Professional Strength Paint and Varnish Stripper - 1 Gallon - Strips Paint, Latex, Polyurethane, Shellac, Varish, Acrylic and More - No Methylene Chloride No NMP Powerful No Drip Gel Formula

I could not have completed this project without this product, due to arthritis in my hands. Here is how I used it, based on other reviewers recommendations. I placed cardboard and/or paper down on the carpeting under this cabinet to keep it protected from the damp paint that came loose during this process. Here are the steps I used. 1. I wore nitrile gloves to keep my hands safe. 2) After emptying it of its contents, I thoroughly cleaned the china cabinet. It had a very old, shiny, faux gold with wood grain, paint effect under a heavy gloss varnish. There were at least four coats of paint, including black three layers down, and a wood stain, likely original from when the piece was first sold. 2. I applied this product to one small area at a time (the top, one side at a time, one surface at a time...you get the idea). I tried to paper and tape the glass, but that didn't work. The product was absorbed into the paper. I just cleaned the glass with left over product after the project was completed (I used heavy duty nail polish remover in tiny, hard to reach areas). 3. I used a sponge or towel to apply the product. I applied to an area of the cabinet about the size of a paper towel. I used a spray bottle to dampen a paper towel. I placed the damp paper towel over the product. I used painter tape to seal plastic wrap over the paper towel. After about 30 mins. I checked to make sure the paper towel was still damp. If it wasn't, I misted it with water again and returned the plastic over it. I repeated this as necessary in areas that were tougher to tackle (there were a few, especially at the beginning of the project, and the inside of the top of the cabinet was awkward. I had to do a few spots more than twice). After about an hour from first applying the product, I used a scraper to simply slide ALL of the layers of varnish, paint and stain off. It was amazing. I needed two bottles of this to complete the inside and outside of the china cabinet. The smell wasn't unpleasant. Not chemical. I did use a fan (which was why I started checking the paper towels were still damp every 30 mins or so) and was right next to an open window for ventilation. The fan was not facing the cabinet, but its effect was enough to start to dry the paper towels more than once. I tried another product that has a citrus base that has a smell I cannot tolerate. I prefer this product in every conceivable way. It is easy to use. It is safe. I like the size as I cannot handle heavy containers. This product sticks to the surface well, especially vertical surfaces, when using the damp paper towel covered with plastic wrap method. I never would have been able to tackle this project if I had needed to use elbow grease. I needed a few different sized scrapers, because there were very narrow, as well as rounded areas in the cabinet. I had some clay shaping tools that worked really well for this. I also used paper towels when removing the ribbons of paint layers that were coming off. That was sticky and messy. I went through a lot of nitrile gloves and paper towels, but both were critical to my success. Use the thicker quality gloves (6 mil or more), not the cheapest (3 mil). Overall, this is my go-to product now. I am eyeing lots of other pieces of furniture that won't be devalued by stripping, and will look so much better in their natural state. As a follow up. I cleaned this cabinet with Old English wood oil. It is an old but effective wood cleaner I've used for decades. Photo 1 shows the ugly gold paint still present inside on the bottom shelf of the cabinet. The whole thing looked like that. Photo 2 shows the new improved cabinet after stripping and then applying Old English Wood Oil. I did not add a stain. I'm very pleased with the results. Now I can fill it back up with my china.

Bought it more than one time. I refurbished couple of furniture pieces with this. Takes the varnish off just make sure to follow instructions for an optimal removal

I had been using Citristrip (stripping kitchen cabinets, 1st time user, brand new to this)...I'm doing my entire kitchen by myself. I'm working on 2 doors at a time. Citristrip was working great but I wanted to look at other alternatives, so I read reviews & they all said no smell & worked easy. NOT!! I applied 2 coats as per directions, covered in plastic wrap, 6hrs later the finish still wasn't coming of AT ALL! See 3 pics attached. 1st pic is AFTER 6 hrs & you can see the few little places where minimal amount scraped off. 2nd pic is what plastic wrap looked like (I was hopeful...but then disappointed) 3rd pic is 1 application of Citristrip. Throughout the day, the smell of MAX STRIP seemed to get stronger & smell chemical like. Returning this product, already got the code. I'm irritated I wasted an entire day & got absolutely no work done on my kitchen. I rarely leave reviews...so either has to blow my mind & exceed expectations OR be a complete dud. Obviously this falls into dud. I'd give it zero stars if I could, especially for the $39 price. I thought I was going to breeze through my whole kitchen in one container which would've been cheaper than Citristrip but I'll stick with Citristrip, lesson learned!!

I’ve used a different brand citrus paint remover in the past and decided to try this one for a change. I had to strip paint off of two small China closet doors. This product requires that it isn’t left to dry — it must stay covered in plastic wrap — and when finished the wood must be washed with water before sanding or painting because the active ingredient continues to work after scraping. It feels like added steps with mediocre results even after two applications. It does the job a little more laboriously than its competitors.

I was thrilled by the overnight delivery and the size and container the product came in. The solution was smooth and went on fine. I was not previously aware that the product requires a plastic film over the product to keep it from drying out too quickly . I had to use wax paper since it was all I had available. I found it to be messy and a hassle. My project was a very tall and large sized wood closet. I think a smaller item would have been much easier and not so challenging by using film over the stripper instead of using wax paper. I was happy at first to notice no odor. There were areas on the closet with a texture spray over the base paint. It took a lot longer before it could strip off. The painted only areas stripped off easily. The longer the product was on a strong noxious odor occurred. I was in the basement and complaints from upstairs were heard about how bad it smelled all through the house despite the window I opened. In all fairness I wonder if the texture spray was creating the odor as it softened rather than the product. I like the water and soap clean up of tools. I look forward to experimenting by using plastic film next time and stripping paint only and see if odor does not occur. I expect much faster results using plastic film next time over common paint only. I found it to be a hassle. When I first began using the product I was delighted to notice no odor. It took quite a while before I could strip off the paint and by then I noticed a noxious smell. I was working in the basement and opened a window for ventilation. I wonder if the nubby texture spray over the base paint coat was the reason for the smell because it was tough to scrape off compared to areas that were only painted. The paint alone came off great

I’ve been working on restoring a little house that’s been layered in over a hundred years of paint, and this varnish remover has been a lifesaver. I used it on old door knobs that were coated in what felt like a bazillion layers of thick paint, and it cut right through it. Instead of spending hours sanding or scraping, the remover softened the paint enough to peel it off with ease. It saved me time, frustration, and probably the metal underneath too. I honestly don’t know how I would have managed without it — this made the job doable and even satisfying. If you’re working on an older home or furniture piece, this is worth every penny.

very easy to work with, the best stripper I have ever used, I wish I had done more research about two hundred projects ago.......

It loosened the paint mildly, maybe more accurately it seemed to remove the top layer sort of making the paint on the chair thinner. I had started sanding a wood chair and then decided to try this to finish to avoid hours more of sanding this chair and 3 other chairs too. I followed directions and tried and it made a goopy mess with some paint removal, but didn’t take all the paint. It did help a little but I had to redo the process so many times. What it really did was remove enough paint/thin out the paint. where sanding the rest was slightly easier, but didn’t take off the paint as I was hoping. I bought a paint removal tool to use to scrape the paint after it soaks in this paint removal, so now I’ve invested all this money for pretty much nothing. By the time I ordered it and got around to trying it my return window closed of course so now I’m stuck with a giant gallon of paint remover that didn’t work