Paint stripper review and how to

Recently I had a project that required me to strip layers of paint off of a toy chest.  It had many, many layers that had been added over many, many years.  I remember this toy chest from when I was a kid, and my mom is not even sure where she got it from. So lets just say it has some age.

From the time I've had the chest I can count at least 5 different layers of paint I've added, not to mention some decoupage and artists oil paint to boot.  The toy chest was in rough shape, so a total rehab was in order.

After getting some of the top paint off with scraping, I knew I was going to need some chemical stripper.

Now I should maybe call this a how not to post.  Because as I progressed I made some mistakes and learned some lessons.

In the end I ended up using 2 different strippers, and I wanted to talk about what I discovered between the two. (I was not prompted to talk about these products in any capacity)

I started out using the Klean Strip Stripper (on the left).  The reason I went with this one initially was because of price.  It was around $7 a can, and I wanted to avoid the Citrus strippers, because of a bad association with the odor, which involves citrus cleaning supplies, wet dog and dog vomit (not a pleasant scent memory, I am just saying)

After applying and following directions, which suggested leaving stripper on for 15-20 minutes before starting to remove paint, I got what I thought was a pretty good result on the top of the chest.

But when I moved on to the sides I had more difficulty.  The paint was gummy and I had to really put some elbow grease into removing the paint.

As you can see, some areas are cleaner than others.  At this point I ran out of stripper and needed to get more.  Instead of going all the way to Home Depot, I decided to go to my local Ace.  They did not have the stripper I had been using, so I reluctantly purchased the Citristrip.  It was slightly more expensive at about $10 per can and the directions suggested a longer wait time.  Have I mentioned how impatient I can be?  The wait time was turn off for me, not to mention the scent.

When I got home I gave the top a good coating of the Citristrip.  It suggests letting the stripper sit for 45 minutes up to 2 hours.  I ran a couple of errands and got back closer to the 2 hour mark and found the paint just wiped off.  No work needed.

You can see here how clean the top of the chest is.  I was able to get the back and one of the sides clean, but was left with the front and one side still needing to be stripped.

I ran out of Citristrip, and still needed another can.  I still didn't like the smell of the Citristrip, so I thought if I went with the  Klean Strip and just left it on longer I would get similar results.  Not so.

It was still gummy and took lots of work. The picture above is as best as I was able to do with the Klean Strip even after leaving it on for 2 hours.

So in the end this is what I discovered.

Citristrip was the winner.  It is does not cost that much more and works more efficiently.  You just need to remember to leave it on for 2 hours.  I did try and rush the wait time with Citristrip and it did not come off as clean.

I do however, prefer the smell of Klean Strip over Citristrip. 

Check back tomorrow to see the full result of the toy chest rehab.
-Laurie