Question about Wood Stock Refinishing

[Caleb]

Originally Posted by RandallZ

In my experience, whether or not the stripper effects filler or glued in bits of wood depends on the stripper. "Aircraft" stripper (the strong stuff with MEK, etc.) will soften filler. Lesser strippers, like the Citri-strip you plan to use, are much more gentle, and can be carefully used without turning the filler into a gooey mess. YMMV, and all that.

I don't understand why you hesitate to sand the existing finish off. If you sand it to the wood surface, you'll be starting at the same place you will be if you strip down to the wood surface...?

Randall

I have a lot of coats on there now. Three coats of primer, three coats of base color, three or four coats of accent color, and five or six coats of clear semi-gloss. The paint build-up is thick....looks great and smooth (deep looking) but, thick. It will take a lot of sanding to remove all that paint. Plus, I'm affraid I will ruin the lines of the stock (amateur wood worker here). Figured it would be easier/safer to strip it. I will try a small spot first and see what happens, thanks for all the feed back. I will try to document the work as well just in case someone else runs across this in the future.

PS: Still open for suggestions.