Removing Colored Paint or Varnish From Jars, Canisters, or Vases

I found these three green jars at a second hand store awhile back. It was just before Christmas and I loved that they were different sizes than the one I already had. 

I have had one filled with marbles for a few years now. It is full and I have lots of different colored glass marbles and different shaped glass "drops" they use for center pieces or sprinkled on the tables at weddings etc. 


I actually had lots of bluish ones that we did use for Princess One's wedding. I thought it would be fun to put different colored ones in each jar. 

Problem with that is that one is clear and the other three were green mostly but had some scrapes on them that took off the green varnish / paint and left clear spots as you can see in the picture.
 
I needed a fast way to take off the paint / varnish so that I could have four clear jars to put the marbles in. 

The kids have played with the marbles for years making shapes out of them on the floor and so the girls thought that filling them with the different colored marbles was a great idea. 
 
I have several pictures of them with the decoration on the floor but don't want to take the time to search for them all but here is one Princess Four made for a "reflections" contest for the PTA.  

Both Princess Four and Five were happy to help me sort the colors into different jars once I had the paint off of them. You can see them sorting in the pictures. 

They jars actually came out really cute and I know the grand children will have as much makings shapes on the carpet as my girls did with their cousins. It is nice that I have space to put all the different colors I have used in the past for different things. 
 
Basically, use a paint brush and wear gloves. Purchase some type of "paint remover" as you can see I used "Strypeeze" brand shown in the photo above. I like this one because it is a gel more than liquid. It is pasty and goes on thick enough to then make it so I don't need to do multiple coats. 
 
You paint the product on the painted surface and allow it to sit and bubble for a few minutes depending on temperature and wind etc. Once it bubbles, you can take a scraper or a rag with water and wash off the jar. 

MAKE SURE YOU DON'T DO THIS ON A FINISHED SURFACE OR NEAR ANYTHING WITH A PAINTED SURFACE INCLUDING A CAR! 

This will strip paint or varnish off of anything. DON'T get it on your skin or clothes! Make sure you wear "work clothes" so you don't ruin good clothes. It WILL burn skin so wear sleeves, eye protection and gloves!

You may need to do a second coat if you didn't get enough coating on the first try. Just paint a little more on and let it sit and then wipe clean! I do this on newspaper usually and then just roll up all the old paint, varnish and stripping product and throw it away. Be careful to not leave rags with it anywhere as they can combust. I usually put the newspapers into the outside trash and move the can far from the house when using anything that could be combustible just in case it did catch on fire. We have a company in town that burnt down due to this a few years back.        
 
Watch the video and feel free to ask any questions you may have on this. I like how the jars came out and think it is a cute set! It really can do any type of glass or metal container. It will eat plastic so don't try it on that.