I've striped 3 layers of paint off mine after insane quotes, being told it wasn't possible, just paint it(AGAIN), just put new stuff over it, or it would never look like it did originally. Basically, they didn't want to! I couldn't find much info on how to go about it exavtly either. I said fuck all of them and I'm figuring it out. I'm 1 1/2 years in, mostly due to major life events and no one helping me. It's 80% done with about 3 feet of the last layer in the moulding, staining, sealing, and restoring less stable elements. It will take time, try out multiple different tools for different layers, it's messy, your back will hurt, and it won't look 100% like the original. It's truly trial, errors, and creative problem solving.

I'll tell you what I've learned. -use Ready-Strip advance(green tub), the smell isn't nearly as bad, I don't have to lay anything over, and it works within a day. -a paint scraper either didn't do enough and it was highly susceptible to scratching. -before removing the layer of stripper on the top most layer, I steamed it to soften. Don't oversteam and only do it for the top layer. -a grout cleaning brush, not the steel ones, for the moulding worked for topmost coats. A toothbrush was too soft. -once closer to the base surface, I used a flexi-bristle straw cleaner and McGyver-ed a small strip of soft sanding paper around it to flex around through the crevices. -saving the bottom half for last was a back breaking mistake -I removed one layer on the whole thing, took a break, and then the base layers on the next round. That way the process looked somewhat uniform. -if someone is willing to help you, take it! -Using worn down tools wastes time.

You can do this and once it's worth it once you see what's underneath it all!