"Guess there's no magic bullet here—just patience and elbow grease."
Yeah, that's been my experience too. But one thing that helped me was using a plastic scraper after applying the stripper—less likely to gouge the wood. Still ended up sanding details by hand though... slow but worth it.
"Still ended up sanding details by hand though... slow but worth it."
Yeah, sanding by hand is pretty much unavoidable for detailed trim. I've tried chemical strippers before—worked okay, but honestly the mess and fumes weren't worth it for me. Last summer I switched to a heat gun and scraper combo; less messy, but gotta watch out or you'll scorch the wood. Still ended up hand-sanding corners and grooves anyway... guess there's no escaping that part.
I've actually had decent luck with chemical strippers—yeah, they're messy, but if you pick a gel-based one and ventilate properly, it's manageable. Still gotta sand a bit after, but way less elbow grease overall. Beats scorching wood with a heat gun IMO...
I've tried chemical strippers too, and yeah, they do cut down on sanding. But honestly, I find the cleanup afterward almost as annoying as sanding itself. Ever tried one of those infrared paint removers? Curious if they're less harsh than heat guns...
I've actually used an infrared paint remover on some old window trim last summer, and honestly, it was a game changer compared to chemical strippers or heat guns. Way less messy than chemicals—I totally get what you mean about the cleanup being almost worse than sanding itself. With infrared, the paint just softens up nicely without getting all gummy or scorched like it can with a heat gun. Plus, I found it easier to control the heat, so there's less risk of accidentally damaging the wood underneath.
The only downside is they're a bit pricey upfront, but if you're tackling multiple windows or other projects around the house, it's worth the investment. I borrowed one from a friend first to test it out (highly recommend doing that if you can). Honestly, after using infrared, I don't think I'd willingly go back to chemical strippers again...unless I really missed scrubbing sticky goo off my gloves for hours afterward, haha.
"unless I really missed scrubbing sticky goo off my gloves for hours afterward, haha."
Haha, seriously though, does anyone actually enjoy that part? I've never tried infrared—is it tricky to get the hang of, or pretty straightforward for a newbie? Sounds tempting compared to my chemical disaster last spring...
Haha, yeah, the sticky glove struggle is real. Infrared's actually pretty newbie-friendly once you get past the initial awkwardness of juggling the heater and scraper at the same time. Took me a couple windows to find my rhythm, but after that it was smooth sailing. Definitely beats dealing with chemical goop disasters—still have flashbacks from my last stripping project...
Infrared sounds interesting, but isn't it still pretty slow going if you've got multiple layers of old paint? I found sanding with a good orbital and decent dust extraction quicker overall...plus no juggling act. Anyone else find infrared slower than expected?
"I found sanding with a good orbital and decent dust extraction quicker overall...plus no juggling act."
That's been my experience too, especially with thick layers of older paint. Infrared does soften paint nicely, but the heat-up time per section adds up. Orbital sanding felt faster and simpler overall, particularly with proper dust control.
I've gotta say, sanding wasn't exactly a breeze for me. Maybe it's because I'm new to this whole DIY thing, but even with decent dust extraction, I still ended up with dust everywhere—like, how does it even get inside closed cabinets? I tried a chemical stripper on one window frame just to compare, and honestly, it felt less messy overall. Sure, it was slower waiting for the paint to bubble up, but cleanup was way easier. Guess it depends on your tolerance for dust versus gooey paint sludge...