Don't worry. I don't plan to eat it.

Heat gun and sharp scraper as far as you can, then Strypeeze.

Casey, I just got my first heat gun. What a great time to break it out.
In our 94-104 heatwave. LOL!
Strypeeze. I suppose that's phonetic?

Use the heat gun on low ONLY because of the lead content. Do NOT dry sand. DO isolate work area and take care to not allow any paint chips/dust out of the work area.

DO look up the RRP (Repair, Renovate, Paint) guidelines by the EPA.

Get a stripper with methylene chloride (aka dichloromethane) while they are still available. They've recently been banned because some folks can't read the instructions. Works way better than the safer alternatives -- you do, of course, need to use appropriate PPE and processes. Way better for lead than anything involving scraping, sanding, or heat, not that you'd get enough lead exposure to matter unless you're taking up furniture stripping as a career.

It might as well be my career. Contrary to assumptions I'm feeling, this ain't my first rodeo.

I thought I'd read MC had been banned, and the products I've been looking at are proud to pronounce "No Methylene chloride!"

I really love my Citristrip stuff because I can slather it on and forget it. Once, as long as about 6 weeks. Stuff continued to work dry. The paint came off with a plastic scraper like flour! It's exciting enough to peel off 6 or 7 layers of paint at once, or watch the stain turn into BBQ sauce and wash out of the wood, but dust? Too cool. I'm always disappointed that with really old paint it just doesn't do the trick.

I'll keep you helpful fellas posted! I'm off on Monday and plan to get started (on another project when I haven't finished the other 100).

The last gallon of Kutzit I bough like 2 yrs ago still was methylene chloride type, I would despair if that formula changed. Better see if I can get a 5 gallon can in some obscure warehouse.

IIRC, the Methyl Chloride strippers are only banned in certain areas/stores. I had no problem picking some up at my local Menards in Chicago a couple of weeks ago.

I'm stripping and refinishing wood windows. First I use a dewalt variable temp heat gun (the Harbor Freight special put in a laudable 80 hours before dying). Then I chemically strip using the 15-minute, flesh-eating stripper. Wash with denatured alcohol and steel wool.

And yeah, as much personal care as I can, respirator, venting the space, etc..

Hm.
I haven't (evil) chemical stripped in years. It's so primitive to go back to all this hoo-ha. But, stripping "primitive" woodwork evidently needs a primitive stripper.

I was all over HD and Lowe's this weekend. I found that everything on the shelves (except Soygel and Citristrip) have MC in it. The question is now, what's the difference between strippers? The carrier? I did want a paste vs. liquid, so that was clear. Some say clean up with soap and water, a few neutralize with Mineral Spirits.

I forgot already what I bought, but will report back. It might be a GooGone product. They're into strippers now.

Peel Away by Dumond Chemicals.

Down to bare wood on 1840s millwork in one shot.

I did get lead poisoning from burning off the paint with a heat gun in another project, I was wearing gloves but they were latex gloves like a doctor wears, not utility gloves and they got holes in them quickly and I did not pay much attention. I did wear a respirator.

Hm. Thanks for both details, palimpsest.

I found that all the gloves HD and Lowe's sell are not recommended for MC. Lead, yes, MC, no.

I still can't get past that the city of Arlington, VA let a developer tear down and entire block of 1800s homes. This being the gate house for the mansion that was just, already gone. Thank goodness for a packrat demo guy, who can't stand losing all that history, either. and Craig's List. Thank goodness for Craig's list. LOl!

You don’t have to eat lead for it to poison you. Lead can be absorbed through the skin, and the vapors generated by a heat gun can cause it to be absorbed through the lungs and skin.

You should get your blood tested now, and periodically through the project.

Lead poisoning is no joke. You must use PPE, and dispose of the debris properly.

It seems you all feel others live in a vacuum and don't research, don't read, let alone have any experience. I appreciate the dire warnings, but getting past that, I'm more interested in practical suggestions, since all that is not something of which I'm unware. Nor uninformed. As I said, this isn't my first rodeo.

