Ive been painting, and in some cases, removing the paint from things since the 60's. If you use the right paints, they can be removed completely, but it does take some work, which can be tedious, depending on how far you want to take it back.
Ive always used Testors Military Flats, and a few others similar to them, and with good results.
These were both painted about 25 or so years ago. The 1100 on the bottom was stripped about 8 or 10 years ago now and repurposed. The finish under the paint was basically "as new", except for a few small spots where the paint had worn from use and didnt always get touched up.
This is it now....
Ive used the more permanent type paints on some things, and they work well if you apply them right, but youre basically not getting them off without a bead blast.
Ive tried some of the wraps on a couple of things, and they really didnt work out to well. They can be hard to fit, especially in the areas of moving parts, and I always wondered about moisture and what was underneath, and how you were supposed to deal with it.