Stripping old paint from metal or wood is a messy, hazardous endeavor, but if you have the right tools and substances, it can move quickly with a minimum of hassle. Whether you are cleaning off a chair for refinishing or preparing your home for fresh paint, then you usually have to soften the old paint with chemicals or heat. Once it is pliable, you need tools to scrape it off without too much damage to the substrate.
Chemical Applicators
Most stripping is completed with chemical agents which soften paint and dissolve the bond to the substrate. Gelled strippers, which are best for vertical surfaces and cabinets, are easy to apply with an old paintbrush. A dip tray and bucket are greatest when utilizing pourable strippers to eliminate finish from old chairs and tables. Stripping lacquer from furniture occasionally proceeds best with a thinner, such as acetone or lacquer thinner. Employ either chemical with a pad of fine steel wool, maintaining the pad moistened and utilizing it to rub the paint off while periodically washing it off in fresh thinner.
Scraping Tools
Typically, the majority of paint, softened by chemicals, will come off with a typical paint scraper or a specialization scraping tool designed having a pointed end to getting into tight corners. Working hard-to-remove patches with a wire brush is one way to get them off, but care needs to be taken to not gouge the wood at the procedure. Alternately, a rotary tool with a wire brush accessory will do the job. The rotary instrument will also reach into hard-to-access crevices and to corners. Any paint that stays stuck following one coat of stripper has been eliminated will usually come off with a second application.
Considerations
Stripping paint from metal presents problems, because assaulting the substrate with a metal scraper or a wire brush is very likely to produce deep scratches which will not come out. To avoid this, use plastic scrapers, wipe out the stripper away with a rag or simply wash it off with water or thinner. It’s always essential to neutralize the stripper that stays on the substrate after you’re finished scraping. Wash the job with water from a garden hose if the stripper is water soluble. Otherwise, wash with a rag moistened with the solvent recommended by the stripper producer.
Stripping with Heat
Heat softens paint and loosens its adhesion, but utilizing a flame source, such as a flashlight, can not just start a flame, it can also do a lot of damage. Instead, use a heating or an infrared heating pad. Both loosen the paint bond without overheating the substrate. Infrared paint strippers would be the best way to strip paint from large, horizontal surfaces such as siding and are recommended when the paint is lead-based. They’re made to heat the paint quickly, which means that you can usually scrape on it after a minute or two of exposure into the heating component.