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cam1
Citizen
Username: Cam1
Post Number: 61
Registered: 6-2001
| | Posted on Friday, November 14, 2003 - 3:30 pm: |     |
Has anyone out there had experience stripping old, heavily painted woodwork? I am trying to do this myself with Peel Away, which is slow and messy (but not drippy). Any tips to improve the process (I’m working in a room with finished floors which I want to preserve)? And, how do you get those last bits of paint out of grooves and tight spots?
Thanks
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1-2many
Citizen
Username: Wbg69
Post Number: 598
Registered: 6-2002
| | Posted on Friday, November 14, 2003 - 3:55 pm: | |
oh boy. I struggled with this for a while. I tried Peel Away, that more-environmentally-friendly orange business, and denatured alcohol. imho, Peel Away stinks WAY too much to use in an occupied house. plus, all those fumes can't be good for you. it actually kept me awake at night - either the heavy fumes, or worrying about them, or both. in fact, if you want my barely used gallon of it, private line me, you can have it.
at the end of the day, though it's a little messier, I prefer the orange stuff. buy LOTS of plastic scrapers as you will wear out the edge using them and need fresh, sharp ones to get into nooks and crannies. then, when you're done with that, let the wood dry out for a few days, and then clean it with denatured alcohol and fine steel wool. I think you can use those metal brushes to get into nooks and crannies that the plastic scraper just can't get into.
for mess, I would tape down a heavy drop cloth. any method you use will have drippings that will dry just like regular paint if you leave them there.
others recommend dip-stripping, which involves removing the molding, having it dip-stripped by a professional, and then replacing it. the search function will help you find information on this. I think you could also pay painters to do this for you. ultimately, the work of doing it in-place is so tiring and tedious, I would MUCH rather pay someone to do it than to do it again. or, in my case, I have just decided to leave most of it painted, albeit not a hideous color, anymore.
GOOD LUCK. this is a VERY tedious job. I did a stairway and part of a hall and then just gave up, partially because it is so heinous to do, and partially because the wood that has been painted just did not look nearly as good as wood that had been "preserved" with stain and shellac years go.
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cam1
Citizen
Username: Cam1
Post Number: 62
Registered: 6-2001
| | Posted on Friday, November 14, 2003 - 4:01 pm: | |
thanks, i'll try the orange stuff, i'm too new at this to give up yet. |
dano
Citizen
Username: Dano
Post Number: 59
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Friday, November 14, 2003 - 4:05 pm: | |
Cam,
I've done more than my fair share of stripping. I find peel away the best solution. Will you be painting over the wood again? I found that the peel away took 90% of the paint down. The rest was stuck in the intricate nooks and crannies. This is were patience come in so you don't gouge the wood. A brass or nylon brush usually take the rest of the paint off and a 5 in 1 tool helps to. Private line me if you need.
Dano |
Tracy Lemerise
Citizen
Username: Maguire0423
Post Number: 1
Registered: 7-2003
| | Posted on Friday, November 14, 2003 - 4:11 pm: | |
Saw this exact prob addressed on the oldhousejournal.com website today - look up main story "30 restoration tips" under strip it. Many excellent tips for stripping listed here that I had never heard of. |
1-2many
Citizen
Username: Wbg69
Post Number: 599
Registered: 6-2002
| | Posted on Friday, November 14, 2003 - 4:20 pm: | |
good tips, thanks for the info, Tracy!
though I disagree with one on painting - to wait until paint is DRY before removing trip - this is actually how you wind up with chips being removed. better to remove tape while paint is wet, and avoid pulling up little edge pieces. |
cam1
Citizen
Username: Cam1
Post Number: 63
Registered: 6-2001
| | Posted on Tuesday, November 18, 2003 - 11:24 am: | |
thanks all! dano, did you use regular peel away or peel away six? i will try not to repaint. Do you use another solvent for the remaining 10%? i'm finding that exact problem, maybe just another application of the peel away at the end to get all the left overs. did you repaint or stain? |
dano
Citizen
Username: Dano
Post Number: 60
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Tuesday, November 18, 2003 - 1:30 pm: | |
Cam,
I used the #8 Red Top Bucket. For the remainder I used a product called Atomic stripper that my painter had left behind a few years ago. You can get it at Riccardi's. It is what it say's... when you open the lid you can see the vapors wafting out of the can... the scarring eventually goes away from the drips on your arms and hands Use a brass brush as not to gouge the wood. I don't have Chestnut trim it is poplar so I just painted over it. Good luck! It's an awful thankless messy job, but when you step back in the end and look at it, it;s worth the effort. Would you like to come over and finish my project? |
ll1
Citizen
Username: Ll1
Post Number: 12
Registered: 6-2001
| | Posted on Tuesday, November 18, 2003 - 5:03 pm: | |
My eyes are burning just reading this thread! |
Barb
Citizen
Username: Flannery
Post Number: 64
Registered: 8-2002
| | Posted on Friday, November 21, 2003 - 8:11 am: | |
If you're not going to stain your woodwork, you might want to try a nonchemical method that we used that uses heat. This gadget looks a little like a bug zapper that uses infrared heat and works very fast (about 20-30 seconds exposure). It takes off all of the paint in one pass. You can find it at www.silentpaintstripper.com
The downside is that if you're going to stain the woodwork, you need to be careful not to scorch the wood. I've been known to darken it such that it would show through stain, but the woodwork in our house isn't precious and was never intended to be stained and I was happy to repaint it.
Although the manufacturers say you don't need to wear gloves and a mask, we did because melting paint does create a strong odor. I think it sells for around $400, but I've saved more than that in gooey paint remover and Excedrin. It's way easier to clean up, too.
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