[Doublej]

I have a very old house. The interior door trim appear to have been initially clear coated with something (shellac?) and then over time has had many layers of paint applied over the clear coat. The paint is now bubbling and separating from the trim in many places.

What are some methods to remove all of the paint from the door trim? If I did undertake this I would repaint the trim so the second question is if I get the paint off how do I properly prepare the surface for painting.

[JCarney]

Go to your local paint store, like a Kelly Moore, Kwal, Diamond Vogel, Sherwin Williams and so on. Depot and Lowes I think also carry them. Ask for Klean-Strip products, they work well. Wear gloves, long sleeve shirt, and eye protection because this stuff will irritate the skin. There are more powerful removers, but the caustic level goes up as well. Read and follow the directions, and you should get the results you are looking for. Do scrape off as much of the loose stuff that you can first without damaging the wood underneath, it will make for an easier job. There will be sanding after all the material has been removed and allowed to dry, but the sanding should be fairly easy. I owned and operated a painting business for 17 years and have well over 20 years experience in that field. I have used Klean-Strip many times, so I know it works. Make sure you have a bucket or small cardboard box to deposit the scraping into. Use a 3 inch putty knife for scraping.

Best of luck,
JCarney

[nlitworld]

House paint with Kleen Strip paint remover should be pretty easy. Now that it doesn't have the methyl chloride in it, it's a lot safer (but still super nasty) but it's also slightly slower. You shouldn't need to, but if you wanted to speed up the process, cover it in saran wrap when you smear it on. That'll keep it from evaporating and slightly cover the fumes a little. Still definitely windows open, fans blowing and probably a plastic floor cover for "in-case-shit" factor.

[WGH]

I agree with JCarney. I removed 70 years of paint from my interior doors, it all didn't come off all at once, many applications was required. Apply stripper, wait, scrape off gunk, re-apply, repeat as necessary.  It's amazing to see all the bad color choices people made over the decades.

The cheap strippers run off vertical surfaces, get the thick stuff. Doors are best stripped flat on a bench or sawhorses.

Old paint clogs sandpaper immediately, get as much paint removed as possible before sanding. That old paint probably has lead so try not to create clouds of paint dust if small kids are around. If you are old like me then something else will kill you before the lead dust will.

[Saturn94]

Be you may have lead paint and will want to remove it properly.

https://www.epa.gov/lead/lead-safe-renovations-diyers