# Stripping old paint



## Ohio painter (Dec 4, 2011)

When it comes to stripping off old paint what do you find is the easiest and / or most efficient to work with? There are quite a few options these days. 
The wood surface (wainscoting) I plan to strip has nice detail that is covered by 150 years of paint. Lead paint in there somewhere and layers of latex added over oil. The goal is to start over and repaint, does not necessarily have to be taken down to bare wood but at least down to a sound surface for recoating. 
Yes I am RRP certified. 
So far I have tried Peel Away, while it accomplished what I wanted it is hardly like it is advertised. I let is sit 24 hours as directed and found I had to scrape the paper, dried stripper and paint of as one. It did work but was a fair bit off effort and quite slow, bit of a cost factor as well and it seems there is never enough paper and neutralizer included. The detail parts were painfully slow to scrape. Overall happy with the result but not the time involved. 

I shy away from the old solvent based "EZ Strip" or "Stripeeze" type strippers due to the fumes in an occupied home. 

Any thoughts?


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## hdavis (Feb 14, 2012)

I never use the paper, I use plastic sheeting and put the stripper on thick. Usually takes multiple applications.

Citristrip is comparable in performance to peelaway 7.


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## MarkJames (Nov 25, 2012)

Perhaps soy gel would work. Might want to check into it.

Here's one that looks interesting.








Soy-Gel Paint Remover - Odorless, Natural, Safe Paint Stripper


Soy-Gel Paint Remover is an odor free paint stripper. Safe on wood, brick, stone, & concrete. Click or call 800-339-9748 to learn more.




www.realmilkpaint.com


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## David-Remodeler (Nov 30, 2018)

The few times I’ve used paint strippers they were so messy and slow I feel like prefer a heat gun, putty knife, mini scrapers and a few picks for the details. I know there’s the fire risk and the risk of vaporizing the lead (at 1200 F ?) but I use a fully adjustable Milwaukee heat gun with a digital readout, keep the temperature down as far as possible, keep the gun moving and a fire extinguisher handy and I’ve never had an issue.


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## tjbnwi (Feb 24, 2009)

Steam?

Tom


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## hdavis (Feb 14, 2012)

MarkJames said:


> Perhaps soy gel would work. Might want to check into it.
> 
> Here's one that looks interesting.
> 
> ...


That's an NMP stripper.


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## pinwheel (Dec 7, 2009)

Call these guys, they'll fix you up with high quality products that work well. Very knowledgeable as well. 






Wood Strippers - Benco Sales


Benco strippers are formulated with the highest quality solvents, surfactants, and additives. The liquid strippers are very thin and penetrate rapidly through finishes and into crevices and corners. All of our strippers contain surfactants and other additives that extend the wet life and enable...



www.bencosales.com


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## rblakes1 (Jan 8, 2015)

Citristrip works great on latex, it didn't seem to do much for the oil paint layers underneath

- Rich


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## hdavis (Feb 14, 2012)

The tough part is doing this in place in an occupied residence on vertical surfaces. No easy solution I'm aware of. Lye will take coatings off faster than a lot of safe strippers, but it has its drawbacks, too.

Ideally, all that wainscot would come off and be stripped off site.

It pretty much has to be taken back to bare wood, since the old oil paint can craze, crack, and chip. Grinding a scraper to fit the bead profile can be a big help in getting those areas cleaned up, but you can also scar the wood with one. One old timer just broke a piece of glass, and chose the shard that fit the profile he needed.

Hopefully benco has some magic.


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## hdavis (Feb 14, 2012)

rblakes1 said:


> Citristrip works great on latex, it didn't seem to do much for the oil paint layers underneath
> 
> - Rich


It softened 1-2 layers enough I could scrape them with heavy effort. Softer would have been nicer.


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## pinwheel (Dec 7, 2009)

hdavis said:


> The tough part is doing this in place in an occupied residence on vertical surfaces. No easy solution I'm aware of. Lye will take coatings off faster than a lot of safe strippers, but it has its drawbacks, too.
> 
> Ideally, all that wainscot would come off and be stripped off site.
> 
> ...


Yep, scraping as much of the brittle paint first before introducing chemical is the best practice. Works easier to keep profiles crisp on hardwoods like oak.Pine/poplar ect is nearly impossible to scrape to bare wood without distorting the profiles. Heat gun to soften old paint & scrape works well for the paint that won't shatter with a scraper alone. 

When we still had our flow tank, we'd remove as much paint as possible before going into the flow tank.

Keeping chemicals wet so they do the work is key. Gel strippers will cling to vertical surfaces to help achieve the wet chemical.

There's no magic product when when dissolving old paint and oftentimes, it requires changing products as you work through the layers of paint on very old projects. Some of the base layers of old furniture, we'd switch to muratic acid/water mix. Benco was great at helping us solve what kinds of paints we were working with.

Just glad I don't have to strip antique furniture anymore to make a living.


