Stripping an airplane is more work than you think. I did mine, and it
took
the best part of a year to get everything done (including etching and
alodining)- working on weekends. Saved me about $1000 on the paint
job. Would I do it again? No way. Of course, no doubt the second time
would go much quicker.

I looked into using the facilities of the Aircraft Paint & Prep Booth
in
Corona, CA. They rent them out to those who want to do it themselves.
After thinking it over, I concluded that all the time and expense of
staying there to do the job wasn't worth it. It may have been
different if I had lived nearby.

In the end I paid a shop to do the painting. IIRC it was about $4500
for
a ready-to-paint Cessna 182. They did a good job, and the paint has
held up well (this was about 6 years ago).

David Johnson