Anyone have any advice on paint strippers?

I am dreaming of taking these handrails down to the bare wood… I absolutely love our handrails and can’t wait to see them without the paint! The arch on the other hand… Well I’m not as excited about working on that.

And we also want to strip the fireplace surround (here it is in earlier days). We tried citristrip on some places upstairs but I think we need something more industrial (aka toxic) for this job!