Here is a brief glimpse into our varnish and paint stripping operation.  We do all of the stripping in the back of the shop. there are two long trays that most boats can fit into.  The first tray is in the background inside the building. that is where the chemical stripping is done.  The tray catches all the run off chemical and a pump runs it through a filter and  recycles it back into a tank to be used again.  The chemical stripper will loosen most of the varnish but it still needs to be scrubbed and worked at to get it all off.
After the chemical has done its job the boat is moved outside to the other tray where it is power-washed and scrubbed with fresh water to remove any chemical residue.  The run off from this tray is captured and pumped into a second tank where the water is heated to evaporate the residue chemical.

This is what it looks like working at the first stripping tray.  Heavy rubber gloves, a chemical suit,and a face respirator that has a fresh air hose are all needed for protection from the caustic stripper chemical.  Here I am scrubbing out the inside of a 16 ft Old Town Sea Boat.  All the interior bracing, seats and deck have been removed to allow access for the stripping.  Its physical difficult and completely unpleasant job that we swear we will never do again but somehow end up doing again every year!