From a reply I posted a while back in response to a guy asking about
removing paint from a cabinet. I mention it in the post but please do
yourself (and others) a favor and make sure the paint is not lead-based
before you use heat or mechanical means to remove it.

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I have some experience here and I will provide what I have. I have and
have been working on an old house for some years now so paint
stripping is one of life's constants for me. Couple of observations I
have made (personal opinions and experience only so please keep the
flame-throwers in check)

1) Chemical strippers are frought with issues. The best chemical
stripper I have used is Peel-Away 1. It strips paint like nobody's
business but the watch word here is MESSY. The process is that you
smear it on, put a "special" paper on it, wait a while, peel off the
paper and the paint. You have to "neutralize it" after you are done
and you basically need to repaint as it stains the wood. Peel Away 7
is supposed to not require neutrilization and not stain wood but I
have never used it. The company says that it is perfectly safe but
you can hear it working. For my money, if I can hear a chemical
working then I am giving it it's distance and applying all sorts of
safety measures regardless of what the manufacturer tells me. There
are others, that are of varying degrees of effectiveness, mess,
hazard. MC-based ones seem really dangerous. Peel Away 6 doesn't
work worth a crap in my opinion.


2) Heat gun. If you are SURE the paint is oil-based and NOT
lead-based (this goes for all layers of paint) then a heat gun might
just be your best bet (assuming you are repainting). You just need a
good scraper, lots of time, and lots of patience. Watch for fire
though, especially if the cabinet is not free-standing and there is a
substrate behind it.


3) Sanding / mechanical removal. This is tough-love and I don't
recommend it for things with any appreciable amount of surface area.


4) There is a product call the SilentPaintRemover that is quite good.
I have one and am quite familiar with it's operation and can answer
questions if you have them. Web site is www.silentpaintremover.com.
I am unafiliated with the company but have only had positive
interaction with the product and the company.


This topic is discussed to death in old house forums, you might also
want to try there for more information.