Calling all home DIYers! We've put the top brand paint strippers through their paces, so you can buy in confidence. From their efficiency and affordability to their safety considerations, we'll guide you through the pros and cons, helping you find the perfect paint stripper for your next home improvement project.
What is the best paint stripper?
When it comes to choosing the best paint stripper for wood, there are two main options available – solvents and heat guns.
- Paint strippers are solvents that come as a liquid, gel or paste that softens the paint for easy removal. They’re ideal for removing paint from wood on large projects, such as doors, as well as curved shapes and fine details, like mouldings. Using paint stripper on rounded surfaces and tight areas is often easier and more effective than sanding. Solvent strippers can be quite fast-acting and work in as little as 15 to 30 minutes and can remove as many as 15 layers of paint.
- Heat guns work by directing a jet of hot air at the painted surface, which causes the paint to loosen, blister and bubble from the wood, making it easy to remove with a metal scraper. Heat guns are also effective at taking off varnish and other finishes and they’re especially good at taking off multiple layers of paint all at once. You can also use them for other DIY jobs, such as thawing frozen pipes and loosening rusted steel. Heat guns usually cost more to buy than solvent strippers, but if you’re renovating your home and you have a lot of paint to remove, then they can work out a more economical choice in the long run.
Tried and tested | Which paint stripper and heat gun performed best on test?
How we tested the paint stripper and heat guns
We put three heat guns and two solvent strippers to the test by removing six layers of oil-based paint from a wooden surface.
- Best overall - Von Haus 2000W heat gun | Buy now from Amazon (£19.99)
- Best solvent paint stripper - Barrettine Paint Panther paint and varnish remover | Buy now from Wood Finishes Direct (from £8.57)
- Best budget buy - No Nonsense paint and varnish stripper | Buy now from Screwfix (£8.99 for 500ml)
The best paint strippers for 2024
Heat guns
VonHaus 2000W paint stripper heat gun
Score 9/10
Pros
- Excellent results
- Comes with four useful attachments
- Built-in stand
Cons
- Would benefit from a longer cable
At a glance: Vertical resting base for cooling | automatic shut off function | glass protection nozzle | air spreader nozzle | concentrator nozzle | reflector nozzle |hanging hook | 2 heat settings | voltage: 220 – 240V | power: 2000W | weight: 0.75kg | cable Length: 1.8m
At just £21.99 with a two-year warranty and four handy attachments, it’s a must-have for your tool kit.
What features does the VonHaus heat gun have?
This heat gun was light and comfy to use with an ergonomically designed double grip handle.
As well as stripping paint and varnish it can be used for thawing frozen pipes, loosening rusted steel and adhesive, bending plastics, heat-shrinking and removing stuck-down vinyl flooring. It features two operating temperatures – 350°C and 550°C for targeted heat application, which you can adjust using the switch on the handle.
This gun comes with four nozzles for targeted application:
- The glass protection nozzle directs controlled heat onto the target area whilst shielding surrounding elements from the heat making it ideal for use on painted wooden windows or door frames. The air spreader nozzle directs a long, narrow heat pattern to the work surface, which is handy when removing paint or varnish from large, flat surfaces, such as skirting boards, doors and stairs.
- The concentrator nozzle directs a concentrated heat flow to the work surface, which is perfect when you’re removing paint from awkward corners, crevices, mouldings, beading or architraves.
- The reflector nozzle disperses the heat flow evenly around the whole work surface, so it’s great for jobs like defrosting frozen pipes, bending plastics or heat shrinking electrical insulating tubing.
- The gun heats up quickly in just 1.5 seconds and also comes with an automatic shut off function for safe operation, plus it’s designed with a flat base so you can stand it on its end to allow it to cool down safely. There’s even built-in hook so you can hang the gun up in your toolshed once you’re finished.
Does it strip paint well?
This gun gave really fast, and very satisfying, results. The surface of the paint bubbled up really quickly and was very easy to remove with a scraper tool to reveal a paint-free surface underneath.
Is it good value for money?
This gun offers incredible value for money. At just £21.99 with a two-year warranty and four handy attachments, it’s a must-have for your tool kit.
Black & Decker 1750W heat gun
Score 7/10
Pros
- Lightweight
- Long cable
- Handy built-in stand
Cons
- Lack of attachments
At a glance: Built-in stand for hands-free applications and cooling | 2 heat and airflow settings | voltage: 230V | power 1750W | weight: 0.62kg | cable length: 2m
...this is great value for money and ideal for DIYers on a budget.
What features does the Black & Decker heat gun have?
This heat gun was light and comfortable to use for long periods of time and is suitable for stripping paint, varnish and adhesive. It can also be used for other jobs, such as thawing frozen pipes or loosening rusted nuts.
It has two heat and airflow settings for more control in different applications which can be adjusted at the flick of a switch on the handle.
We particularly liked the built-in stand, which allows you stand the gun up to cool off when you’ve finished using it.
Does it strip paint well?
Even though the paint didn’t bubble up when the heat gun was applied, it softened the paint very well, allowing us to scrape the paint away easily with a scraper tool. It took a little while for the paint to soften, rather than giving instant results, but overall, we felt it did a good job.
