Door prep- Should I sand or use paint stripper?

Put some Kutzit on there and it will take all the paint off. I had to order this off of Amazon because I couldn't find a store that carries it. Follow the instructions because it does have a strong odor but it gets the job done.

Truthfully, I would strip it down. With four layers of paint, and it looks like it is not going to look very smooth if you paint it the way it is. It looks like an old sturdy door and should handle stripping it with out a problem. You never know, you may like the way it looks once it is bare wood. I did that with my kitchen cupboards in my first house in the eighties. We were going to strip and restain them because they had gotten so dark. When we stripped them, we loved the color and grain so much we just sealed them and put them back up!

strip it. If there was any lead paint in it's history you don't want to breath in sanding dust. Do wear a good fitting mask if if taking the rest of the finish off, and dispose of the stripped goop in a responsible manor.

If your looking for it to be perfect, stripper would get you closer, but those wood panels are pretty degraded and no amount of sanding will get it smooth. You will have to use a filler, and then sand to smooth.

Make sure your wearing a mask when sanding this door, its old enough that the paint is probably lead paint. Do it outside too.

I'm so glad you asked this question, because I too have an old 26" (i believe but could be smaller) closet door that I'm attempting to try and sand and paint. It's old as dirt but sturdier as all get out! And it just ain't happening. It's got yellow, and old light mint green color and white paint on it. Tomorrow I'm heading to Lowe's to get me some paint stripper and I can't wait. Good luck with your door and post pics when it's finished :)