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## G&Co. (Jul 29, 2020)

Peel Away works very well, but there is a learning curve. You need to choose the right stripper for the job. You need to apply it in the right thickness. Let it work the right amount of time. And as said plastic sheet can work better than the supplied paper. Also Dumond (the manufacturer) has excellent tech people to help you.
If it's an RRP job, alkaline stripper is the only way to go. The resulting goop is non-toxic and can be disposed of as regular garbage.


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## hdavis (Feb 14, 2012)

Peelaway 1 is their lye stripper. I haven't used it much, but it's much cheaper than peelaway 7.

If the product dries out before you scrape, it makes it more difficult. Previous post gives some of the factors behind that.


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## Ohio painter (Dec 4, 2011)

I appreciate all the replies, i have a few things to consider now. Thank you.


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## ksc1 (Feb 8, 2015)

If it's that bad I'd consider replacing it. Even if it comes out great, you'll still be left with lead paint.


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## hdavis (Feb 14, 2012)

ksc1 said:


> If it's that bad I'd consider replacing it. Even if it comes out great, you'll still be left with lead paint.


He doesn't care about the lead, he just wants a good surface to put paint on.

Just plain stripping without getting the last bit of residue out gets me a failed lead test. Doesn't matter, because without a lead survey, I have to follow RRP if triggered every time I work on it.


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## VinylHanger (Jul 14, 2011)

I like heat and steam. Every stripper I've tried has failed miserably, and then I need to find a way to get the stripper off.

Proper heat with scrapers is fast. Vent the smell out of a window and go to town. Less mess than strippers.

Putty knives and these work for me on my window restorations.

Verical will be a bit different, but the paint will come off.





__





Paint Scrapers - Ultra Sharp, Perfect for Restoration - Stortz


Shop our paint scraper selection for every application. Wood handle, heat treated, razor sharp blades for tight profiles, detail work and safe handling.




www.stortz.com





Sent from my SM-N975U using Tapatalk


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## G&Co. (Jul 29, 2020)

ksc1 said:


> If it's that bad I'd consider replacing it. Even if it comes out great, you'll still be left with lead paint.


It's not "that bad", it's just caked up with paint. Replacing 150 year old wainscot that has "nice detail" would not be my idea of a good thing to do.
Yes you'll be left with lead paint. Makes no difference as hdavis said.


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## hdavis (Feb 14, 2012)

VinylHanger said:


> I like heat and steam. Every stripper I've tried has failed miserably, and then I need to find a way to get the stripper off.
> 
> Proper heat with scrapers is fast. Vent the smell out of a window and go to town. Less mess than strippers.
> 
> ...


The high % ethylene chloride strippers that are very liquid have always worked well for me, especially as the final rinse. The gel strippers gunk up real bad if they start drying out, and can be worse to remove at that point than if you never used it.

No stripper works well if it starts drying out, it starts redepositing the junk and that deposit may not dissolve again.


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## hdavis (Feb 14, 2012)

BTW, I think my first stripping experience was with a propane torch. Worked great until I hit the old red milk paint.

I should have stopped there.....


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## sparehair (Nov 21, 2008)

Isn't there any other paying work you could do? Sounds awful.


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## rblakes1 (Jan 8, 2015)

hdavis said:


> BTW, I think my first stripping experience was with a propane torch. Worked great until I hit the old red milk paint.
> 
> I should have stopped there.....


I've never dealt with milk paint, what happened?


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## tjbnwi (Feb 24, 2009)

Soda blaster......?

Tom


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## hdavis (Feb 14, 2012)

It turns out, you can't burn milk paint off without burning the wood.

That was before I knew how much an antique with original "old red" on it was worth. Probably lost a couple thousand off of value.

Sometimes that's how you learn....


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## hdavis (Feb 14, 2012)

tjbnwi said:


> Soda blaster......?
> 
> Tom


I was about 10 yo at the time, and no blaster.


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## hdavis (Feb 14, 2012)

David-Remodeler said:


> The few times I’ve used paint strippers they were so messy and slow I feel like prefer a heat gun, putty knife, mini scrapers and a few picks for the details. I know there’s the fire risk and the risk of vaporizing the lead (at 1200 F ?) but I use a fully adjustable Milwaukee heat gun with a digital readout, keep the temperature down as far as possible, keep the gun moving and a fire extinguisher handy and I’ve never had an issue.


Heat can take it off fast and easy. I think it's allowed under RRP if the heat gun is under some particular temperature, but I don't know for sure. Like all other aspects if RRP compliance, what ever heat source you use should be certified for that application.


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## tjbnwi (Feb 24, 2009)

hdavis said:


> I was about 10 yo at the time, and no blaster.


Open flame is fun at 10 years old....

fun as an adult when needed also.

Tom


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## hdavis (Feb 14, 2012)

It was taking the old lead paint off real fast until I hit that stubborn layer.....


