with a putty knife.

I've painted entire houses this way, using a much larger torch designed for burning brush.

Be sure to put a good primer on before painting, otherwise the raw wood will just keep sucking up your paint, you need to use primer to seal the wood.

Answer 4

Easiest way?  Buy new cabinet doors and drawer fronts.

Answer 5

I'd check in the yellow pages for furniture strippers.  They can do them for you.  It's not too expensive, and worth less than your time and frustrations.