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Forget stripping it. Give it a good scrub with a scotch-brite pad, spray it and be done with it. It's a beaut.

Instead of paying someone to powder coat it, I suggest you spray paint it yourself. Krylon makes a lot of textured paints that work really beautifully with 50's steel furniture.

It is what it is - Let it be and enjoy it.

Getting the bare metal look on this is no problem. I have done it a half dozen times with vintage chairs, a dental cabinet and some old lights.

Chemical paint strippers might work part of the way, but you are going to need to do some sanding either way. I find sander heads on a 4 inch right angle grinder are the best way to get the tough stuff off. I also like to use a very heavy sanding disk to create a little swirl pattern in the metal.

The key is the right finish, and 3-4 coats. You need stuff made for bare metal, and you need to prep the surface. Diamond Clear from Eastwood.com is the best clear coat I have found for bare metal. The also have surface washers.

Good luck.

I have stripped and sanded metal cabinets. It's not terribly hard, just time consuming. Because you don't know what the finish on the metal is, you've got to use the noxious stripping goo that will take off anything. Follow the instructions on the bucket o' goo, wear gloves and a ventilator. When you're down to bare metal it will probably look dark grey rather than shiny silver - you can stop there and seal it if that's the look you want. You'll need a belt sander and a bit of of patience to bring up a satin finish on the raw steel. One of those little 'mouse' sanders is good to have for getting into the tight spots. If you're really hardcore you can get a more polished finish by going over the piece again with fine steel wool. It's important that you do the sanding on a non-humid day, brush away any minute metal filings from the surface, and seal your piece immediately with oil-based satin polyurethane to avoid rust.

Make sure to wear gloves. Miosture from your hands can start the rusting effect. I was lucky enough to find mine already sanded down and sealed. Metal furniture can be tricky to work with but the end result can be awesome.

I would also recommend just painting it. Much easier than the alternative.

Good luck!

The powder-coat guy I know of is down the Cape.

I know little about them except they're a family-owned company, but Feeley's in Quincy has been around for a while.

That's a gorgeous piece you have.