How Can I Be a Good Stripper?
July 1, 2022 6:35 PM Subscribe
I want to strip the old paint off my wooden porch steps and railings and instead treat them with a tinted stain. I've spent four hours scraping paint off the steps so far and would prefer not to put in hours and hours more. What are your best techniques/products/tips for stripping paint?
If you're looking for something that's doesn't;t have awful fumes, Citristrip is worth a shot. It takes longer to do its thing, but it does a good job.
posted by jonathanhughes at 7:04 PM on July 1, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by jonathanhughes at 7:04 PM on July 1, 2022 [1 favorite]
A belt sander will take paint off quickly, but be careful not to remove the wood as well. You can also try using a heat gun to blister up the paint before scraping.
posted by mezzanayne at 8:01 PM on July 1, 2022 [2 favorites]
posted by mezzanayne at 8:01 PM on July 1, 2022 [2 favorites]
Stripping something as complicated as railings to a condition that can take stain *will* take hours and hours even with the best technique and materials. Just adding this as a caution in case you want to reconsider the project.
posted by anadem at 8:32 PM on July 1, 2022 [10 favorites]
posted by anadem at 8:32 PM on July 1, 2022 [10 favorites]
I did a lot of paint stripping with an infrared stripper. It’s much less mess than a liquid and much safer than a heat gun. My project involved years and years of layers of paint.
posted by TrarNoir at 9:11 PM on July 1, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by TrarNoir at 9:11 PM on July 1, 2022 [1 favorite]
If your house was built before ~1970, PLEASE have all layers of paint tested professionally for lead before doing anymore scraping or god forbid, sanding!!
posted by amaire at 9:20 PM on July 1, 2022 [5 favorites]
posted by amaire at 9:20 PM on July 1, 2022 [5 favorites]
If you don’t mind throwing some money at the problem, the Speedheater is magic. We stripped our leaden window trim, and it just scrapes off in sheets.
posted by hwyengr at 10:46 PM on July 1, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by hwyengr at 10:46 PM on July 1, 2022 [1 favorite]
I've done a lot of porch and steps restoration on older buildings, and I want to echo points made already as well as add encouragement - this can be a great way to improve the appearance of a home and can be a source of lasting pride.
Advice
— Test for lead or assume lead and act accordingly. Be mindful of the work, by-products, and yourself while working as being tainted.
To manage this, use the right methods and limit exposure to young children and people who may be pregnant or nursing or handling young children. Lead is bad for everyone, but does its worst to fast-growing brains.
— Wear a comfortable, well-fitting, appropriately-rated mask, and have a routine for dealing with the dirt on your person and equipment. Don't track worksite dirt beyond the worksite. Don't put things (food, drink, cigarettes, pencils) in your mouth until you are cleaned up.
— Upthread, infrared heaters and the Speedheater specifically were recommended. This approach is the fastest and safest of the many that that I have used. A Speedheater is not cheap, around $500 US, but resells well, so if you are privileged enough to invest in one, I encourage you to consider it.
What are the advantages? The heat is enough the soften paint layers, but generally below the temperature where lead vapors "boil" off from the paint. Another advantage is the large area heated by the tool. Once you have a rhythm, work goes quickly. It can be set up as a two-person job [one heating; one scraping] and will go even faster.
Of course, one tool or method is not a universal solution. You will need to do follow-up paint removal in corners or on complex shapes. You will have patches, nail holes, and other pockets of resistance that require smaller tools and other paint-softening steps - chemical or heat or steam. Have the small tools at hand so you don't have to go hunting for them.
Take pleasure in the work, but take care to work carefully as you get close to the original surface. In an ideal world, your steps are a dense-grained decay-resistant softwood and the soft part is the one to worry about. It is easy to gouge the wood and you plan to showcase the wood by staining, so keep an eye on yourself. If you start hacking or getting frustrated and it is manifesting as poor results, pull back and recenter yourself. Scrape in the the direction of the grain and - as much as possible - with the grain so you are not catching and raising ends of fibers.
Set achievable goals! Another commenter pointed out that this is time-consuming work, so be smart about expectations. If you want results that please you, the time you put in is worth it.
Have fun! It is fun.
posted by Glomar response at 5:22 AM on July 2, 2022 [7 favorites]
Advice
— Test for lead or assume lead and act accordingly. Be mindful of the work, by-products, and yourself while working as being tainted.
To manage this, use the right methods and limit exposure to young children and people who may be pregnant or nursing or handling young children. Lead is bad for everyone, but does its worst to fast-growing brains.
— Wear a comfortable, well-fitting, appropriately-rated mask, and have a routine for dealing with the dirt on your person and equipment. Don't track worksite dirt beyond the worksite. Don't put things (food, drink, cigarettes, pencils) in your mouth until you are cleaned up.
— Upthread, infrared heaters and the Speedheater specifically were recommended. This approach is the fastest and safest of the many that that I have used. A Speedheater is not cheap, around $500 US, but resells well, so if you are privileged enough to invest in one, I encourage you to consider it.
What are the advantages? The heat is enough the soften paint layers, but generally below the temperature where lead vapors "boil" off from the paint. Another advantage is the large area heated by the tool. Once you have a rhythm, work goes quickly. It can be set up as a two-person job [one heating; one scraping] and will go even faster.
Of course, one tool or method is not a universal solution. You will need to do follow-up paint removal in corners or on complex shapes. You will have patches, nail holes, and other pockets of resistance that require smaller tools and other paint-softening steps - chemical or heat or steam. Have the small tools at hand so you don't have to go hunting for them.
Take pleasure in the work, but take care to work carefully as you get close to the original surface. In an ideal world, your steps are a dense-grained decay-resistant softwood and the soft part is the one to worry about. It is easy to gouge the wood and you plan to showcase the wood by staining, so keep an eye on yourself. If you start hacking or getting frustrated and it is manifesting as poor results, pull back and recenter yourself. Scrape in the the direction of the grain and - as much as possible - with the grain so you are not catching and raising ends of fibers.
Set achievable goals! Another commenter pointed out that this is time-consuming work, so be smart about expectations. If you want results that please you, the time you put in is worth it.
Have fun! It is fun.
posted by Glomar response at 5:22 AM on July 2, 2022 [7 favorites]
We lived in a hundred-year-old house with a dark stair. The varnished rail was badly alligatored, and needed stripping. The balusters were nicely turned, which didn’t make them easy to strip until I figured out this method:
Soak a paper towel in methyl hydrate, wrap around the spindle and repeat, until it’s entirely wrapped. Where the turning is very deep, tie a piece of string around the paper. Wrap the whole lot in aluminum foil. Repeat with the next three balusters. By the time the fourth is wrapped, number one will be ready to strip. Unwrap from the top, pushing everything down. Almost all the varnish will come off with the paper towel, and the rest quite easy to scrape off.
posted by Enid Lareg at 10:44 AM on July 5, 2022
Soak a paper towel in methyl hydrate, wrap around the spindle and repeat, until it’s entirely wrapped. Where the turning is very deep, tie a piece of string around the paper. Wrap the whole lot in aluminum foil. Repeat with the next three balusters. By the time the fourth is wrapped, number one will be ready to strip. Unwrap from the top, pushing everything down. Almost all the varnish will come off with the paper towel, and the rest quite easy to scrape off.
posted by Enid Lareg at 10:44 AM on July 5, 2022
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