Is it quicker and more efficient to strip finish off with a heat gun or with chemical strippers? It probably won’t surprise you to hear that it depends on what type of finish (and how much) is being stripped, but what may surprise you is that often the answer is “both.”
Chemical strippers are great for thin coatings, and especially for clear coatings like lacquer and thin varnish. However, they tend to bog down when you must attack many layers of thick paint, and you end up with a multicolored mess of gunk. That’s where the heat gun comes in.
A heat gun, which you can find at your home or hardware store, makes quick work of many layers of thick paint. It makes the paint bubble up and soften so that you can remove it very efficiently, and with relatively little mess, using a putty knife. Clearly the best option, right? Not quite.
The problem is, the heat gun removes fast, but not totally. Chances are there will be some paint left in the pores and crevices of the wood, and it is difficult to get that last bit of paint out without either marring or scorching the wood. That’s where the chemical comes in. Once the heat gun has removed the bulk of the finish, a coating of chemical stripper will make quick work of what remains. By working with a heat gun first, then following with chemical stripper, you get the best of both worlds.
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