Removing ancient gloss paint

[Catnipcapers]

Posting for advice and hoping for reassurance! We have a house that's around 110 years old and I don't think anyone has done any decorating since the 90s. We have very old, thick layers of gloss on the woodwork that is yellow with age and it looks hideous. I would like to remove the gloss from the skirting, stairs and bannisters and repaint. I've read though that glassworks pre 1990s often contained lead - so is it safe to remove the gloss or should we be looking an replacing everything? We had bought some kleanstrip to test a patch but I'm nervous now. @pigletjohn Would you know?

Not done it myself but as a kid remember my dad burning it off and using ( from memory a chisel ) to peel it as he went.
Can't remember what he used to burn it but it was fairly localised.
It got it all off down to bare wood.

Found this :

To really get rid of that hard to remove paint, you can use a heat gun or blow torch to remove the paint. These specialist tools need to be used correctly and safely due to the heat. The heat on from the tools will heat the surface intensely, and lift the paint. Afterwards you can use a scraper to remove the leftovers.

Don't do what I did and use a hot gun. The ancient paint had lead in it and it made me really ill!
Not helpful I know, but you can get a non toxic gel from wickes that works really well.

You get loads of little bits with a heat gun, which isn’t good if you’re worried about lead.
We did our ancient gloss paint stripping in the 80s, and for fiddly bits we used one of those paste removers you leave on and peel off in strips - it was this kind of stuff though a different make. If kleanstrip is the same thing I’d go with that.

https://peelaway.co.uk/130/1868/peelaway-1

Check out the Amazon reviews for the Bahco 625 and 665 carbide scrapers.

I’ve got the little 625 and it is excellent. Beware using a heat gun on old lead paint.

We also used nitromors, which at least makes a wet mess instead of tiny dry bits flying around, but it is very messy and quite unpleasant to use.

Use a chemical stripper. Sanding or heating will release lead dust or fumes, which are dangerous.

If you’ve used Nitromors in the past beware that the formula has changed and it is nothing like as effective as it used to be. Again worth checking the Amazon reviews.

I have used that scraper tool too, the 665 one has a handle which I found helps with pressing down and dragging backward. I only had to strip flat surfaces though, no intricate detailing. There are lots of videos on YouTube of people stripping stuff. Be prepared for this taking a long time to do. It is a bit soul destroying but if you get one part done and see the end result it can help motivate you to keep going.

Best advice is always safety first, test for lead. There are chemical strippers that you put plastic over which helps. I have followed Laura Melhuish-Sprague on YouTube, she and her husband are renovating a 120 year old property. This video is of her stripping the stair paint.

Klingstrip? You smother it on, wrap in cling and leave for a while, as long as you can really and then scrape it off.

Thank you everyone. So it is safe to remove with a chemical stripper (because wet and sludgy) as no lead tainted dust will be released. Is that right?

I would just replace it all. you'll probably find that once you factor in your labour for the nasty job of cleaning it's actually cheaper.

That makes sense. I used to swear by it in the 90s, bought some recently and it was useless.

OP unless your woodwork is particularly ornate and original, I wouldn't bother stripping skirts or architraves, it's easier to replace them. I needed to do a small bit of staircase area recently and used a heat gun.

Yep. Well worth just pulling it off and replacing with moulded MDF if you’re going to paint it again.

Ive stripped a straight forward 3 bar bannister with a heat gun, nitromors and a dremmel tool for the fiddley bits, took me weeks and weeks, totally wished I hadn't started. It didn't even look that great afterwards. Get a professional in or replace it.

Dealing with something similar over here, although our house is only 97 years old. I've been using Paint Panther. So far, done skirting, architraves and panelled doors (I know, I should've probably got them dipped, but it's done now)... handrail/banisters are yet to tackle😱
It doesn't cut through all layers of paint in one go, but I just slap it on, leave for 20-40min, scrape off, repeat. I use a blade scraper and combination shave hook scraper on straight-ish surfaces and wire wool (and sometimes a screwdriver or bradawal 😄) on more intricate profiles.
It doesn't require neutralising but you need to wipe if off, preferably with meths (it's possible to use water but it will raise the woodgrain, so you'll have to sand it afterwards to make it smooth). If you decided to use meths, don't buy little 1L bottles from the usual DIY stores. Look for camping supplies stores online and buy it in larger canisters - works out cheaper.