With all the paint and varnish stripping products on the shelves, it can be hard to pick one! So we headed over to one of the closest hardware stores and picked up the first four paint/varnish strippers we saw and put them head to head. Note: before using any type of chemical solution to remove paint and/or varnish, please take the following safety precautions… chemical-resistant gloves, safety glasses/goggles, a mask, and try to ventilate the area to the best of your ability.
Let’s dive in! After letting the paint test strips dry for 24 hours, I went in with the four products and let them sit per the directions.
First on the list is, Klean Strip Green. This product is advertised as a low-odor paint and varnish stripper that is made with less solvents than other leading brands. My first impression, there wasn’t too much of a strong odor but this is a very thin product that beads up as soon as you apply it. This would not work with surfaces that are upright as it would most likely all run off. Per directions, I test-scraped after 30 minutes and well…I was disappointed to say the least! Half of it had dried up and it didn’t remove much of the paint. After those 30 minutes, I covered it with saran wrap in hopes that it would keep it somewhat saturated. After 2 hours, the stripper was completely dry but yielded almost the same results; hard to scrape.
Ending thoughts: you would need to apply a lot of this for it to really work, but it seems safe for indoor use.
Klean Strip Green is rated at 2/5 stars online.
Next up is the well-known, Citristrip. Advertised as the safe brand of removers that can be used indoors and has a pleasant orange smell. My first impression, I love the orangey smell but it wasn’t the easiest to apply. It’s very goopy and I had to apply more than I would’ve liked to. But, it does not run all over the place so this is great for upright surfaces! Per directions, I test scraped after 30 minutes, my scraper glided on the surface which was satisfying! It removed a good amount but I don’t think 30 minutes is sufficient. Most reviews I’ve seen, consumers let it sit for 2-24 hours. So, I covered it with saran wrap and came back after 2 hours. Same results were yielded, but if I had reapplied I believe a lot more paint would’ve been removed.
Ending thoughts: easy to scrape, didn’t dry up, goopy application, but you have to apply a good amount of product.
Citristrip is rated at 3.8/5 stars online.
Next, is Jasco Premium. Advertised as a paint and epoxy remover for wood, metal, and masonry. My first impression, this has an extremely strong odor so this should be used outdoors only or a well-ventilated area and the application process is a lot easier than the last two. It’s thinner than the Citristrip but not as thin as the Klean Strip Green. This product only needed to sit for 15 minutes before test stripping, the paint came up fairly easily but again more product would need to be applied. I covered it with saran wrap and came back 2 hours later to scrape again. Which actually ended up being a mistake as less paint came up. So this is a very fast-acting product that I wouldn’t let sit.
Ending thoughts: very strong odor, fast acting, dries up after a couple of hours.
Jasco Premium is rated at 3.8/5 stars online.
Last on our list is Klean Strip Premium. It’s advertised to remove paint, epoxy, and polyurethane from wood, metal, and masonry. My first impression. this was almost identical to Jasco in terms of odor, texture, and results. It was a tad thicker, but still easy to apply. Again, this is a product i’d recommend to use outdoors or in a well-ventilated area. This one also only needed to sit for 15 minutes before test scraping, but I would recommend letting it sit longer but NO longer than 2 hours as it dried up.
Ending thoughts: very strong odor, fast acting, dries after a couple hours.
Klean Strip Premium is rated at 3.8/5 stars online.
Out of these, which have you tried and liked the most? Do you have another brand that you prefer? Let us know your tips and tricks for paint stripping!
