| Author |
Message |
    
Njjoseph
| | Posted on Friday, March 16, 2001 - 2:33 pm: |     |
Prior owners painted my brick fireplace, and I'd like to remove it. I have the Peel Away products, and can use them. However, someone recently suggested to have it sand-blasted, as the chemical strippers wouldn't get far enough into the nooks and crannies to do a good job.
Has anyone had experience with stripping a fireplace, and how did you do it? What were the results, and are you happy with them?
Please don't suggest repainting. I can do that in the event I can't strip the fireplace well enough, but I want to try stripping it first.
Thanks! |
Mlj
| | Posted on Friday, March 16, 2001 - 4:02 pm: | |
I looked into this issue and was informed that due to environmental concerns, sandblasting was no longer done (?)
In short, I was unable to find info/help on successful and safe paint removal on in-door brick, and we ended up repainting the brick. I would like to know too what answers you get. |
Jimmurphy
| | Posted on Friday, March 16, 2001 - 4:10 pm: | |
NJJoe,
I stripped our clinker brick fireplace about a year ago - it was one of the messiest, most difficult home projects I've ever done (and I've done gut renovations in my day). That said, I'm happy with the results, even if they're not perfect.
I started off with the Peel Away, which really doesn't "peel away" when you're dealing with very irregular brick as I was. Much of the dried white paste was stuck in the mortar joints and in all of the little fissures in the brick.
I then figured I'd try a clear Methyl Chloride stripper (with good ventilation of course). Didn't work.
I then tried a citrus-based stripper. Also didn't work.
Went back to the Peel Away. The key was to figure out how to get that paste off. I ended up using a brass bristle brush and dilute muriatic acid (again with good ventilation). This worked to get out about 98% of the paint and paste. I ran out of steam (and my wife ran out of patience) before getting that last 2%, which remains to this day.
As I said, VERY messy. Also VERY tedious. But in the end, worth it.
Good luck and let me know if you have more questions,
Jim |
Njjoseph
| | Posted on Friday, March 16, 2001 - 4:12 pm: | |
Mlj: Hmmm.... I came across a website that didn't give me sufficient answers, but there were posts in the last two months that suggested sandblasting. However, noone said how well any of the methods work.
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Njjoseph
| | Posted on Friday, March 16, 2001 - 4:17 pm: | |
Jim, thanks! I will have to be very careful not to strip the floor around the fireplace, but otherwise, I can probably deal with the mess for a week or two.
I guess you would suggest using Peel Away, then cleaning with the muriatic acid? Did you have a problem cleaning the mortar, i.e. scrubbing it away or damaging it with either the chemicals or the brushes? |
Jimmurphy
| | Posted on Friday, March 16, 2001 - 4:37 pm: | |
NJJoe, You're welcome.
Your floor comment is a good one. I did manage to do a little damage to the floor finish but since we plan to refinish anyway I wasn't too upset.
The Peel Away and acid did work best for me. The mortar fared well, I think because the brass brushes are gentler than regular wire brushes. I found them at Home Depot in the paint section - plan to go through many as the metal is soft - at least 5 or so. Rinse the brush in mineral spirits (turpentine).
Again - Good Luck - You'll need it,
Jim |
Shh
| | Posted on Friday, March 16, 2001 - 4:43 pm: | |
NJJoseph, I know you said NOT to suggest repainting the brick, but I was faced with the same dilemma when we moved in and I was pregnant.
Instead of use all those chemicals, my husband's uncle, an artist, suggested I get a picture of brick I like (I like red/brown tones) and mix up some inexpensive acrylic paints and paint it on.
I painted the cement or grout grayish, then layered on washes of color for the bricks. I started with a basic red-brown, and varied the colors just as in real bricks. It came out great!!!
NO ONE even realizes it was done over who-knows-how-many layers of white paint. Also another thing to consider is that the original brick might be that HORRIBLE yellowish color I see a lot here.
I know it's a cover-up, bt it's been like that for almost 5 years and it looks great. (I left some of the white peeking through so it looks a bit like some of those whitewashed brick homes).
Just another option to consider. |
Dano
| | Posted on Friday, March 16, 2001 - 5:03 pm: | |
Njjoseph,
Isaw an episode on THIS OLD HOUSE and they said that by no means should you sandblast brick! It baically says that the brick is like a piece of French Bread - hard on the outside but soft in the middle if you blast the outer layer you expose the inside and it will flake away. |
Eliz
| | Posted on Friday, March 16, 2001 - 5:14 pm: | |
We have beautiful white washed looking brick around our fireplace that was apparently done by accident. 2 owners ago they tried to strip the paint but couldn't get it all off (I can see why having read these posts) but the unintentional effect is beautiful and warm. |
Melidere
| | Posted on Friday, March 16, 2001 - 10:01 pm: | |
we had the fireplace sandblasted the week we moved in twenty years ago. there are no amount of words that can convey the mess of it. The guy that did it refused to do it after we moved in..and the big day was to be the day before we moved in.
the stuff they blast with is as fine as talc. it got into every single crack and crevice of the house even with huge amounts of hung plastic curtains all around the room that the fireplace was in.
all that said, underneath the paint were unbelievably beautifully colored bricks. They were different colors, arranged in a beautiful pattern. twenty years later they are as beautiful as when we got it done.
i don't know why anyone ever painted them.
but words cannot convey the extent of the mess. it's worse than replastering. |
Mlj
| | Posted on Friday, March 16, 2001 - 10:04 pm: | |
Maybe we should move to Livingston. I bet they have homes not 70 years old with painted brick. But what do we do about the hollow doors?
(Just kidding!) |
Barleyrooty
| | Posted on Monday, April 23, 2001 - 4:38 pm: | |
We recently had the paint stripped from our brick fireplace using the paper-type chemical stripper. Very successful and pleased with the results.
I can highly recommend our contractor: JC Painting (908) 604-2254. |
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