The fire surrounds in my house were painted in white gloss,before I moved in a few years ago.
Over the years I often wondered what was underneath that boring paint.Recently curiousity got the better of me and I decided that I was going to remove the old paint.
I began with a hand held paint stripper,but soon began to realise that this wasnt going to be an easy job.There must have been at least six coats of paint to chip through,I had blisters within three hours.

A trip to Argos saved the day.
I came home with a Black And Decker cd-400
orbital sander to try on this mamouth job.
And boy did this do the trick !!!
Its a basic model,ideal for flat surfaces. But my fire surround has got some detailed bits,so I just tilted the sander slightly to sand in between them,I did need to have a firm grip as the sander tended to slip while doing this.

This sander came with a dust extraction bag which fits on the back,this cuts down most of the dust which usually makes me sneeze.The instruction manual was very clear to follow.The sander is 135 watts,sorry but that doesnt mean much to me,maybe it will to you.
Starting off with the roughest grain sand paper,I couldnt believe the speed it took the paint off.I then used the finest sand paper which left it super smooth.Sanding sheets can be bought from most DIY outlets about five sheets for £3-4.
Lastly some Dutch oil was rubbed in to the bare wood and the end result was I now have an oak fire surround to be proud of.

I would say that this sander at least halved the time I would have had to spend doing the job by hand.
I did find it rather noisy and it only came with one sanding sheet,which was a bit skimpy.But it does do the job.
It didnt cost an arm and a leg either at £17.50.It also comes with a two year guarantee.