Cheeseparer has to strip surface from something hard (9)
I believe the answer is:
skinflint
'surface from something hard' is the definition.
I can't judge whether this defines the answer.
'cheeseparer has to strip' is the wordplay.
'cheeseparer has' becomes 'flint' (I am not sure about this - if you are sure you should believe this answer much more).
'to' is a charade indicator (letters next to each other) (I've seen this in other clues).
'strip' becomes 'skin' (skinning is a kind of stripping).
'flint' after 'skin' is 'SKINFLINT'.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for skinflint that I've seen before include "Niggard, scrooge" , "Scrooge, miser" , "A mean, miserly person" , "cheapskate" , "21 [MISER]" .)