I needed to strip the varnish off an old military stock and handguards

without damaging the cartouches left.  After talking to various people, I decided to try Citristrip.

That stuff works.  Tried it on the forward handguard first; brushed it on, let it sit about 15 minutes, then tried a plastic scraper on it.  The varnish was already melting and coming off.

So hit the rear handguard and the stock with it, let it sit about a half hour, and the stuff just scraped off.  Easily.  Used a cloth and some mineral spirits to clean the surface, and found a couple of places that still had some varnish; hit those spots again, scraped a while later, cleaned, and the wood looks great.  I'll let it dry a couple of days, then oil it.  Should look about original.

It's nice to find stuff that actually works.