Stripping old paint wash

[KatherineFay]

I brought a dining table - hope to post pics soon. Think it's English oak, dark brown timber underneath. It cost $100 but been quoted $3000 to strip and restore to just plain timber with no finish. He is a professional restorer for 50+ years. But I wanna have a go myself?! It has a varnish that had colored paint put into it. You can scrape it away with a screw driver and it reveals the timber underneath. He said it's English oak. It's legs are fat and detailed. Can someone point me to a post so I can get this thing started. I will do the top first. Should I use the 'gel-like' stripper or can I just sand it off?
Any help will be good..

[burraboy]

Gel strippers are good, but if you can remove a lot of the old finish, using a heat gun gently to avoid burning, it will be a lot cheaper. Apic or two would help.

[F_Peter]

Apply the gel stripper very thickly and put newspaper over the top to trap the chemicals and vapors in the paint. Use a scraper to remove the finish but do not press heavily as you do not want to gouge the surface. If the paint will not budge then repeat. After it has thinned out you can finish with steel wool and gel stripper.

Clean with methylated spirits and steel wool.