With the heat gun running, point the nozzle at the work surface, keeping it about 2 inches away. Move the gun back and forth across the surface until the paint begins to bubble and blister. Stop if the finish begins to smoke!

Hold the putty knife at about a 30-degree angle and, use it like a plow to push the paint away. Avoid gouging the wood. Dump the softened paint sludge into an old coffee can as you work. Special paint scrapers with angled blades work better than most ordinary scrapers.

You'll want to go back over detailed areas with the heat gun, using a contoured scraper to get into narrow crevices.