Hopefully someone who actually might do a search for answers might read this and find it new, helpful information. But someone actually doing a search vs. posting the same question answered 10 million times is very slim.

Nonetheless....

I usually use a heat gun on low to remove as much as possible before moving on to chemical strippers. One of the issues I run into is keeping the scraper clean so I don't spread gooey paint residue. I use a sturdy container to collect scrapings and run a piece of thin wire very tight across the center which makes a place to pull the scraper across to keep it clean. Also, if you have a lot of trim to strip, treat yourself to a new molding stripper, either the kind with interchangeable blades and a file in the handle or a longer handled pull scraper - definitely worth the $15 to $20 cost.

I had tingling of the extremities, particularly my fingers, because they were what was in contact with the vapors and the paint scrapings . It was transient, mild and had no long-term effects.

I like Peel Away

Peel-away is fine if you're stripping to repaint, BUT, being a caustic super-high pH compound, it will permanently alter the color of woods from pine to oak, cherry, etc.. I have used it and similar lye-based strippers, but learn all of its characteristics and tendencies before plunging in.

The bright orange rubber gauntlets they sell as "stripping gloves" will last a while. The black neoprene gauntlets I have always found to be so heavy I very quickly get a carpal tunnel-like pain and cramping from the force I have to exert to use my thumbs in them.

This pattern of scraper I have found to be the best for use with the heat gun, it is hard to clog and easy to clear. I've been heat-gunning for 33 years.

OP, what is your original, first layer on that wood? Have you tested it yet with a heat gun? Reason I ask is if its shellac, and if its mostly a reasonably thick layer, you will find that that first layer melts like butter and will take away all the top layers with it. Then you would use denatured alcohol + steel wool to remove the remaining paint /shellac residue.

That really is the best way, and would elimimate your need for the toxic strippers and not leave the wood color blotchy like the harsh strippers do. The shellac will have protected the wood from paint getting stuck into the pores and thus require not a lot of sanding to smooth. If youre lucky they did a bad job prepping/sanding and theres still a lot of shellac in good condition! If so only another new layer of shellac is needed.

if you just slap stripper right onto multiple layers of paint then that can create a mess as the paint + shellac + stripper combine into one big goopy mess which gets into the pores requiring a lot of work to get it out (incl sanding).

If shellac was NOT the first layer, then the paint likely has gone deep into the wood pores and if so - you may want to simply repaint (although its worth removing the layers to get a good paint surface)

These are the <gloves> I use when using M-C stripper. I have no idea where I got them, but they're awesome and I somehow have them in a very small size which fits my hands.

When I use the heat gun, I use a pair of leather welding gloves that seem to be okay.

from this old house

https://youtu.be/oR20LbydCYo

I've stripped miles and miles of trim in my house restoring the woodwork to the original finish. First in regards to the lead if you use common sense, keep the area that you are working clean and clean up after each work session you'll be fine. As far as products my favorite chemical stripper is Soy Gel by Franmar. It's a Soy based paint stripper without the caustic chemicals. As far as techniques the best success I've had is to use heat to remove the bulk of the existing paint. You can use either a heat gun or an infrared paint remover. After the bulk removal clean up the leftovers with denatured alcohol. If the clean up isn't successful then break out the stripper and use that to clean up the remaining paint. Doing the bulk removal before the chemical stripper makes the stripping process a lot cleaner.

A lot depends on the condition of the original finish before it was painted and how it was prepped for painting. Ideally the original finish will simplify the removal process. You'll have to experiment on techniques that work best for your specific conditions. Good Luck!

sacto_diane, I've done miles and miles of antique doors from the late 1800s to early 20th century, so I think we're coming from the same POV.

I prefer Citristrip, but I find on really, really old stuff, it doesn't do much. I like the fact I can rub it on like hand cream and get ancient stain and crap off my hands without removing the skin.

I appreciate the input. I'll let you all know how it goes when I get off my butt and start.
Right now I'm veneering my maple cabinets into gorgeous white oak. LOVING IT!