I believe most people think of the Renofix as a hard core machine of destruction, which it can be of course. That being said, I have used it a number of times removing old paint on relatively delicate surfaces, in the latest case on redwood. Most recently my sister asked me to refinish her redwood deck railing. The Renofix stripped all the old paint off in seconds compared to my Rotex, that I used on the edges. You do need to sand after the Renofix, but this combo really speeds the process. I did disassemble the gate and removed all the pickets prior to using the Renofix.