Remove the hot items from the cooker with plastic tongs to avoid scratching them, and the old paint will peel right off. To do this, place the hardware in the pot, cover with water, add a few drops of liquid dish soap, and let it cook on high for 6 to 8 hours. When window locks, door hinges, or hand tools are marred with paint, thrifty DIYers reclaim them with the help of a slow cooker. For tough, resistant finishes like varnish or layered paint, pretreating with a heat gun or steamer loosens the finish before scraping. Professionals often remove old paint from surfaces like wood siding or furniture with just a paint scraper or coarse sandpaper. But for flat surfaces, skipping the stripper could be the best choice. Strippers also reduce or eliminate dust and debris caused by sanding and scraping. Paint stripper reaches into the crevices of ornate trim and molding to remove paint where scrapers and sandpaper struggle. Is it really necessary to use a liquid or gel paint stripper? It depends on the project. Photo: Debbie Wolfe Before Buying a Paint Stripper ALSO CONSIDER: Citristrip Paint & Varnish Stripping Gel.BEST FOR CONCRETE: Motsenbocker’s Lift Off Spray Paint Remover.BEST FOR METAL: Max Strip All-Purpose Remover.BEST FOR WOOD: D Super Remover New Generation Stripper.FASTEST-WORKING: Sunnyside Back to Nature Hi-Speed Ready Strip.BEST ECO-FRIENDLY: Blue Bear 605Pro Multipurpose Coatings Remover.BEST BANG FOR THE BUCK: Max Strip Paint & Varnish Stripper.BEST OVERALL: Dumond Smart Strip Advanced Paint Remover.Keep reading to learn more about our shopping priorities, how these products performed in our tests, and why we consider them to be among the best paint strippers available. To help clear up any confusion and narrow the options, we shopped for, tested, and reviewed several paint strippers for a variety of uses. Some include harsh chemicals that require special safety precautions.

This can be done manually with a hand sander and a whole lot of elbow grease (not an option with lead-based paint) or with a paint stripper, which will take care of the task at hand in far less time and with far less effort.īefore setting out to purchase a paint stripper, know that not all are suitable for all types of paint and surfaces. But for a project that has already been painted several times-and likely shows widespread chipping, cracking, or blistering-the existing finish must be removed completely before the project can be continued. On a piece of furniture with only a few isolated peeling patches, a little scraping and sanding may be adequate prior to priming and repainting. Paint prep is a necessary but sometimes tedious step, and some types of paint prep are easier than others.

Smart strip pro paint remover