Is it good value for money?
At just £19.98 with a one year warranty, this is great value for money and ideal for DIYers on a budget.
Ryobi 18V One+ cordless heat gun bare
Score 5/10
Pros
- Cordless
- Comes with two attachments
Cons
- Heavy to use
- Expensive
At a glance: Cordless | built-in LED light | concentration nozzle | reflector nozzle | voltage: 18V | weight: 0.6kg without battery, 1kg with battery
...although it comes with a two-year warranty, we felt it was quite expensive for the results it gave.
What features does the Ryobi 18V+ cordless heat gun have?
This cordless battery-powered heat gun can also tackle tasks including car window tinting, heat shrink tubing and soldering copper pipes. Because it’s cordless, it means you can use this heat gun outside without the need to be tethered by a power cord, which is handy if you’re working in the garden.
It’s compact size makes it ideal for working in tight spaces, but we felt it was quite heavy to use once the battery pack was attached, making our arms ache with prolonged use.
In order to get this gun to work you need to press the unlock button before squeezing the trigger, but we found this was a bit fiddly and awkward to do, especially if you have small hands.
This gun takes 60 seconds to heat up to 470 ⁰C, which was slower to get to temperature than other models we tested.
The gun has a built-in LED work light, but we felt it was a little low down to illuminate the area we were working on.
The gun comes with a concentrator nozzle for removing paint from fiddly areas, such as mouldings or architraves, and a reflector nozzle for jobs like thawing frozen pipes, bending plastics or heat shrinking electrical insulating tubing etc.
Does it strip paint well?
It took a while for the paint to soften up when the heat gun was applied, but it did eventually soften enough to allow us to scrape the paint away with a scraper tool.
Is it good value for money?
If you don’t already own a Ryobi battery (and charger), you need to spend quite a lot of money to get up and running with this heat gun. The bare gun costs £95.99, while the battery and charger kit costs £91.99. So, although it comes with a two-year warranty, we felt it was quite expensive for the results it gave.
Solvents
Barrettine Paint Panther paint and varnish remover
Score 9/10
Pros
- Works in just 15 minutes
- Gave great results
- Good coverage
Cons
- High VOC level
- Inner cap was fiddly to remove
At a glance: Suitable for use on concrete, metal, stone and wood, suitable for carvings, furniture, veneers & mouldings, interior and exterior use, trade strength formula, thick gel clings to vertical surfaces and strips most types of household paints including hammer finishes
We felt it gave fantastic value for money as it was really quick and easy to use and gave brilliant results.
This methylene chloride-free paint remover had a thick gel-like consistency, which makes it ideal for using on vertical surfaces, such as doors and window frames.
However, it has a high VOC level and had a strong chemical smell, so you need to make sure the room you are working in is well ventilated. You need to work on an area of less than 0.5m2 at a time to prevent the product from drying out before you have time to remove it.
Does it strip paint well?
Although we struggled to remove the inner cap, meaning we had to pierce it in the end to access the product, this paint stripper gave really excellent results.
Once applied with a brush, we left the product on the painted surface for 15 minutes, but it started working almost immediately, with the paint blistering before our eyes.
The paint was really easy to lift away with a scraper tool, and once all the paint was removed, we just needed to wipe the surface down with water.
A 1-litre can will treat approximately 3m2, so you could strip two sides of a standard door, depending on the amount of paint layers it had.
Is it good value for money?
This product costs £19 for a 1-litre can and comes with a one-year warranty. We felt it gave fantastic value for money as it was really quick and easy to use and gave brilliant results.
No Nonsense paint and varnish stripper
Score 8/10
Buy from Screwfix (£8.99 for 500ml)
Pros
- Gave excellent results
- Biodegradable
Cons
- Takes at least an hour to work
At a glance: Suitable for most surfaces, except vinyl and textiles | interior and exterior use | clings to vertical surfaces | biodegradable
...we felt this paint remover offered great value for money, making it ideal for DIYers on a budget.
This non-methylene chloride stripper has a non-caustic formulation and didn’t have an overpowering chemical smell.
It can be used to remove paint and varnish from most surfaces and is suitable for use both indoors and outside, so ideal if you want to strip paint from your shed, garden furniture or window frames.
Its thick consistency helps it cling to vertical surfaces, such as window frames and doors.
Does it strip paint well?
After applying a generous coat of the product to the painted surface we left it to work for an hour. The manufacturer recommends applying a second coat after an hour, but we found we didn’t need to.
Although the paint hadn’t visibly blistered, it came away really easily when we used a scraper, leaving no fiddly bits behind.
Once all the paint was removed, we wiped the surface down with water to finish. One litre of this stripper can cover one square metre of surface.
Is it good value for money?
At just £8.99 with a one-year guarantee we felt this paint remover offered great value for money, making it ideal for DIYers on a budget.
Looking for practical advice on stripping paint? We've put together easy-to-follow guides on how to use paint stripper and how to use a heat gun.We've also been busy testing the best paint brushes, best wood primer, best white emulsion and best washable paint, as well as curating buyer's guides to find the best anti-mould paint, best exterior wood paint, best paint for kitchen cabinets. Click here, to check out all our paint-related content.
