I bought a heavy plastic jug of eco-friendly paint stripper last Tuesday. The label specifically said it smelled like fresh citrus and was completely safe to use in an enclosed space without a respirator. It actually smells like old oranges mixed with gasoline.
I tried using it on the thick baseboards in the guest bedroom. My yellow heat gun was taking way too long and my wrist hurt. I brushed a thick white layer of the gel onto the wood and covered it with thin plastic wrap exactly like the manufacturer suggested. I left it there overnight.
When I pulled the plastic off the next morning, the top layer of white gloss was bubbling nicely. The three layers of dark brown paint underneath were completely solid. I tried to scrape it with a metal knife anyway. The chemicals just turned the top layer into a thick sticky paste. The paste immediately coated my putty knife and hardened. I could not just wipe it off with a paper towel. I spent forty minutes trying to clean the metal blade in the kitchen sink with heavy dish soap. Now my kitchen sink smells like gasoline too.
I put the cap back on the jug and shoved it into the back of a closet. I went back to sitting on the floor with the heat gun. The gun makes my hands cramp and it takes a full hour to strip a single foot of trim. But at least the paint actually comes off in dry chips instead of turning into permanent glue.