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## hdavis (Feb 14, 2012)

I've stripped a bunch of different ways, mostly antiques.

Household ammonia
Warm lye
Hot lye
Hot TSP
DNA

You name it for retail strippers, I've probably used it.

There are regional differences in what's desirable for a refinished antique. Up here, you try to keep as much of the old wood look as possible. The hot tank lye people stripping oak would have to stain to try to get an older, non-lightened look. Down in North Carolina, they liked the lightened oak - they really wanted new looking old pieces. ...


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## David-Remodeler (Nov 30, 2018)

hdavis said:


> Heat can take it off fast and easy. I think it's allowed under RRP if the heat gun is under some particular temperature, but I don't know for sure. Like all other aspects if RRP compliance, what ever heat source you use should be certified for that application.


Yeah I was also pretty sure it was allowed if you made sure not vaporize the lead at 1200 F or something but it’s been a couple years since I took the rrp class and I’ve been making a point of avoiding lead jobs when I can so I’m forgetting some of those details


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## hdavis (Feb 14, 2012)

David-Remodeler said:


> Yeah I was also pretty sure it was allowed if you made sure not vaporize the lead at 1200 F or something but it’s been a couple years since I took the rrp class and I’ve been making a point of avoiding lead jobs when I can so I’m forgetting some of those details


It used to be 1100F and no open flame, it could always change.


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## JoeStanton (Sep 24, 2008)

My Forman and I took that stupid class when all this stuff started. I have never done or will do any rrp work, too much paperwork and liability. I have the H.O contract directly with my demo co. and have them deal with all that B.S, much easier.


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## stelzerpainting (Feb 27, 2014)

If sanders aren't effective or if you can't use em without destroying the ornate details, then chemical strip is the next best thing. Infrared strippers could work, but you'll need to find one that's cost effective to purchase, (good luck). I wouldn't even consider using a heat gun on a customer's home. 30 years ago yes, but not now. For chemical stripping, methylene chloride is by far my least favorite and rarely used. There are some citrus & soy gel strippers that could work, but you won't find them at a big box store, and their success is dependent upon what you're trying to remove. 

My #1 choice is caustic soda beads, (aka Sodium Hydroxide or Lye). Mix with water and a bit of gain dish soap. Use pump sprayer or even spray bottle. Head-to-toe PPE required. Gotta mask off perimeter extremely well though, since it'll strip anything it comes in contact with. The dish soap keeps it from drying out too quickly. 

Spray entire area, and much like stripping popcorn ceilings, go back and re-spray a small area, then attempt to remove what you can. Stiff nylon brushes, scotch-brite pads, & puddy knifes to aid. Depending upon the type of paint you're trying to remove, it may take several applications, but it's easily re-applied and removal is quicker than sanding when you're dealing with ornate & figured structures. Keeping it wet is the key. If it's dry, it ain't workin. That's the biggest issue folks have with Peel Away, since once it dries, it sort of reattaches itself to the substrate. Once you've removed all layers that can easily be removed after re-spraying it, re-spray it again as well as the next section, and move on. 

Follow up with oxalic acid. The sodium hydroxide will immediately darken the wood, and the high alkalinity will throw the pH of the wood outta wack. Oxalic neutralizes the pH as well as brightens the wood. 

I've used this method to strip just about everything inside a home as well as most solid deck stains and varnishes. It's efficient & effective, but needs to be done responsibly in order to prevent harm to you as well as your surroundings.

Caustic Soda Beads


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## hdavis (Feb 14, 2012)

Talk a little but about how you would collect the lye water that runs down the wainscoting. I've used lye on exteriors, but not interiors. Exterior I neutralize with vinegar since I'm letting all the runoff go into the ground.


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## stelzerpainting (Feb 27, 2014)

hdavis said:


> Talk a little but about how you would collect the lye water that runs down the wainscoting. I've used lye on exteriors, but not interiors. Exterior I neutralize with vinegar since I'm letting all the runoff go into the ground.


That's a great point and something which will need to be addressed. 6 mil plastic on masking below. Paper borders over that as really the first border of defense. Towels, rags, and/or old runners rolled and butted up to the base sops up most of the mist & drips before ever reaching the plastic. By spraying lighter coats multiple times, runoff is mitigated substantially. If the wood is really slick and everything wants to just run right off, I'll keep an old mop at the ready and swipe the runs before reaching the base. Floor protection is usually an old piece of laminate or vinyl initially, with tape, paper & rubber mats under. I get 150' x 5' bolts of thick rubber from a friend who owns a rubber company. Lays nice & flat and stops anything from reaching the floor. Tape will need to be constantly checked and redone as needed. I'll typically lay whatever surface-appropriate tape directly on the wood, then 3m 2060 over, & top with a thicker duct tape. It's a crap-ton of prep, but still on overall time saver vs. the alternatives, at least when stripping ornate stuff and/or surfaces that can't be sanded aggressively without destroying some detail.


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