About three years ago I stripped a heavy oak table. It had been varnished, polyurethaned, waxed and god knows what. It had teeth marks, an imprint of a plastic covering and many other sins. It took two coats of strippers to even raise a bubble. After about 60 hours, it was ready. Fine glass paper, brushing and white spirit, then waxing. It was beautiful. It is almost 100 years old.
Our daughter came to stay and remarked on the new dining table, the same table she spent her upbringing eating off and playing on.
Head swollen, I retired from DIY and have paid someone ever since.