internal doors - removing stain/varnish?

[Koala2]

I have a 1980s house complete with internal doors which are stained a dark brown colour / mahogany. Most of them also have what appears to be a coat of varnish on top. The doors themselves are a reasonable quality and don't need replacing. Is there any way of removing the stain and/or varnish so I can paint over in a lighter colour? Or will this look terrible and take forever? The cost of replacing them all is prohibitive.

I would just use Zinsser BIN primer and then paint over. Varnish penetrates so you'll never get it all off, whatever you do.

Did mine with a few coats of primer and then cream acrylic eggshell on top. They were also 80s doors with that dark varnish and now look great and was much cheaper than replacing!

Thank you. Do I literally just paint the primer on after cleaning? Is no rubbing down required?

Yes - just paint the primer on. Be reasonably generous with it. Two coats should give a really good base. Zinsser dries quickly. If you get a wriggle on of an evening you can do two coats of primer and a single top coat in an area.

I would use Shellac (DP is a painter) it will block the colour coming through. Not cheap but worth it for a job done properly x