Strip paint safely, effectively in three steps

Paint stripping may not be a favourite job, but that doesn’t mean you should put up with gorgeous woodwork hidden under layers of paint, either. Effective paint stripping involves three main steps: Softening the old coating; scraping off most of the mess; then, in some cases, completing the final surface prep by sanding. The trick is making this happen in a way that’s safe for you, your family and your neighbours.

SOFTENING PAINT

You can soften paint chemically or with heat and advances in technology have improved both methods. The first products to challenge traditional strippers were citrus-based and they didn’t work very well, but don’t make the mistake of thinking all new stripper formulations aren’t good. I’ve used Citrus Strip, Organic Strip and Greensolv in my work for years. They perform well because they don’t dry out — they stay wet and active and you can soften multiple layers of finish in one go.

Why bother with new stripper formulations at all? Because traditional strippers, while still available, are made with methylene chloride and it’s very difficult to get enough ventilation to use this product safely indoors. Unless you’re using a chemical stripper outdoors, choose a safer formulation, though you still need to protect yourself. Wear a respirator and rubber gloves. Besides protecting you against fumes, they protect against toxins in the paint itself.

To steer clear of the hassle and expense of liquid paint strippers, many pros use heat to soften paints. Yet even though stripping old paint with a propane torch has been standard practice for years, it’s a health hazard, especially in older homes, because paints used before the 1970s were made with lead. This highly toxic metal can start to vaporize when heated hotter than about 1,100 F, as usually happens with a propane torch.

But there’s another way to deliver paint-stripping heat that’s faster, more effective and safer than a propane torch. I’ve used the Silent Paint Remover. It’s a handheld, plug-in electric tool that uses a glowing red element to heat the paint and soften it by radiation at temperatures lower than the vaporization point of lead.

Regardless of how you remove old paint, all scraped or stripped residue must be disposed of as toxic waste.

SCRAPING PAINT

The next phase usually involves scraping and, for this to happen efficiently, you need to use more than just an old putty knife. The key to effective paint scraping is tools that match the shape of the surfaces you’re stripping, while also allowing your whole upper body to get in on the act, if possible.

SANDING

Sanding is usually at least a little part of the final phase of a paint stripping job. Sanding by hand alone, with a quarter-sheet finishing sander, or with a detail sander puts the finishing touch on your old wood before applying any new finish.

Just don’t sand too much. Old wood usually has a rich glow about it and if you work your way back to a completely fresh surface you’ll lose a lot of the beauty that’s there. A little polymerized tung oil or Wipe-On Poly is just the thing to let the beauty and patina shine through.