In this tutorial we will refinish some Victorian trim. This trim has a couple of thick layers of finish on it. Our house was built around 1890 so we know that there is probably lead paint on this trim and extra precautions were taken.
Precautions: Open a window while stripping paint that may contain lead. Wear a respirator. Wear goggles. Wear protective gloves (this is especially important while using the liquid stripper product).
Setup. I like to work on a table that I make out of saw horses. This gives me multiple options for clamping. I clamp a piece of plywood across 2 saw horses and then clamp the trim to the plywood. I have different metal scrapers and a heat gun for the first step.
clamp trim to a work table
Step 1. Using the heat gun and a strong putty knife or scraper to scrape off the paint. I do this a couple of ways. On the first pass I pull off the 2 thick layers of paint. Then I do a second pass to get some of the older varnish/stain off as best I can.
heat gun and putty knife - the flat areas are really easy
Note: Keep your tools clean. If paint builds up on the back and “re-sticks” to the trim it will need to be removed again. This is a pain but I keep a separate scraper handy to clean my tools and I’ll switch between 3 tools as I’m going. When they get gunked up, I take a break to clean all three at once.
Get into the crevices
Keeping the tool hot can help keep it clean - I heat the tool and scrape it off on my work bench.
The paint really wants to come off
Note: Make sure to get all sides of the trim stripped with the heat gun (including any paint on the back).
Step 2: To remove a layer of varnish underneath and any paint that got gunked on from the tools, I go over the trim again with the heat gun and a wire brush.
Using a wire brush with the heat gun to get the varnish off
Here it is when I finished with the heat gun. Ready for step 2 of paint removal 
Done with the heat gun
Step 3: Paint on the liquid stripper over the whole trim (including sides).
IMPORTANT: Wear chemical strength protective gloves. What I’m wearing in the picture is not actually what I wore when doing the work. I have big orange heavy gloves. If you get the liquid stripper on your hands wash them immediately.
Paint on the liquid stripper with an old brush
Step 4: Let stripper sit for 15 minutes (follow directions on the can).
Let sit for 15 minutes (or whatever the stripper says)
Step 5: Put some mineral oil in a bucket and soak an old brillo pad in the mineral oil. Then run the mineral oil over the trim, scrubbing up the paint. It will gunk up the brillo pad, reapply mineral oil if it dries out.
brillo pad in mineral oil (see the gunk)
scrubbing with mineral oil
note: still wearing respirator for EVERY STEP
Step 6: Scrub the trim really well with a heavy duty wire brush. I found this thin long one worked really well to get into the crevices. If there is any paint stuck in a crevice, use the corner of a putty knife to dig it out and then run the wire brush over it again.
scrub with a wire brush
getting gunky
Step 7: Another wire brush. My thin one would get really gunked up (see picture above) so as a “final” coat I’d run a clean wire brush over the trim again, sure to get the sides really well.
another wire brush
And here it is – paint is stripped! Time for refinishing. First the trim must dry out for a while to make sure there is no reaction with the stripper or mineral oil and the new primer that will be used.
Paint all stripped
Soon to come:
Step 8: Fill any nail holes and imperfections with wood filler.
Step 9: Sand the trim. An orbital sander can be used for the flat spots (don’t forget to sand the back and sides). Sandpaper can be used to get into crevices and fingers work well for shaping sand paper into grooves.
Step 10: Brush off any dust. This is very important!
Step 11: Prime! A good oil based primer is key here.
Step 12: Paint. I also prefer to use oil based paint for trim, it hides brush strokes remarkable well. Unfortunately it’s getting harder to buy oil based paint but for now Benjamin Moore is still carrying it. We’re going with Linen white for our trim.