Lung stripper...!

Whoa!  Be forewarned about chemical strippers - they are highly toxic and the fumes will go right to your head!  When I crawled up under the bow and started painting this stuff on, I had to retreat pretty quick cuz it was just seconds before I began to feel the effects.The other thing about the chemical stripper is that you definitely want good rubber gloves, and be very careful to not get it onto your skin or it will start to burn.

First thing this morning I pulled the boat out of the garage and onto the gravel driveway; then started to take off parts and remove the seats.  I noticed that the brass pieces were still in really good condition, but that steel screws, for example, were pretty rusty and will have to be replaced.  I'll probably get as much brass stuff as practical, or at least galvanized steel.  The brass screws and bolts came out easily, but the rusty steel stuck and stripped out the hole as it was coming out.

Once all the seats were out, a shop vac was really handy to get all the loose paint chips and dirt and pine needles out of the boat.  It really seemed like I was making a lot of progress pretty quick.

After smearing the stripper on and letting it work for awhile, it seemed that it was going after the paint and bubbling it up a lot faster than it was eating the varnished parts.  I'm guessing that tells me something about the difference in wood protection between paint and varnish.  The varnish really seemed to be stuck tight to the wood.

The label says to wait 15-30 minutes and then start scraping the loosened finish off with a plastic putty knife.  It will probably be a good break to get away from it too and breathe some fresh air and load back up on coffee.

Something tells me that the hard part is about to begin.  Or maybe the harder part, and it just keeps getting harder?  At least it's getting me out into the beautiful spring weather.  It still freezes here overnight, but the days are up into the 60's F, which is well nigh tropical up here in the northwoods!

Well, here's hoping your project is going well.  I'll be back with another report later.